TAMPA (FOX 13) -
There's just nothing better than coming home.
For U.S. Marine Jonathan Gutierrez, that was finally a
reality Friday morning, when the Tampa native
made his emotional return home from war at Tampa International
Airport.
We were there to see Gutierrez's entire family – including
his wife Selena – greet him as he got off the plane. The Patriot Riders were
also there and will escort the family back home.
"I kind of want to go see a Rays game," Guiterrez said with
a smile when asked what he wanted to do first. "I never got to go see baseball
out (in Afghanistan),
so that's definitely No. 1. But first I want to go home and be with the
family."
Selena said the two married before he left, but they are
planning a more formal ceremony soon.
"We have all the invitations out, so we're close," she said.
"We're close … I'm just glad that he's home. He's here."
For Gutierrez's mother, it was different emotion.
It was a big sigh of relief.
"He's home. He's safe. Everything is good in my world right
now," she said.
Her first goal?
She's going to cook him a nice big breakfast of pancakes.
Click on the videos to watch it all as it happened live.
