Reservists Return Home To Grateful, Tearful Loved Ones
MIAMI- (CBS4) - Valerie Perret and Oscar Lopez can't stop hugging and kissing. The amorous couple haven't seen each other for four months. Lopez was one of eight Air Force reservist who just returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East. Some say their reunion at Miami International Airport drew just as many tears as their departure.
"Oh a lot of crying, a lot a lot of crying," Perret said. "This is good crying though. The other one was sad crying, this one is happy crying."
Lopez was one of several men serving as firefighters aiding in the ongoing war in Afghanistan -- a danger zone that plagued the minds of many wives and girlfriends with worry.
"You worry, you worry, 'cause you never know what's gonna happen," said Lisa Gardner talking about her time away from her husband Lorenzo Gardner. "It's always in the back of your mind that something could happen."
Email, phone calls and Skype helped ease some of those worries. It was a difficult time for the couples on both ends of the line.
"It's tough, it's tough, but you learn to deal with it because you got other people watching you," Lorenzo Gardner said. "Like my guys, they miss their family, but I have to be strong and show them, 'Hey, this is something that we have to do for the country and no matter what it is, this is the sacrifice we make.' So we have to kind of like hide our emotions and just get the job done."
The men will spend Tuesday with the families. But they have to return to the base in Homestead Wednesday for a debriefing.
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