Thanksgiving is all about family, and this year, Corporal Jordan Pugliese of Grayslake, Illinios, was blessed to be surrounded by his extended family. Corporal Pugliese, a triplet with two triplet sisters, returned home on Thanksgiving to be welcomed by a motorcycle escort of fifteen flag-bearing members of the Illinois Patriot Guard, his sisters Caitlyn and Brittany, and his father Jim with his bride-to-be Lisa.

"It’s amazing to be welcomed home like this," Jordan said to the press, though he seemed to be exhausted after a long flight from the military base in Twenty-Nine Palms in California, where he’s been stationed since his return in October from a tour of Duty in Afghanistan. The Corporal was on a three-day leave to attend Jim's wedding, which was to be held the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The Patriot Guard performed a brief welcoming ceremony for the Corporal, before escorting him, led by police squad cars and fire trucks, to his father's home in Grayslake, where preparations were underway for an extra-special Thanksgiving dinner with over fifty guests.

The Corporal's father, Jim, was visibly moved to have his son with him again. He told the press, "This is a very special Thanksgiving for me. We purposely held off our wedding so that my son could attend it. We’re very blessed that he went overseas to serve his country and came home healthy. Jim, the manager of a jewelry store on Chicago's North Side, and Lisa, executive director of Lake Country Affordable Housing, had been dating for one and a half years before they decided to tie the knot. The couple was married on Saturday at the home of Lisa’s parents in Libertyville.

After the wedding, Corporal Pugliese returned to his military base, where he will serve till August, before enrolling at Northern Illinois University.