A real-life hero got a once-in-a-lifetime surprise at Savannah International Airport Tuesday afternoon when he reached the foyer to find himself face-to-face with a brass quartet, his brothers-in-arms and most important, his wife and daughters.

Staff Sgt. Pablo Barrios, an intelligence Marine with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533, returned home from an approximate year long deployment as an individual augment with an overwatch training brigade operating in Iraq.

Barrios suffered injuries when struck by a directional improvised explosive device while manning a machine gun turret in Basra, Iraq, Feb. 24. The explosion damaged his lungs, kidneys and both arms. After six weeks of surgery and rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., Barrios finally headed home.

With a good grip on his daughter, Barrios expressed that he was eager to return home to his family, friends and fellow Marines. “Without their motivation and support, I don't know how I would have made it through.”

Barrios' wife received a phone call detailing her husband's injuries, February 25. Upon his return stateside, Monique Barrios packed up their two daughters and rushed to her husband's side.

Monique explained that although the news she received