Sgt. Joey Jones, right, talks to Jordan Biggerstaff, left, and Logan Biggerstaff at the American Legion in Dalton, Ga. during a welcoming ceremony Saturday.DALTON, Ga. – Joyce Jones barely could wait for the car door to open to hug her son, a Marine sergeant who arrived home Saturday for the first time since an August bomb blast in Afghanistan took his legs.
Surrounded by a crowd of more than 70 well-wishers and half a dozen news cameras, the only thing missing from Joey Jones’ arrival at the American Legion Post 112 in Dalton was a red carpet.
His mother clutched Jones around the shoulders as cameras flashed, the crowd applauded and someone yelled, “Welcome home, Joey.”
Jones’ girlfriend, Meg Garrison, who has helped him during his recuperation in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., helped unload his wheelchair.