Captain Steve Tomaszewski is from Hoffman Estates. His family threw him a party to welcome him back on Monday night.
Capt. Tomaszewski and his two brothers all serve in the Air Force, and this week will be the first time that they have all been together for Christmas in nearly five years.
"I haven't seen my brother since his deployment. Our little brother comes in tomorrow, so we're happy to spend the holidays together," said Senior Airman Kyle Tomaszewski, U.S. Air Force.
He told his dad that he didn't want any recognition after completing his tour in Afghanistan. He was just happy to be home. But his dad has been organizing tributes to returning veterans for nearly nine years now.
He does about 100 of them every year, so you better believe his son, who spent six months as an intelligence officer assisting Special Forces in Afghanistan, would be saluted as well.
"Some of the guys I was working with, not everybody made it home. I am absolutely blessed and it was a gift of God that I'm back here in ," said Capt. Tomaszewski.
"He insisted on not having anything, but when I talk to most of the guys in the VFW who were in Vietnam, they said 'No one shook my hand.' And tonight, the people who showed up, they're the soldier's family," said Steve Tomaszewski, father.
"It's wonderful to be home for Christmas, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Capt. Tomaszewski.
Capt. Tomaszewski is a 2004 graduate of Fremd High School. The mayor of Hoffman Estates read a proclamation declaring Tuesday, Dec. 24 as his day -- not a bad honor for Christmas Eve.
