Christmas came early for the 3,000 people of Hawthorne, and for a wounded soldier who returned home for the first time on Saturday after losing both legs in a mortar attack in Afghanistan earlier this year.
Spc. Timothy Hall received a rousing welcome from more than 200 friends and family at the Hawthorne Airport with chants of his first name and clapping, while others waved miniature and large American flags.
Well-wishers made the two-hour drive from cities as far away as Reno, Carson City and Fallon.
His parents, stepfather Eric Hamrey and mother Tammy, greeted him with kisses and hugs.
"It's good to come home today. It helps me out a lot," said Hall. "It lets me know they support me a lot more. They are not worried what I look like or how I will act. They're just happy for me to be here."
While Hall was recovering from his wounds and undergoing therapy, one of his Christmas wishes was to return to Hawthorne for the holidays.
Tammy Hamrey was relieved to have her son home.
"It's been a long day. I am so excited to have him home. It's been a long haul. I've got him for two-and-a-half weeks with him and will cherish every moment of it."
Hall, who was assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion out of Bamburg, Germany, was injured in a mortar attack in June. He eventually had both legs amputated, his left leg up to his groin area and his right leg up to his hip. He also lost part of his pelvic bone.
Since June, both Nevada senators - Harry Reid and John Ensign - along with Nevada Congressman Dean Heller have visited Hall. Ensign also awarded Hall with his Purple Heart and a United States Flag that flew over the Capitol.
Hall also met National Football League quarterback Drew Brees along with the rest of the New Orleans Saints when they visited the White House for winning the Super Bowl.
Air Compassion for Veterans/Wounded Warriors, a nonprofit charity that provides free medical air transportation for wounded veterans and their adversely affected family members, arranged the flight. Omni Air Transport Ambulance donated the flight from Washington, D.C., with an AeroCare Medical Transport team attending to Hall.
Brittany Canady, one of Hall's closest friends from high school, fixed her eyes on Hall as he was carried off the jet on a gurney. Earlier in the week, Canady flew back to Washington to spend time with Hall and then accompanied him to Hawthorne along with his father, Russell Hall Sr.
"He was getting really excited, super excited," said Canady, describing her friend's feelings when the jet made its approach to the Hawthorne Airport. Canady considered it an honor to be with Hall as he returned home for two-and-half-weeks. Hall leaves Jan. 5 for Washington, D.C., where he will resume his therapy at the Walter Reed Medical Center.
After being escorted by the Mineral County Sheriff's Department and fire trucks from the city of Hawthorne and the Hawthorne Army Depot, Hall caught a glimpse of his newly remodeled house. In order for Hall to access Hawthorne home, volunteers remodeled the Hamrey's house with wider halls, a larger bathroom and a bigger bedroom.
Since July, Eric Hamrey said many the community held many fundraisers to raise money for building supplies and for air transportation to and from Washington, D.C.
Hall said his mother told him the house was being remodeled. Asked what he thought of the remodeling, Hall thanked his parents.
"It just reminds me of how good a family I have," he said.
Although Hall may have two - perhaps three more years - of therapy remaining, he is thinking about his future and how he may want to give something back to Hawthorne. "I actually want to go back to school and become a counselor and come back to Hawthorne," he said.
