{"id":263,"date":"2010-04-29T13:03:08","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T13:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/p=?263"},"modified":"2010-04-29T13:03:08","modified_gmt":"2010-04-29T13:03:08","slug":"brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Brave soldiers receive a hero’s welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

A troop of brave soldiers have returned home to a hero’s welcome in Edinburgh after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The members of 3rd Battalion The Rifles enjoyed an emotional reunion with their nearest and dearest, after their time based in Helmand province claimed the lives of 30 of their comrades, the Daily Record reports.

Sergeant Billy Bain was welcomed home by his seven-year-old daughter Megan, who proudly waved a flag proclaiming: "Welcome home daddy, my hero."

Similarly, Lance Corporal Stefan Rees was reunited with his wife Chantelle and son Tyler, who was born while he was 5,000 miles away in Afghanistan.

"All he’s been talking about for six months is seeing Tyler again. We’re just so excited to be together again," said Ms Rees.

Meanwhile, Chris Whittaker of the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh finally met his son Alfie last week after the volcanic ash cloud delayed his return from his tour of duty on the frontline.

Posted by Simon Williams\"ADNFCR-2867-ID-19750028-ADNFCR\"<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soldiers from Edinburgh have returned home after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBrave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Soldiers from Edinburgh have returned home after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Forces Penpals US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/04\/USArmyinIraq_2867_19750028_0_0_7885_300.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"228\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Forces Penpals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Forces Penpals\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/\",\"name\":\"Brave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/838421ba314559f45d1a97df988b553c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Brave soldiers receive a hero’s welcome\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Forces Penpals US\",\"description\":\"military penpals, military dating and support for military personnel\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/838421ba314559f45d1a97df988b553c\",\"name\":\"Forces Penpals\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94195f264eb586a9ecca2ce040bacb9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94195f264eb586a9ecca2ce040bacb9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Forces Penpals\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.forcespenpals.co.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/author\/news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Brave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Brave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US","og_description":"Soldiers from Edinburgh have returned home after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.","og_url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/","og_site_name":"Forces Penpals US","article_published_time":"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":228,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/04\/USArmyinIraq_2867_19750028_0_0_7885_300.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Forces Penpals","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Forces Penpals","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/","url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/","name":"Brave soldiers receive a hero's welcome - Forces Penpals US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00","dateModified":"2010-04-29T13:03:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/838421ba314559f45d1a97df988b553c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-receive-a-heros-welcome\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Brave soldiers receive a hero’s welcome"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/","name":"Forces Penpals US","description":"military penpals, military dating and support for military personnel","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/838421ba314559f45d1a97df988b553c","name":"Forces Penpals","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94195f264eb586a9ecca2ce040bacb9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94195f264eb586a9ecca2ce040bacb9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Forces Penpals"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.forcespenpals.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/author\/news\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/04\/USArmyinIraq_2867_19750028_0_0_7885_300.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":267,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-given-posthumous-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":0},"title":"Brave soldiers given posthumous award","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"May 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The families of two brave soldiers have been given a posthumous award.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/05\/USsoldiersinAfghanistan_2867_19756565_0_0_7016039_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":256,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-soldiers-return-home-from-afghanistan\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":1},"title":"Brave soldiers return home from Afghanistan","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"April 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Some 90 troops have been welcomed back to the UK after a tour of Afghanistan.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/04\/FrenchsoldiersinAfghanistan_2867_19742474_0_0_7017039_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":234,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/soldier-mum-reunited-with-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":2},"title":"Soldier mum reunited with son","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"April 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A brave soldier mum has been reunited with her two-year-old son after returning from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/04\/baby_2867_19718255_0_0_7038489_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":270,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/brave-uk-soldiers-reunited-with-families\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":3},"title":"Brave UK soldiers reunited with families","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"May 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Soldiers from Chester have been reunited with their families after five months serving on the frontline in Afghanistan.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/05\/USarmyinIraq_2867_19759419_0_0_7001738_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":331,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/queen-decorates-brave-soldier-with-the-george-cross-medal\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":4},"title":"Queen decorates brave soldier with the George Cross medal","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"June 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes has been recognised for his efforts in successful bomb disposal.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/06\/QueensSpeech_2867_19828008_0_0_7062419_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":186,"url":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/scottish-troops-excited-to-head-out-to-afghanistan\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":5},"title":"Scottish troops ‘excited’ to head out to Afghanistan","author":"Forces Penpals","date":"March 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Soliders have revealed that they are excited at the prospect of spending six months in Afghanistan.","rel":"","context":"In "Military News"","block_context":{"text":"Military News","link":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/news\/category\/military-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/03\/cargonet_2867_19664159_0_0_7042511_300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forcespenpals.net\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}