Families rejoice the return of loved ones

As soon as she saw the bus emerge from the dusky mid-afternoon sky, Houma’s Heather Golmon began to feel an uneasy feeling forming in her stomach.

“I was nervous, and on the way here, I actually got butterflies,” she said. “I felt like I was going to throw up, honestly.”

But as soon as the giant transportation vehicle came to a stop and the doors were thrust open, Golmon’s nervous energy turned into a peaceful state of relaxation when a familiar face turned the corner and met her anxious eyes with a quick and bright smile.

The journey was over, and the waiting had officially come to an end.

Her husband, and the father of her seven children, Micah Golmon was finally back home, dropping his bags to embrace her and the kids with a giant hug and a kiss.

“To feel his arms around me again, yes, that’s great,” the wife said. “There’s no way to describe that feeling.”

Micah Golmon agreed with his wife’s sentiments and said (while holding his 1-year-old child) that the warmth of each hug on this day are what made all of the lonely nights alone in the desert bearable.

“Heather obviously had the tougher job out of this deal here having the seven children to deal with when I was away. She’s the champ here,” the soldier said. “I’m excited to come home and support our family here and go on with the rest of our lives. These hugs, in and of themselves, that’s worth the fight to me.”

Family and a faith in God – that’s the formula that Golmon said pulled him through the struggle.

“I draw a lot of strength through my faith in Christ,” he said. “Prayer helps a lot. I said it during the last deployment. I don’t understand how a lot of guys can go on the streets risking literally their lives on a daily basis without God in their lives to have that level of peace. … When I had those times where I wasn’t able to communicate with my wife, I’d pray. That’s what brought things through for me.”

In total, five Tri-parish soldiers from Houma’s Charlie Company and Thibodaux’s Delta Company returned from the Middle East Thursday.

Joining Golmon were Houma natives and brothers Eddie and Caleb Heims, Thibodaux native Randy Hicks and Houma native Henry Adams.

All of the soldiers were returning after a stint in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

For the Heims brothers, they said the warm feeling of safety began as soon as the bus got into the Houma area, and they were able to see the usual landmarks that mark officially being home.

“It felt so good even before the first steps off the bus, but just being here from Houma, seeing things out the window that I was familiar with, that felt really good to me,” Eddie said. “It’s like home sweet home.”

Whereas most people go to, then return from Iraq alone, the Heims were together during their stay in the foreign land.

Having their lifelong brotherhood is what they say kept them going when times got tough.

“Every time I needed something, when I needed a little pep talk or anything, seeing my brother going through the same things as me was pretty good motivation for me,” Caleb said. “Seeing that he could do it, too, that helped me a lot.”

But even with family in Iraq, being able to see the other family members wasn’t so bad, either.

“I’m getting butterflies in my stomach to see my two baby girls again,” Eddie said, who is the father of two girls and is also a husband.

While plenty of the returning soldiers already with a family and children to come home to, one in the group is looking to finally get a chance to start a family of his own. Hicks got married three days before being deployed to Baghdad.

“We’re finally going to get a chance to start our marriage,” said Randy Hicks’ wife, Jacqueline. “I’m just so happy he’s finally here.”

The husband agreed and said spending some time being a husband is something that’s long overdue. “I missed being home,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this. … I couldn’t wait to get back home and see my wife.”

Local soldier Micah Golmon kisses one of his seven children after returning home from Iraq. Golmon was one of five Tri-parish natives to return home this week. CASEY GISCLAIR