Wednesday afternoon was an exciting day for the Lawler family of Raymond. After nearly eight months in Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Thomas Lawler was coming home.

The family greeted him at the Portland Jetport with a stretch Hummer limousine that drove Tom and his family back to Raymond in style. Gathering at Montebello Ristorante on Route 302 in Raymond, the group shared a meal and a joyous reunion.

Lawler grew up in Casco and Raymond and worked at Sunset Variety from age 14 to 18. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp the day after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, in response to the disaster.

Lawler is proud of his decision to become a Marine; proud of what that association means to him.

“If I was going to join I wanted to join something that would make a difference,” he said. “I might as well join the best.”

“The day after Sept. 11, I was proud of him but scared to death,” said Dan Lawler, Tom’s father. “Thank God he’s home and thank God for the Marines.”

After Tom graduated from Windham High School in 2002, he went to boot camp and was stationed in Hawaii. While there, Alyssa, a girlfriend from high school, came to visit and the two got married before his deployment.

“Having him gone was very hard, very stressful.” said Alyssa. Where Alyssa was living, in Hawaii, an organization of officers’ wives called Key Wives put on events for spouses of the deployed Marines. But Alyssa came home to the support of her family in Maine for several months while Tom was away.

Tom was with the infantry of the 3rd Battalion in Afghanistan. Their mission there was humanitarian: bringing food, blankets, and other supplies to people who needed them.

“We did our day to day jobs,” said Tom. “We won the hearts and minds of the [Afghani] people and fought when we had to fight. They’re good people. They want us there and they realize we’re not there as a bad thing – we’re trying to help them out any way we can.”

His mother, Susan Lawler, was devastated when her son was deployed. She said it’s impossible to explain the feeling or even to know how to react and added, “the sad part is there are still so many over there.”

Although e-mail makes it easier for families to stay in touch, the Battalion had access to only one computer. And, often, they were on missions for weeks at a time when communication was impossible.

But Tom is grateful for the strength his family gave him, as well as their encouragement.

“They helped me stay strong,” he said. “They’re the backbone keeping me on the straight and narrow.”

Since Tom and Alyssa missed being together to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they will be renewing their vows this Saturday. The couple plans to spend 10 days in Raymond before returning to their home in Hawaii.

Tom is not certain what the future holds for him. If he does not re-enlist, he faces another tour of duty scheduled in October, which would most likely take him to Iraq.

If he chooses to re-enlist, he will be stationed at Paris Island in South Carolina, where he would like to pursue a degree in the medical field, an interest he developed while in the service.

But, for now, he and his family are just grateful for his safe return.

“I’m very proud of him,” said Alyssa, “and I’m praying that he won’t have to return, but if he does, duty calls.”

Lance Corporal Thomas Lawler and his wife Alyssa stand in front of Montebello