Sgt. MaryAnn Miller is greeted by her mom Sally -- with a huge hug. Other friends and family welcome her home with balloons and signs.
Since last May, Sgt. Miller has been on a special female engagement team in Afghanistan. She and several other Marines were in a shopping center when it was attacked by a suicide bomber. Miller now has pieces of metal lodged in her right arm and leg.
"My injuries are minor," Sgt. Miller said. "You know, there are a lot of people that made the ultimate sacrifice out there. We lost two marines. My heart goes out to them. I pray for them everyday. Those are the real heroes."
Sgt. Miller is all smiles now, but she's only several months removed from the attack. She earned an award -- the Navy and Marine Corp Achievement award -- because she carried a fellow Marine to safety, despite her own injuries.
"The stuff that I saw, it was terrible," Sgt. Miller said. "There was nothing that could have prepped me for that day, the sights that we saw, me and my brothers and sisters."
Sgt. Miller comes from a military family -- both at home and at her alma mater. She graduated from Buchanan High School in 2000.
Buchanan has lost eight service members in the war on terror. Miller was friends with Anthony Butterfield who lost his life in 2006.
Sgt. Miller was also greeted by family friend, Lori Fleenor, a former marine herself. "I'm just very proud of MaryAnn and of the work the women Marine are doing."
And after a big welcome home -- this Marine is now off to enjoy some R&R.
