Shepherd welcomed home Marine Cpl. Robert Richards from his second tour of duty in Iraq with a parade down Wright Avenue Wednesday. Accompanied by his wife, Suzy, and their daughter, Allison, Richards got the kind of welcome that veterans of an older generation might only have dreamed about.

Members of the Shepherd Police, veterans groups and an escort of more than 30 motorcycles led the way down Wright Avenue to welcome the 2001 Shepherd High School graduate back home.



First-graders from Shepherd Main Elementary School waved flags as the parade moved past the stately old houses on Wright Avenue toward downtown. There, at the village park across from the grain elevator, the village president welcomed the Marine home, members of the Central Michigan Concert Band played patriotic music, and Richards reminded people of his comrades who didn't make it home.
Richards is scheduled to return for a third tour in January.