DANUBE -- After nearly a year of service in Iraq and two months in hospitals recovering from the wounds he suffered there, Adam Standfuss told friends he was eager to return home and once again see plowed fields.
There were plowed fields to see as he made his way home on U.S. Highway 212 Thursday evening. But there can be no doubt that the site that caught the young Guardsman's eyes had to be the crowds that welcomed him home. Hundreds of people lined the streets of Hector, Bird Island, Olivia and and his hometown of Danube. They came to cheer for Standfuss and his escort of fire trucks and squad cars with flashing lights.
"It is awesome," said Jean Duane, a Blue Star mother from Bird Island just moments after the entourage reached the Standfuss home in Danube.
Visibly moved by the show of support, Duane said she and other organizers put the welcome home together on short notice as a way to show their appreciation to Standfuss. "This is for you," Duane said she told Standfuss.
Standfuss was injured Sept. 13 along with three other National Guardsmen with the Olivia-based Alpha Company, 1-151st Field Artillery unit in two separate incidents in Iraq. Standfuss and Guardsmen Gary Nere and Lucas Billmeier had just gotten into a Humvee when it was struck by a rocket propelled grenade.
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Standfuss was the most seriously injured: His left arm and right little finger were amputated. He also suffered shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs and had several broken bones and his right eardrum blown out, according to information his family posted on a Caring Bridges Web site after the incident.
Standfuss and his family declined requests for media interviews on Thursday, and had made it known that they wanted his homecoming to be as private as possible. It was a request that townsfolk honored at the home of his parents in Danube, but along the way they also wanted him to know about their support.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," said Keith Potter of Danube, who along with his wife Brygida waited in the 22-degree weather for the chance to greet Standfuss and his escorts. The Potter's son Adam is a good friend of Standfuss and will be deployed to Iraq in August. The couple said the show of support for Standfuss is important to all of those serving.
"I want to welcome him home. He's been through a lot," said Gene Frank of Renville as he waited for the entourage to reach Danube.
Brandon Malvin of Danube didn't need to wait. The volunteer with the Danube Fire Department was among those in the fire trucks that brought Standfuss to his home.
Malvin had kept in contact with his friend while he recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Seeing the large turn out of people eager to show their support for Standfuss came as no surprise to Frank, who said he also knows the Guardsman's family. "It seems like everybody knows everybody in a small town," he said. "They come out for one another."
