Convalescing soldier given royal welcome

Dozens of friends, relatives and military personnel turned out at Bangor International Airport Monday afternoon to welcome home Command Sgt. Maj. John Leonard Jr. of Glenburn.

He was struck with an intestinal virus while deployed with the Maine Army National Guard’s 286th Service and Supply Battalion in the Middle East.

Leonard’s unit was deployed to support Operation Desert Storm in November. In March, Leonard was plagued with a serious intestinal virus and was sent to the Walter Reed Army hospital in Washington D.C.

He returned to Bangor Monday, Patriots Day, on convalescent leave and was welcomed home in grand style by Maj. Gen. Ernest Park, Maine’s adjutant general, and Bangor City Manager Edward Barrett, among others.

Leonard, dressed in his brown camouflage uniform, walked briskly into the terminal at BIA and was met with enthusiastic hugs from his wife and two daughters.

It was not Leonard’s first homecoming. He returned to Maine in 1967 after a 14-month tour in Vietnam as a Marine helicopter crew chief. He was wounded twice in Vietnam and was awarded two Purple Hearts.

He was discharged from the Marines in 1969 and joined the Maine Army Guard in 1972. In 1989, Leonard was promoted to command sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank possible in the Maine Army National Guard. He is the Maine Army Guard’s state sergeant major.

After recovering from his injuries in Vietnam, Leonard returned to his unit. On Monday, he said he hoped to return to the Middle East to finish the job he and his unit started.

“This war was a whole lot easier then the last one. My unit stayed well behind the front lines,” said Leonard.

He explained he was still weak from his bout with the virus which he said must have come from the drinking water or something he ate.

Leonard is scheduled to return to Walter Reed on April 29 for a checkup. He said he hoped to rejoin his unit in the Middle East shortly afterwards.

“I have no word on when the unit might be coming home. I want to get back to them though. We went over as a team and I want to come home with the team. I want to go back until the job is done,” said Leonard.

On Monday, however, Leonard was planning to enjoy a party in his honor at the 112th Medical Co.’s armory in Bangor. After that, he plans to spend a couple of weeks resting and relaxing with his family.