...Another Just Over | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

The 34-year-old Massachusetts native, on his way home after four months of duty as an Air Force weather forecaster in Qatar, looked a little overwhelmed.

"What was I expecting? Nothing like this, that's for sure," said Sgt. Romkey, as he knelt to accept a purple bead necklace from a little girl with the Stars and Stripes daubed on both cheeks. "This is amazing to me. Just amazing."

Most of the roughly 60 supporters were members of Arundel Christian Church in Severn, which has been gathering volunteers to greet troops at BWI Thurgood Marshall for the last two months. Others, like Duke Case of Millersville, were non-members who wanted to join the church's efforts.

"I'm here with about eight batches of chocolate chip cookies and four batches of brownies," said Mr. Case, a Navy veteran who served in the Korean War.

He greeted each passing soldier, sailor, airman or Marine enthusiastically, offering his treats in plastic bags.

"Our church values the staggering price being paid for freedom," said the Rev. Brian Hamilton, pastor of Arundel Christian Church. "We've got hearts full of gratitude for that, and we want the troops to know it."

Very few soldiers turn out to be from the county or even Maryland, but he said that's the whole point.

"Every time, they couldn't believe we were here for them. But we are," the Rev. Hamilton said.

The church is neither the first nor the only group to greet troops at BWI; the nonprofit United Service Organizations maintains an office at BWI and has welcomed troops before; the local Republican Party also organized a welcoming party Saturday.

But all this support comes as public backing for the war continues a steady decline. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted early this month, 65 percent of Americans oppose the war in Iraq vs. 34 percent who continue to support it. About a year ago, the same poll showed 54 percent opposed to 38 percent in support, with 8 percent undecided.

"I'm sure if you were to poll our church, you'd find people who oppose the war," the Rev. Hamilton said. "But they support our troops."

For the roughly 200 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines debarking at BWI on Saturday, that message was audible in the form of frenzied cheers, which erupted the moment they stepped through the customs door into the terminal.

Applause and roars of approval exploded around them as red, white and blue signs that read "Thank you for your sacrifice" and "Welcome home" bobbed above the crowd.

Then the troops were mobbed by elementary school children from the church's youth group, who offered up Hershey's Kisses with wide eyes, as if they were greeting movie stars.

The troops, most of whom were pushing heavy dollies loaded with duffel bags and suitcases, made a valiant attempt to accept every handshake, bottle of water and bag of cookies that was offered. Some looked almost embarrassed and moved quickly through the crowd, smiling and waving back. Others paused to thank their well-wishers.

"It's a wonderful feeling to have people waiting for you, especially when your family can't be there," said Maj. Bill Santmyer, a Marine judge advocate general from Rochester, N.Y.

Memories of the way troops were treated during the Vietnam War made Saturday's homecoming all the more precious, said Sgt. Kevin McGreevy, a New Jersey resident who was returning from four months in the United Arab Emirates.

"My dad's a Vietnam vet," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. McGreevy as his 6-year-old son, Tiernan, hugged his knee. "He told me when he came back, people spit at him. It wasn't until he got back from the (Gulf War), and got to march in New York City, that he felt he'd really gotten his homecoming."

His wife, Janice, teary-eyed, hugged him tightly.

"It just touches my heart to see this, what these people are doing," she said. "It means so much to the (troops). It means the world to them."

It's a message that's clearly getting through.

"I don't know about political views and things like that, but I know that support for the Marines, sailors and airmen has been non-stop," said Cpl. Paul Robbins, Jr., a Marine returning from nine months of duty in Ramadi, Iraq.

"We get letters, we get care packages … complete strangers just send us the most amazing things."

The next step for Arundel Christian is to get county businesses involved, by providing coupons or gift certificates that the welcoming parties can give to the returning troops, the Rev. Hamilton said.

"I think it's gone great and it's only going to grow," he said. "We're going to keep this up as long as we can.

For information on participating in Arundel Christian Church's welcoming program, call the Rev. Brian Hamilton at 410-969-8300.