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Local Soldier Home in Time for Christmas
FIRST REPORTED 6:00am 12/24/11 A Galesburg soldier who has a unique distinction has served his tour of duty in the military, and will now be home just in time for the holidays.

26-year old Lieutenant Neil McCrery was with the 82nd Airborne -- the last unit to leave Iraq at the end of the war. When the WGIL Evening News talked with his mother Catherine Friday, it was thought that Neil might be home sometime during the overnight hours, though plans could have changed.

Nevertheless, Catherine McCrery says it will be an important homecoming.

"[Neil] has a seven-week-old son, so that was a blessing for us [to have him home]," McCrery said.

McCrery says she's elated especially because there was a lot of confusion about whether and when Neil would be home.

"It was hard waiting, because we kept hearing 'no, they're not coming home.' 'Yes, they're coming home,'" McCrery said. "We had just set our hearts on the fact that we were just going to have to wait, and he would be here."

Lieutenant Neil McCrery, who worked with gun trucks in the 82nd Airborne, was deployed in May.
12 24 11 by Newsroom
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