Woodridge Welcomes Thomas Novotny Home from Afghanistan

To watch a video of Novotny's homecoming, click the image on the right. 

Some of those waiting Saturday for Thomas P. Novotny II to return after serving in Afghanistan for seven months knew him. Two were his neighbors, who had grown closer with his family after their son enlisted in the Marines three years ago. 

“We’re experiencing the same thing, the worry,” neighbor Alan Husby said. “We talk over the fence and worry together. Sometimes we cry together.”

Some didn’t know Novotny personally. Terry Cornell has been to 20 homecomings for soldiers from the Chicago area, she said. She packs boxes for troops with Operation Support Our Troops. That’s how she became acquainted with Operation Welcome You Home, which organized Novotny’s homecoming. 

About 20 people—and a few Lisle-Woodridge firefighters—waited for Novotny’s homecoming in the parking lot off of 75th Street and Janes Avenue.

That number multiplied when Novotny, along with a motorcycle escort and a train of cars, arrived. Novotny shook hands, hugged those who came and stood near his family.

Then the train of cars, including a Lisle police squad car and two Lisle-Woodridge fire district trucks, continued to his home, where neighbors ran down the street to take part in the celebration.

Novotny, a hospital corpsman second class in the Navy who provides medical support for a Marine battalion, was the last to address the crowd.

“From Illinois, my battalion, there’s four gentlemen that are no longer here, that weren’t able to come home. So the one thing that I ask of you guys, is remember that there’s still people in harm’s way, and there will be for a while," he said. "And remember the ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I was fortunate enough to work with a great group of Marines who kept (me) safe so that I could come home today.”

The homecoming

Thomas Novotny said he expected to see his family arrive to take him home. The organized homecoming was kept as a surprise until Saturday.

“I figured my mom and dad, my brother and my sister-in-law would be there and we’d be home in half an hour, get a beer and eat some food,” he said. “I was blown away that 20 or more motorcycle riders were welcoming me home.” 

He said he was lucky to return home safe and without injury.

“I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time," he said. "So many more people aren’t able to come home to this in the position I’m in. All of them volunteer, and every time something happens they never turn away. They accept the job and the mission.” 

He said he missed home-cooked meals, running water, working plumbing and a real bed when he was in Afghanistan. He’s looking forward to getting used to the real world again, relaxing and catching up with friends and family. He’s home until May 31.

Thomas' mother, Deborah Novotny, said she expected something extraordinary on Saturday but was still surprised.

“I had no idea once it was all put together,” she said. “It’s truly, truly awesome. It’s unbelievable.”

She said she saw her son in San Diego once he was stateside. But seeing him in her home again made his safe return real.

“When he’s home, at home home,” she said, “That’s when it hits you.”

Two servicemen, one family

Thomas Novotny enlisted in the Navy in 2005. He said getting his education paid for was a big part of that decision. He wanted to work on his undergraduate degree as a pre-med and wants to go through the Navy’s medical school. 

Novotny said he wasn’t the obvious choice for an enlisted medical specialist.

“I would be the guy who would have to sit for 15 to 20 minutes after I had my blood drawn,” Novotny said. “I hate needles.”

But he said it’s the only job he’s had that he hasn’t dreaded. “I love it,” he said. “It’s the only job that I don’t mind waking up for in the morning.”

And it made a difference in Afghanistan.

“My battalion was hit hard,” he said. “Not only was I able to help some civilians, but I was able to make sure my Marines could come home to see their families.” 

Novotny’s family moved to Woodridge about 30 years ago. He attended , and .

He has one brother, Andrew, who enlisted as an active duty reservist for the Marines in 2005 and served until 2009. 

Andrew is 29. Thomas is 32. Thomas Novotny said he threw out the idea of enlisting in the military first, though Andrew was the first to enlist. Andrew Novotny said he has formed a closer bond with his brother through their service.

“In no other time in my life have I been more proud of my brother than these last nine months,” Andrew Novotny said. “Our relationship has grown so much stronger. I know what he’s gone through and he knows what I’ve been through. The experience has made him an all-around better person.”

Deborah Novotny said when Andrew told her he would enlist, she couldn’t speak.

“After the fact, after I had absorbed it, I was proud of his decision,” she said. 

She said her reaction was the same when Thomas told her he would enlist.

“It was a little shocking,” she said. “It’s something both of them chose to do. We’re behind them no matter what they choose to do.”