East Bay Troops Honored While Home For Holidays

A ceremony at the Dublin Civic Center Monday night honored East Bay troops from Dublin, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo and Blackhawk who came home for the holidays.

"It's good to know people are home welcoming us back home," said Marine Corps Private First Class Matthew Mahone.

"It's nice getting honored," Marine Corps Private First Class Jordon Dorrance said. "It makes you feel good about what we're doing and just makes you know people back home are thinking about you."

Mike Conklin, founder of the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation, started the event five years ago.

"My brothers had gone into Vietnam. No one knew who they were when they left. No one knew who they were when they came back," Conklin said. "I just decided I wasn't going to let that continue to happen"

Conklin said he understands the emotional stress. His three sons are Army Rangers. One was wounded in Iraq.

"This has been almost 10 years for my family and multiple deployments and you still build up some armor. We're all vulnerable and it doesn't get easier," Conklin said.

Army Sergeant Pete Sullivan, who's been deployed to Iraq three times, said he is happy to be home with his pregnant wife.

"I fell really honored that there's actually people that are really thinking about us," Sgt. Sullivan said.

"To have him gone for 12 months and only see him for 2 weeks out of the year, it's truly a blessing to have him here and hold him as much as I can," said his wife, Chantee Sullivan.

Monday night, it was a whole community reaching out.

'It's the community, it's other veterans in the area, everyone saying, 'We care,' " said San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson.

More than 100 local troops have been honored since this welcome home for the holidays program began. The foundation gives scholarships to military men and women who have been severely injured in service. They currently provide scholarships to 60 service members across the nation, Conklin said.