Body of Army Serviceman Returns to Michigan Today

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Leach's body returns home to Michigan this morning.

Patriot Guard Riders are to stand guard in honor of Leach's sacrifices to our country. Staging begins at 9:30 a.m. on Marketplace Boulevard near Hall Road in Chesterfield Township. A briefing is to begin at 10 a.m. and then departure for Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, where arrival honors will be held soon after. There will be a motorcycle escort to Wujek-Calcaterra Funeral Home in Sterling Heights.

Leach, a 29-year-old Ferndale resident, husband and father of an infant son, died June 26 while serving in Kandahar Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1/334th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 104th Training Division, according to the Department of Defense.

The public is welcome to line up along Marketplace north of Twisted Rooster this morning or outside the airbase and wave American flags in support.