Marine Homecoming

Lead-in:

A local marine is back in the states tonight after a six-month tour of Afghanistan.
He left right after graduating from high school...and his family welcomed him home with balloons and banners at R-D-U.
Michael Handy reports.

Package:

Nats from mother: "I can't stand this."

Teron Ellis's mother waits...she's been waiting for this day for six months...her son is finally coming home.

"A lot of prayers have been sent up, and with me having surgery next week, it's important that he's here, and that I have my family support."

Teron says he's thankful for all the prayers.
He spent the last six months hopping around the world from the Middle East to Afghanistan.

"A lot of danger...it was definitely a new experience. It's like being in the jungle, and the jungle is like being at the zoo with no fences."

Teron's father encouraged his son to join the marines...but when duty called him to Afghanistan...dad got scared.

"When he got the orders to go to Afghanistan...now that was pretty devastating for us. Now, I;m pretty strong, and I held it in, but I was worried the entire time he was gone."

Teron isn't the only one coming home tonight.
Andrea Taylor spent the last year and a half on a Navy training mission in Japan.
Now she's back in the states for a few weeks...and mom's got the celebration planned.

"We're going to have some very good food that she's missed. That's one thing we're going to do...celebrate by eating a lot."

Stand-up: Andrea and Teron may be home for now...but the war on terror isn't over, yet. In fact, Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne is on it's way to Afghanistan right now. Reporting at R-D-U, Michael Handy, A-B-C 11 Eyewitness News."