May 17, 2009 7:44 am US/Eastern
Soldier Returns To Hero's Homecoming On L.I.
HOLBROOK, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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US Ranger Chris Levi, 26, and native of Holbrook, felt the love and respect of an entire town that turned out to honor his service and his sacrifice.
CBS
It was "home sweet home" for a soldier from Long Island Saturday.
He suffered terrible injuries serving his country in Iraq, but now he has returned to a grateful community.
A hometown hero is home at last.
"It feels awesome," Army Corporal Chris Levi says.
The 26-year-old, a US Ranger and native of Holbrook, feels the love and respect of an entire town that turned out to honor his service and his sacrifice.
"I didn't know there were this many people on Long Island," Levi said.
While fighting in Iraq last year, Corporal Levy's Humvee was decimated by an explosive device.
Levy lost both of his legs from above the knee down, and some of the use of his right arm. He now walks with the aid of prosthetic legs.
But through all of his injuries, Levi would not let his spirit falter.
Now, after a year of multiple surgeries, rehab and recovery at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., Chris is back home, in the loving arms of his parents and the warm embrace of his town.
"I knew when I signed up what I was fighting for," Levi says. "But this right here is what I was fighting for."
The locals, thanks to $100,000 in donations, have completely re-done the downstairs of his parents' home, filling it with amenities so that Chris will have a comfortable place to live.
"I mean, a year ago we thought the world was over," Chris' mother, Deborah, said. "And now, it's just beginning."
A community gave back to a man who gave so much for his country.
As for what's next, Levi's dad says his son would like to go to college and study business and politics.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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