A Hero's Welcome

After a six-month deployment in Afghanistan, former Buffalo Grove resident Ben Rosengarden, a senior airman, from the community.

A motorcade that included police cars from Deerfield and Buffalo Grove escorted Rosengarden to the . Members of the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders also participated in the motorcade.

After Rosengarden exited a vehicle with his wife, Anna, he thanked the crowd for welcoming him home.

“Thank you all,” he said, while waving to the crowd. “This is quite unexpected.”

The crowd cheered, with some shouting their appreciation for his service and telling him to “go get a beer.”

Later, Rosengarden said he was happy and relieved to be back home, and had plans to go back to school.

Sally Nowak, a longtime family friend of Rosengarden and his late father, Scott, organized the homecoming party on Thursday night.

“I had a send-off party for Ben when he went to Afghanistan, so of course I wanted to have a homecoming party for him, too,” she said. Nowak said she’d known Rosengarden since he was 15, and thought of him as another son.

Scott Rosengarden, who served as a volunteer director of the children’s theater productions through the , passed away in 2007.

Steve Walanka, who has also known Rosengarden for many years, helped organize the homecoming party.

“I just love this kid,” Walanka said of Rosengarden. “I’m so happy he’s home.”

“No one wants their husband to go to a war zone, so I’m just so glad he’s home,” Anna Rosengarden said

The Rosengardens graduated from and currently live in Mount Prospect. The couple has been married a little more than 18 months.

During his six-month deployment, Anna said she relied on a support network of family and friends, and sought the support of other military wives on Facebook. The couple talked to each other via Skype and the occasional phone call during Rosengarden’s deployment.

“I had to be so strong while he was gone, and I had to make so many decisions on my own,” she said.

Anna said she tried to avoid reading the news, as she found the more she knew of what was happening in Afghanistan, the more she would worry for her husband.

For now, the Rosengardens plan to enjoy each other’s company, and to take things day by day.

David Pasternak, Rosengarden’s best friend since second grade, and Sean Murillo, who became friends with Rosengarden when they were both 8 years old, were among the crowd Thursday night.

“Ben’s dad was like a father to me, and Ben’s like a brother to me,” Murillo said.

A number of current and former politicians and officials in Buffalo Grove were also on hand to welcome home Rosengarden.

“I’m here to cheer and to support Ben,” said Village Trustee Jeff Berman, who knows Ben through their mutual involvement in the Buffalo Grove Park District's theater program.

“It’s always an honor and a privilege to welcome home our soldiers,” Village Trustee Beverly Sussman said.

“Ben is a brave young man who is representing our community out in the world,” Village Trustee Mike Terson said. “As a citizen who is most appreciative of what he’s done, the least I can do is come out to say ‘thank you’ to Ben.”

Buffalo Grove Park District commissioner Adriane Johnson also attended the event.

"I wanted to be a part of the celebration, and I really enjoyed welcoming Ben home," she said.

“I’m here to honor everyone who is returning,” Village Clerk Janet Sirabian said. “I love to see when people make a big deal out of someone returning home.”

In a speech, Congressman Robert Dold (R-10th) thanked Rosengarden for his service and called him a “shining example.”

State Rep. Carol Sente (D-59th) presented Rosengarden with a certificate thanking him for his service. Sente also thanked Anna Rosengarden.

Village Trustee Steve Trilling, Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch and former Village President Elliott Hartstein also attended the event.