Huntington Hero Returns Home
James Byler received a hero's welcome upon returning to his Huntington home on December 23 after losing both his legs and the pinky fingers on each hand in a bomb blast while on patrol in Afghanistan.
Mr. Byler, a 2003 Huntington High School graduate, is a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S Marines. While serving as an infantry platoon leader with the Third Battalion, 5th Marines out of Camp Pendleton, California, the courageous soldier stepped backwards while on patrol in the town of Sangin and a buried IED exploded with devastating consequences.
The Huntington grad, who has been awarded a Purple Heart, was brought to safety in a wheelbarrow by members of his platoon. After being cared for in U.S. military hospitals in Afghanistan and Europe, Lt. Byler was transferred to the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland and later fitted for prosthetic legs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
The 25 year old, who is a graduate of Purdue University, was welcomed at Long Island MacArthur Airport by a Marine Corps Honor Guard, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Legislator Jon Cooper, among other dignitaries, and a large crowd of supporters. A Huntington High School brass quintet helped make for a festive airport environment.
Lt. Byler was whisked home in a limousine with a police escort. A crowd of cheering Huntingtonians lined Horizon Drive for his arrival. He earned an Eagle Scout award while a member of Boy Scout Troop 78. Current troop members were among those in the crowd. The Huntington Blue Devil marching band was on the scene, too. Three local fire departments raised their apparatus and draped huge American flags over the roadway, creating an impressive display.
"It was an amazing night," said Martha Ironman, a Huntington High School nurse and president of the Band Parents' Assn. I would say there were easily 400 or more people who came out to show their support for James! He was very touched by the whole event, and posted on his Facebook that the whole homecoming took his breath away!"