GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Felipe Burgos greeted his son, Army Sgt. Felipe Omar Burgos, as the soldier returned to Maui yesterday with his wife to visit his family during his recovery.
Maui gives hero’s welcome
to soldier wounded in IraqSgt. Felipe Burgos returns home
with thoughts of comrades
KAHULUI >> Wounded Iraqi War veteran Sgt. Felipe Omar Burgos returned to Maui yesterday to a hero's welcome, with some 40 people greeting him at Kahului Airport, some holding signs saying, "God Bless America" and "Maui's Omar Hero."
Burgos, 24, a Maui High School graduate, said he felt glad to be home. "I could even taste the air. It's sweet," he said.
Burgos, who will be spending about a month on Maui during his recovery, said he did not feel right to be home while soldiers in his Army platoon were still in Iraq.
"I got 18 other brothers in Iraq. They're out there and I'm going to spend time with my family, and it doesn't feel right," he said.
Burgos, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, was critically wounded on April 4. A bullet punctured his left lung while he and other soldiers were securing the town of Samawah, south of Baghdad, and protecting a supply route.
He will be attending Memorial Day services at the Veterans Cemetery in Makawao at 11 a.m. Monday and an early afternoon public picnic at Keokea Park in Kula.
The Republican Party of Maui paid about $2,000 for the air fare for Burgos and his wife, Sherene, who live near Fort Bragg, N.C.
Party official John Henry said the Old Lahaina Luau has donated five luau tickets.
Sherene Burgos said her family members, who live on the Big Island, plan to visit Maui to see her and her husband.
Once he fully recovers, he intends to try to join the Army's elite fighting force, the Green Berets.
Sherene said she will support whatever decision her husband makes.
Burgo's father Felipe, 52, a retired Army sergeant, said he was touched by the welcome, something he did not have when he returned from fighting in Vietnam about 30 years ago.
The senior Burgos said the experience of celebrating his son's return has helped to give him closure.
"This is very good for him," he said. "You could say this closes a chapter in my life."
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