NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Howrah! Howrah! Ron Sachs came marching home and got a hero's welcome today after 10 months in harm's way in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne. Sachs was met at Daytona Beach International Airport just after 1:30 p.m. by his wife, Melinda, their two children and dozens of family members and friends, along with a police motors escort back to his home on the beachside. Sachs, 40, is a New Smyrna Beach cop.
The motorcade that brought Sachs marching home was greeted at the entrance by a display of military flags put up by Marine veteran Buddy Richardson, 89. Nobody was more excited than Sach's wife, Melinda.
"In a word, I'm relieved," the 37-year-old spouse said, hugging her man in the living room an hour later.
Daughter, Victoria, 11, piped in, "Finally! I'm "happy," while 8-year-old son, R. Jon, just held on to his dad's waist.
"Family means a lot," said Sachs, who served along the southeast border with Pakistan. "We always have food out, especially Thanksgiving."
Other than one leave, Sachs communicated with his family online with the help of a satellite dish that he and his fellow soldiers contributed money towards so they could see family members on the computer while talking with them.
Sachs, a master sergeant, saw three soldier friends die in a grenade attack near the end of his tour of duty and while he was thankful to come home to his family, he knows those families will always be in mourning. He didn't say too much about his missions, which were often bloody and sometimes lasting 10 or more hours.
"I did what I had to do," he said of the carnage that came with being under fire.
More often than not because of spread-thin resources, "We'd call for ir support and we didn't have any.You're on your own. You have your wits. Is it scary? You're damn right it's scary. But when something happens you don't think about it, you react."
Melinda Sachs said each day was like being in slow motion. "It's like holding your breath," she said. "His homecoming was like waiting for Santa Claus. We were very blessed when he wasn't on his missions. The video cam made it bearable."
Sachs plans to return to the New Smyrna Beach police force after Thanksgiving when his military obligations come to an end. That's a way's off for a father, husband and son who relishes being home.
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NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera King. Cutline: NSB cop and Army veteran Ron Sachs is welcomed home Wednesday from combat in Afghanistan by his wife, Melinda; daughter, Victoria, and son, J. Ron.