Community celebrates veteran’s return

An eight-year U.S. Army veteran received the ultimate welcome home Saturday afternoon as approximately 100 family members, friends and strangers gathered at The Gardens at Westgreen to greet him and thank him for his service.

The Southeast Patriot Guard Riders, with the help of the Westlake Fire Department, organized the welcome home ride for John Moore, 30, of Katy, who has more than 13 documented injuries from his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I was shocked,” Moore said. “I couldn’t believe how many people were there to support me. It was very overwhelming.”

“It made him proud that there were people there who were grateful for what he did,” wife Rebecca Moore said. “For him, it’s, ‘It’s my job, and I did it.’ He just kind of shrugs his shoulders and says, ‘I did what I did.’”

Serving His Country

Moore graduated from St. Pius High School in 2000 and served as a firefighter and EMT with the Westlake Fire Department during and after high school.

“He was at the fire academy when 9/11 hit, and he wanted to do something different and serve his country,” Rebecca Moore said. “He finally decided to do it in 2003. He didn’t tell his family. He just came home one day and said, ‘Hey, I’m in the army.’ That was quite a shock for them.”

Moore was assigned as a combat engineer, and in January 2006, he received his first deployment to Iraq, where he remained stationed until February 2007.

“He was in several IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) explosions and was knocked unconscious,” his mother Nancy Moore said, “and we found out he ended up with more traumatic injuries than we thought.”

Moore sustained three brain injuries and severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After serving overseas in Germany, he was stationed in Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio and then Fort Drum in New York, where he received medical treatment for his injuries.

“He was actually told by a doctor that he couldn’t be deployed again, but he was deployed anyway,” Rebecca Moore said.

“He lost his best friend is Ramadi, Iraq, and that’s what made him sign up for another tour and be a medic,” Nancy Moore said.

In January 2009, Moore was deployed to Afghanistan, where we remained stationed until December 2009.

“He was blown up several more times,” Rebecca Moore said. “He was very courageous and earned his Combat Medical Badge saving some of his guys’ lives.”

Moore withdrew from active duty in March 2010 to seek medical treatment for his brain injury and PTSD.

“To finish his eight-year commitment, they called him to report for duty, and we had to explain the situation of him living with his parents and us having to take him to the VA (Veterans Affairs) Hospital,” Rebecca Moore said.

“He couldn’t remember how to do it anymore, and we fought with the Department of the Army for four months before we received orders to report to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio,” she said.

A Hero’s Welcome Home

After 18 months of treatment, Moore and his wife returned to Katy Friday night and were surprised by the group of people Saturday afternoon.

“When we were in Fort Drum, we went through lot of difficulty so we’re not used to having any support whatsoever,” Rebecca Moore said. “His family has always been supportive, and we received some support at the Brooke Army Medical Center.

“But to see so many people – many who don’t have any connection to him coming here to shake his hand or give him a hug or thank him for his service – made me proud to be an American,” she said.

The Southeast Patriot Guard Riders is part of a Texas and Louisiana organization that “stands for those who stood for us.”

“We just want to thank him for his service and let him know how much it means to us,” said senior ride captain Corky Hamilton of Dickinson. “A lot of people take it for granted, and this is just one way for us to tell him thank you.”

The organization has 2,500 members in the local chapter and 300,000 in the Texas-Louisiana region.

“Initially, we assembled to honor the families of fallen soldiers,” Hamilton said. “Our main mission was to attend funeral services of fallen American heroes and provide support for their families.

“We realized that there are many heroes who risk their lives, and we thought why honor them when they’re fallen? We decided to expand our services to welcome them home and show them that the American public is behind them,” he said.

For the Westlake Fire Department, Moore’s homecoming is a little more personal.

“John was still in high school when he worked for us, and in June 3, 2003, he notified me that he would be resigning so he could enter the army,” fire chief Mark Palmer said. “We kept in contact, and when he came home for the break, he would swing by the station.

“John’s dad told me he was coming home, and I told him I would like to be a part of that,” Palmer said. “He told me about this motorcycle group and told me to contact Corky, and that’s when Corky informed me about what they were doing for John.”

Palmer said the fire department has a “Wall of Honor” with photos of former members and relatives currently serving in the military.

“They stay on that wall until they return safely, and at the beginning of each one of our business meetings, we open with a prayer for the protection of our soldiers,” Palmer said. “It’s great to seem him back home safe. I did invite him to start back where he left off.”

As for Moore and his wife, the couple plans to settle in the Katy and Houston area.

“In February, we’re going to start being involved with the VA to continue his treatment,” Rebecca Moore said, “and he wants to go through this special program to go to college and do jobs with his types of injuries.”

She said their main focus will be getting him better.

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