Community Corner
Lemont Welcomes Home Marine Cpl. Nicholas Pettke
25-year-old Lemont High School alum greeted by friends and family Saturday as he returns home from seven-month stint in Afghanistan.
U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicholas Pettke received a hero's welcome Saturday as he returned home from a seven-month tour in Afghanistan.
Pettke, 25, is a 2004 graduate of Lemont High School and a current resident of Romeoville. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2008, and deployed in 2009 to his first tour in Iraq.
His homecoming celebration was organized by Operation MOMS (Men and Women of Military Service) Cookies and Warriors' Watch Riders — two organizations that support members of the U.S. military and their families.
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Pettke was first greeted by members of both groups at the Hinsdale Oasis on Interstate 294 before being escorted to International Industrial Park on Lemont Road, near Interstate 55.
From there, Lemont police cars and fire trucks led the way to , 103 Stephen St., where friends and family members cheered and waved American flags as they awaited Pettke's arrival.
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