Kuiphof Family Blog

Last night, Eric and his fellow Marines from the Alpha Company flew home to Grand Rapids and were bussed from the airport to a local arena (the DeltaPlex). Their motorcade was led by over 500 motorcycles and people were lining the streets, cheering them on with American flags as they passed by. :) Over a thousand people gathered to meet their loved ones and it was a very moving welcoming ceremony! I was not able to get there in time to see it, much to my regret... but thankfully my parents and Sara & Dave, along with more of Eric's relatives and friends, were able to join Aunt Carol, Brad and Stephanie there. The Marines walked into the arena in formation and then they were finally able to meet with their families and friends. There was a lot of coverage of it on local TV stations and it was very heartwarming and powerful to see families meeting with their beloved Marine for the first time in months! :)

After the ceremony, they drove back to Carol's house where the rest of us were all waiting at the campfire to welcome them back! It was SO AWESOME to see Eric step out of that car! :) I just kept thanking God that he's still alive and that we had the opportunity to see him come home like this. There were a LOT of people at the campfire (family and friends)... we all had a great time! The weather this past weekend was beautiful too so that was an added bonus.

Check out the pictures below from the welcoming ceremony at the DeltaPlex. I'll try to add a video clip soon. :)











(Eric, if you're reading this... you are a real hero to all of us! We can't even begin to tell you how proud we are of you... for your service and for the risks and sacrifices you took in order to defend our country! That is such an honorable duty and we hope and pray that you know how grateful we all are. :) You're awesome and we love you!)

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Update: Here's the video that my dad took at the DeltaPlex...