BANGOR – Cpl. James Nickerson hugged his father, John Palmer, after getting off the bus Monday. Marine to former Marine, son to father, he was glad to be home, even if it was a little colder than what he has been accustomed to in recent months.

For two months, the 2000 graduate of Central High School in Corinth called Ali Al Salem air base in the Kuwaiti desert his home.

“A lot of sand, a lot of heat, and the missiles, that was crazy,” Nickerson said at the Concord Trailways bus station in Bangor, the last leg of his journey on a brief leave from the 267th Helicopter Marine Light Attack Squadron.

On the Kuwaiti base that’s called “The Rock” and across the street from where Nickerson was living were eight batteries of Patriot missiles. Thud, thud would go the missiles as they were launched, followed by an explosion off in the distance as they intercepted their targets, Scud missiles.

Sometimes the interception came closer to the base, Nickerson said, remembering one such impact exploding 100 yards away – about the distance from the bus terminal to the Midas auto service station next door.

Thirty or 40 times during the first few days they were there, the alarm would sound and the Marines would have to don gas masks and protective garb. To his relief, the alarms sounded less frequently as time went on.

As part of the 267th, Nickerson was responsible for testing equipment used to make sure the Huey and Cobra helicopters were running properly, including minimizing vibrations on the helicopters’ blades.

Nickerson was busy. He said the 267th was deployed on about 250 sorties and had the most time in the air among the Marines, including fixed-wing aircraft.

Asked about the prospects of less severe conditions and not so much combat at his next deployment in Okinawa, Japan, Nickerson said he was hopeful but pointed out growing tensions in that region.

“Just so long as North Korea doesn’t decide to go crazy,” he said.

Greeting him along with his father was Nickerson’s 7-year-old brother, John Michael Palmer. Nickerson and fellow Cpl. Eric Medina, 26, will be here until the end of the week and then they’ll return to Camp Pendleton in California for eventual deployment to Okinawa.