PATASKALA, Ohio — The stage was set for a secret surprise.
Motorcycles were lined up, flags were posted, and family and friends were ready to go.
On Sunday afternoon in Pataskala, SMSgt. Ralph “Matt” Branson received a long-awaited welcome home.
“I was completely shocked, and when the sirens started sounding, I was like, I can’t believe this was all just for one guy,” he said.
SMSgt. Branson returned home from a seven-month deployment to southeast Asia two weeks ago, and he’s been in quarantine ever since.
“He was kind of bummed out about his homecoming because he envisioned it to be his family and friends and kids and everything at the airport, and he knew that, with the pandemic, that it was going to be different, he wasn’t going to have that hero’s welcome, so I really just wanted to show him how much he was appreciated and give him that big hero’s welcome he really deserved,” said the soldier’s girlfriend, Beverly Colleen Sherwin.
SMSgt. Branson is a member of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing and serves as the Public Affairs Superintendent. His deployment was in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
“He missed Christmas, he missed Thanksgiving,” said his mom, Janet Branson. “We had an early Thanksgiving though before he left, so it’s a big sacrifice for him and his family, everybody involved, but very proud of him.”
The festivities on Sunday were pulled off with the help of the Ohio Patriot Guard.
“What an honor to be able to show Matt how much we appreciate him and his service and everyone that serves,” said SMSgt. Branson’s sister, Renee Frey.
