Sgt. Danny Gonzalez Returns Home

He didn't make it to the front door.

Heck, he didn't even make it past the sidewalk.

Danny Gonzalez wrapped both his arms around his two children and his wife and held on for what seemed like eternity.

Because the wait to hug the ones he loved probably seemed twice that long.

His daughter, Serene, was the first to get to him. Then, Gonzalez snatched up his son, , and uttered: "I used to be able to pick you up."

See the video with this post.

After a year-long deployment, Sgt. Gonzalez returned to his family's home in the Bayview Estates neighborhood of Monday night with some help from his brothers in the .

Gonzalez— while deployed, on when his son was named a student of the month and —spent about a month in Germany after a deployment in Afghanistan. He flew in to Philadelphia Monday morning, and landed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport at 6:44 p.m. Monday aboard a United Airlines flight.

Waiting for him in the terminal was a group of five fellow firefighters. Outside: his chariot, 's "Quint" truck.

After a quick stop at the firehouse to greet more Susquehanna Hose Company volunteers, Gonzalez was escorted through Bayview Estates by a pair of fire trucks, which crept up the hill of Goforth Drive with lights flashing and horns sounding. 

At the Gonzalez House, friends and family stood waiting. They erupted into cheers and applause as the hero of the day emerged from the cab of the Quint truck.

See the video with this post.

TELL US: Do you know the Gonzalez family? Welcome Sgt. Gonzalez with a comment below.

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Editor's Note: Patch opted not to pester Gonzalez for an interview, instead, we moved aside for the local hero to get to his family.