March's security forces return from Kirkuk Published Aug. 16, 2007 By Amy Abbott 452nd Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- After a six month and 15,000-plus mile journey, one short escalator ride was all that stood between them and home. On the floor below, family members, friends and co-workers anxiously crowded the small passage area at the Los Angeles International Airport in Calif., waiting for the first glimpse of the returning veterans. Shortly after 1 p.m. on Aug. 11, six members of the 452nd Security Forces Squadron at March Air Reserve Base arrived home from Kirkuk, Iraq, to nothing less than what the squadron deemed a hero's welcome. As soon as the first troop stepped foot onto the escalator for his final descent, before reaching the arms of his loved ones, the entire room erupted with shouts and rounds of applause. "This was my third deployment, second one to Iraq, and it was the hardest," said returning security forces member Senior Airman Raul Quinonez about his six-month deployment. "I knew somebody was going to be there (to welcome us) but I just didn't know they were going to be that crazy, holding banners and everything. It was a good, heartwarming experience." He was greeted by his very emotional 10-year-old goddaughter, Berenice Mejia, who lept into his arms and cried. With Berenice wrapped around one side and clinging tightly to his neck, he leaned over and embraced his wife, Yolanda Sandoval, who is pregnant and due Sept. 3 with their first child. Other airport passengers stopped to watch as pandemonium ensued with hugs, kisses and tears of joy. "It was an experience that is hard to put into words," said returning security forces team leader, Staff Sgt. Ricardo Gadsby, who was met by his wife and seven of his nine children. "Especially since my youngest, who wasn't talking when I left, now is not shutting up," he added, laughing. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)