Welcome Slated for Saturday for Local Marine

Operation Welcome You Home will stage a welcome for U.S. Marine Corps SSgt. Christopher Limberg on Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Oswego Home Depot, 3080 Route 34.

Escort staging is at 5 p.m. at Home Depot. From there, a contingent will escort the returning Marine to the American Legion, 19 W. Washington St., Oswego. Flag line staging is set for 5:30 p.m.

Limberg, 29, was born on Memorial Day 1984 in Aurora. According to a press release from Operation Welcome You Home, he kew at an early age that he wanted to be a Marine, choosing it as his occupation in a homework assignment.

He graduated from West Aurora High School in 2002 and briefly attended DeVry University before feeling the call to enlist in the Marine Corps, according to the release.

After completing basic training in San Diego, Limberg spent 12 months in Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Battalion 10th Marines Civil Affairs Department.

After a brief return to the states, Limberg deployed on a float in the Mediterranean for seven months with the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines. Within a few weeks of his return, he was deployed to Haiti on a humanitarian mission following the devastating earthquake in 2010. He spent three months assisting with relief efforts.

Upon returning stateside, Limberg received a secondary MOS and became a JTAC (Joint Terminal AKack Controller) and his next deployment was to the Al Anbar province of Afghanistan. During one of his encounters with enemy forces Christopher performed his duties as he was trained and as a result he received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a Combat Distinguishing Device, Operation Welcome You Home said.

According to Operation Welcome You Home, Limberg's final deployment took him back to Afghanistan's Camp Leatherneck, where Britain's Prince Harry was also deployed. After one last move to another forward operating base in Afghanistan, Limberg returned home safely to his wife and two young sons.

Limber plans to to pursue a career in law enforcement.