It was an early Christmas present he didn’t see coming.

Saturday afternoon, Andrew Shores thought he was going to start a 30-day leave from the Army at his fiancee’s home in Shabbona quietly. What he didn’t know was there was a welcome-home party waiting for him.

Lining both sides of the parking lot at the First State Bank at the intersection of Highways 23 and 30 in Waterman, 15 people – many of them members of the Warriors’ Watch Riders – held up flags while shouting, “Welcome back.” Along with the Waterman police and fire departments, Shores was escorted to Shabbona where family and friends were gathered.