Story Ex Captain Steven Grogan, Photos by Lt. Brian Grogan

On Friday, February 1, 2013, one of our own came home from war.  On that night, First Lieutenant Steven R. Liguori, a member of Tally-Ho Engine Company 3, came home from war on a LIRR train from Penn Station.    Steve was finally coming home after a short stay at the Fort Dix Army Hospital for treatment of an injury he received on December 2nd when insurgents attacked his base in Afghanistan just two weeks before he was to return to the states and after a year overseas. 

On December 2nd, Steve's Forward Operating Base at Jalalabad Airfield, part of HQ, 427th Brigade Support Battalion, 27 Infantry Brigade Combat Team, was attacked by a vehicle borne IED and additional insurgents wearing suicide vests who attempted to gain entrance into the compound.  During the attack the insurgents detonated their numerous bombs.  While Lieutenant Liguori was leading his team in the battle to stop the intrusion he sustained a fractured left wrist.  Other soldiers were also injured in the attack.  No Americans were killed. 

For the past two weeks Steve, upon his return to the states, has been assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Dix while his injury will continue to be evaluated and treated.        

On Friday after his release from the hospital at Dix another soldier drove him to Penn Station where he caught the train home to Lynbrook.  While the train made its way east, Steve's family patiently paced the cold train platform as his fellow firefighters and their fire truck, Tally-Ho Engine 3, waited at the curb below.  Steve, like his father is a member of Tally-Ho.   Steve has been a firefighter since 2005 after first being a junior firefighter. 

After a fifteen minute wait the train finally came out of the darkness with its bright white headlight and approached the station on the Long Beach branch.  Everyone suddenly got excited, and Steve's mom, Liz, couldn't stop moving.  The train stopped and the doors opened.  First Lieutenant Steven R. Liguori II, in camouflaged fatigues, stepped from the train two cars up dragging his camouflaged colored baggage behind him.    Liz, husband Steven, and Steve Jr.'s siblings, Caitlin, Margaret, and Jack, ran to him.  Liz was the first to grab and hug him as the rest of the family surrounded, and then everyone hugged.   Steve had the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face.  Everyone couldn't be happier!

When Steve and the family came down from the platform they were met by the Tally-Ho firefighters who blew the siren on the fire truck to welcome him home.   The family got into the fire truck and Steve rode the officer's seat back to the firehouse on Horton Avenue where a party was planned.   As the fire truck turned from Sunrise Highway onto Horton Avenue a huge American flag hung from below the raised ladder of Lynbrook's Truck Company and a second ladder truck from the Valley Stream Fire Department.  As the Tally-Ho fire truck rode slowly under the American flag, Steve looked up at the flag, moving gently in the cold breeze, and said,  "Thanks guys,"  to his fellow firefighters.

As the fire truck came down the firehouse street a large crowd of even more family members, friends, neighbors, and firefighters, stood out in front waiting.  As Steve stepped out of the fire truck everyone cheered and then each got a chance to hug, kiss, and shake his hand.  Everyone went inside the firehouse where Steve was also given back his turnout coat.