Vernon Hills, Libertyville plan proper welcome for returning vets
Slowly, Marine Lance Cpl. James Hulse is making his way home to Vernon Hills from Iraq.
He's on a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean en route to San Diego. With luck, he will be home for Thanksgiving.
His mother, Gill, is full of anticipation. Friends and other family members certainly are, too. But Hulse will receive some unexpected support as well, courtesy of his hometown.
As part of a new initiative, Hulse will be met at the airport by a limousine. Vernon Hills police, depending on their responsibilities that day, will meet him at the village border for an escort home. His street will be lined with American flags.
The 24-year-old also will receive a $100 gift certificate to a local restaurant and a proclamation of gratitude from Mayor Roger Byrne.
"I think it's nice for him to see people other than his family showing their appreciation," said Gill Hulse.
"They were out in the middle of nowhere looking for bomb-making stuff. It's very nerve-wracking."
James Hulse was in the first class to graduate from Vernon Hills High School in 2002. He studied fire science at the College of Lake County before joining the Marines. He's been stationed about 40 miles west of Baghdad.
Operation Welcome Home is an extension of Blue Line for the Front Line, a joint effort of the Vernon Hills and Libertyville police departments over the past few years to provide supplies to specific units overseas.
The new initiative occurred at lightning speed given typical government bureaucracy. It was the result of a request by Craig Warner, a Hulse family friend and neighbor of Byrne's.
A Marine and Air Force veteran and commercial pilot, Warner said he wanted to do something nice for the family. What could that be? He spoke with a friend at the American Legion post, mentioned it to Byrne and floated the idea to the village board at a meeting just a few weeks ago.
Particulars came into focus after Warner met with village officials.
"I think everybody wanted to do it real bad," he said.
Warner, who was in college during the Vietnam era, said he remembers how veterans from that war were treated when they returned.
"A lot of people just rejected them and what they were dong. I don't want to see that happen again."
Because there is no central notification system, village officials generally would hear about a returning service person only if the family calls. The program is in the formative stage, and officials hope it gets public attention.
Residents of either Vernon Hills or Libertyville with a service member returning home can register for the program by calling (847) 247-4888. Information is available at www.vhpd.com.
"This effort is not about getting pats on the back for the village or the agencies involved," Vernon Hills Police Chief Mark Fleischhauer said in a statement. "We simply want to give our residents who have bravely served this country a proper welcome home."