BRIMFIELD - The colony of "Support Our Troops" signs at this back-road home in Brimfield means more than just a show of patriotism.
It means a welcome home for one son who is likely feeling more thankful than most today. Spc. Michael R. Coan, 21, is back for two weeks from Iraq, where he has been serving since August.
"It was great," he said of his welcome, which included banners strung by well-wishers over the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 20.
Coan, a soft-spoken man, tends to downplay the importance of what he is doing in Iraq, as a medic for the 21st Infantry of the 172nd Striker Brigade Combat Team, Alpha Company.
His days have been spent patrolling the streets of Mosul, a city of 3 million people located in the northern part of the country. Outside of one attack by insurgents early in his service there, in which three wounded soldiers survived, Coan said it's been a largely uneventful patrol. [...]
Brimfield soldier thankful to return home for holiday
Link to Full ArticleBy WILLIAM SWEET, Masslive.com
BRIMFIELD - The colony of "Support Our Troops" signs at this back-road home in Brimfield means more than just a show of patriotism.
It means a welcome home for one son who is likely feeling more thankful than most today. Spc. Michael R. Coan, 21, is back for two weeks from Iraq, where he has been serving since August.
"It was great," he said of his welcome, which included banners strung by well-wishers over the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 20.
