Concord welcomes home a hero

People waving flags lined both sides of the parking lot on a recent Saturday as the Virginia and North Carolina Patriot Guard Riders escorted by local police, led U.S. Army Specialist Tyler Jeffries to Crosspointe Baptist Church in Concord for his homecoming celebration following the 386-mile trip from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Jeffries, is recovering quickly from the IED blast that took both legs earlier this year in Afghanistan. With help from his father, Ted Jeffries, he exited the car and stood on two prosthetic legs to hug his girlfriend, Jen Lee and greet the crowd in the parking lot. When asked if he wanted to go inside and sit down Jeffries replied “I have to wait for my motorcycle buddies, they brought me here.”

After the hundreds of Patriot Guard Riders parked, Jeffries, with the help of his dad to steady him, walked to the church, greeted by many who wanted to shake his hand as he made his way inside. Once he walked to the front of the stage as the crowd clapped, cheered and hugged him he settled into his wheelchair.

Before he could be helped to the stage, another soldier in a wheelchair with similar injuries approached him. Marine Garrett Carnes, who celebrated his homecoming in Mooresville in April, had come to welcome him home.

During the celebration, Mayor Scott Padgett presented Jeffries with a special dog tag/medal from the Vietnam Veterans of America and proclaimed Dec. 22 as Tyler Jeffries Day. Jeffries addressed the crowd saying he was honored to be treated like a hero.

He said he couldn’t believe they were stopping traffic on the highway just for him. He went on to remind everyone the true heroes are the men and women still serving overseas.

Jeffries will have to return to Walter Reed after the first of the year. His goal is to be able welcome home his fellow soldiers who saved his life in early January.

His mother Pam Britt says his dream is to get new legs and stay in the infantry, but right now he will require about nine or 10 more months of treatment and rehabilitation at Walter Reed. He should be home around this time next year.