Hometown Hero Homecoming: TSgt Daniel Madden USAF

Written by David Baker

Photos by Jennifer Baker

Today I had the distinct pleasure of being invited along on one local family's trek to welcome home a husband and father after being deployed overseas in the Middle East.

My wife, Jennifer, and I first met Jody Madden through our community Facebook group. One of her neighbors proposed decorating the whole block for Daniel's return.  Someone else suggested a cookout with hotdogs and lemonade. Eventually this became known as Project Welcome Home.

And I thought my four were a handful

To say that Jody had her hands full while Daniel was away is an understatement. You see she is pregnant with their eighth child. You read that right. They have seven children with one on the way. The oldest is Devan, he is 14, then there is Adele who is about to turn 9, Ginger and Giselle are their 7 year old twins, Benjamin is 5, Silas is 3, and Fletcher is 15 months old. As if her hands weren't full enough, she home-schools them. To their credit the kids are extremely well behaved, with the older kids lending a hand with the younger ones.

"This deployment was one of the hardest, despite the fact that he was only gone for two months," she said. "Two of the kids and I had trips to the Emergency Room, and my husband accidentally took the iPad that had all of my son's college text books on it." 

Devan - a real-life Doogie Howser

When we arrived at March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley I had a chance to talk to Devan a little more. He definitely has the confidence and vocabulary of someone many years older. I asked him about being in college at such a young age. "I graduated from High School when I was thirteen. I plan to graduate from college by the time I'm 18."  His mom later told me he takes music classes at the college, but is working on an engineering degree.  When I congratulated him on his achievement he said, "It's easy. You don't have to be smart. You just have to know what to do and when to do it." I've worked with the Boy Scouts of America for many years and I can't remember the last time I spoke to a 14 year old who could convey himself in such a grown-up way.

Waiting for Daddy

As we we walked onto the tarmac, one of the officers from the Base pointed to a plane taxiing in and told us that was the one we were here for. We walked up and waited patiently for the Customs Agent to finish checking in the plane. Then the service men and women began to exit the plane. Soon the kids all started to squeal "Daddy!" and "There he is!" He came down the steps and it was hugs all around. At one point he turned at walked back towards the plane to help unload some of the larger duffel bags. When the younger kids looked confused Devan said "He's going back on deployment. This was just a quick visit." Of course Jody squashed that idea quickly, saying "He'll be right back." I was impressed that there was a normal teenage brother hidden inside this prodigy after all.

Greeting the neighbors for Project Welcome Home

After giving the family a quick tour of the plane we got on a shuttle back to the Base. No one said a word to Daniel about what was waiting for him back home, so he was pleasantly surprised when we got home. Even Jody hadn't seen the full extent of the decorating done by the neighbors before we left for the Base. Several members of the Heritage Lake Lions Club showed up as well as many from around the community. There was laughter and gratitude all around. One neighbor even made a souvenir quilt for them. I asked Devan how he felt about no longer being the man of the house. He raised his arms and said "Hallelujah!"

Welcome home Technical Sargeant Daniel Madden