It Takes One to Know One

What are you afraid to do? That’s easy—quit my job. Who is affected if you don’t do what you are afraid to do? Ten individuals or groups appeared almost by magic. z Reading over her list, Sharon Hyland Keyser ’02 knew what she had to do.

By the end of the day, her resignation letter written, Sharon set off to change the world. It exceeded even her wildest expectations.

More than just welcoming soldiers home, Sharon is a staunch supporter of our troops.

July 4, 2007

“I sat with my family at the Independence Day Parade in our hometown of Pottstown and watched all the local groups walk by. When the veterans walked through, I noticed an older gentleman marching proudly in the front. He had to be in his late seventies or early eighties and I remember he had the whitest of hair.

A World War II vet, I thought. He was wearing his original sailor’s uniform from his time in the US Navy. After more than 50 years, he could still fit into it! He marched up front with a huge American flag and the way he carried it, it was as if he was bestowed the greatest honor of his life. I could tell he carried that flag for all it stood for: freedom, honor, courage, and the lives of so many young men and women.

Behind him marched several other veterans, all wearing their jackets and covers from their respective Marine Corps Leagues and VFW Posts. But it was who marched behind these WW II and Korea veterans that made me stop: Vietnam vets. You could still see the sadness in their eyes, they marched with their fellow vets but it was a very different march. All I could think was, ‘Shame on us that we let our heroes from an unpopular war come home to nothing.’

As current military members followed with trucks and field artillery weapons, “my thoughts turned to my [then] fiancée, Spc. Ian W. Keyser who is serving in Afghanistan as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He is expected home for some rest and recreation in October and we wanted to create a welcome home for him that could mirror a Super Bowl parade.

“…What about other service members? What would they come home to? It was then I decided no veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would come home to the same treatment our Vietnam vets came home to.” (www.aheros-welcome.org)

And that is how “A Hero’s Welcome” was born.

At first Sharon did it all in addition to working her full-time job in construction sales. As her idea took shape, she found even with a flexible schedule, she was exhausted.

In August, she attended her third Tony Robbins motivational seminar. It was there the questions were raised—and answered.

“It was scary giving up a good-paying job,” Sharon admitted. But there are no regrets.

Throwing herself into making A Hero’s Welcome a success, Sharon found herself soliciting donations, finding sponsors, recruiting volunteers, meeting with families, and welcoming heroes. Not to mention planning her own wedding! She and Ian were married October 24.

Her plan was to get firmly established in the Philadelphia area. Then after the home base was set-up, running smoothly, and her methods refined, Sharon would go national with her organization. But then something happened.

In November, she called into the Glenn Beck radio show. A strong supporter of our troops, Glenn remarked on how sad it was that our service men and women were no longer considered heroes. “I just had to call to say I wasn’t letting that happen,” Sharon said. In the course of the conversation, she mentioned her work to give our military the welcome they deserved regardless of politics.

Learning Sharon had a welcome scheduled, Beck sent a crew to film the soldier’s welcome home ceremony. The segment aired several times on his Headline News Network show. The result was astounding. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1oTwrt_Fsc)

People from across the country wanted to know how they could welcome their area heroes. How could they start a group of their own. If Sharon was busy before, now she was inundated. In two short months, she completely surpassed where she hoped to be in two years.

“Here I was, just a few months into establishing my own organization,” recalled Sharon. “I planned to have all the kinks worked out before I expanded. With the Glenn Beck Show that all went out the window. Now we are learning together.”

Just what constitutes A Hero’s Welcome?

The answer varies with the individual. But the basics stay the same.

Sharon or Charlie Becker, a Vietnam vet and one of her volunteers, interview family, friends, and loved ones about the hero.

They are especially interested in what the hero missed the most and what the hero can’t wait to do once they are home. These are often very simple things—going out with friends for a cold beer or eating some local foods they missed like Philly cheesesteaks or Wawa iced tea.

Then Sharon and her corps of volunteers go about doing their best to make that happen. First on the agenda is having a welcome committee meet the plane. With banners and American flags, the group gets the crowd cheering. Even strangers will stay to greet the returning hero.

The Liberty USO, in partnership with A Hero’s Welcome is on hand. In addition to balloons, they have goodie bags for each of the returning soldiers filled with local snacks and surprises. There is also a rest station, if needed, for the family there in the airport.

After the hugs and greetings are over, members of the Patriot Guard Riders form a motorcade and escort the hero home.

A few days later, after some of the excitement has died down, Sharon’s team goes back to the hero’s home and fulfills the second part of the welcome—going out for whatever was missed the most.

Sharon is constantly working to improve her welcomes. And her list of sponsors, partners, and donors continues to grow. Recently she was able to arrange for the cheerleaders from the Philadelphia Soul arena football team to take part. One of her favorites is getting school children involved and having heroes visit classrooms to answer questions about their military service.

The enthusiasm Sharon has for her heroes is evident in her voice as she talks about the project. Does she regret giving up a six-figure income and exhausting her life savings? “No way! It’s for the troops.”

Today there are more than 100 areas with volunteers to welcome home our troops. And Sharon is more than happy to have people contact her about their own heroes, either through her website (http://www.aheros-welcome.org/), e-mail Sharon@aheros-welcome.org, or telephone 484-679-1717.

Those who support our troops volunteer to join family members to welcome home a returning hero at the Philadelphia airport. Banners, American flags, and smiles are in abundance and entice passers-by to stop and join the celebration. When the hero is in sight, they clap, cheer, and let everyone know why they are there. One of the most ardent fans is Sharon who is there for the welcomes, the troop rallies (right), and is the person who makes all this possible.