Community Corner
Algonquin's Capt. Richard Plettau Reflects on Homecoming
Plettau will be stationed in Georgia when he returns to military duty next week.
Capt. Richard Plettau was welcomed home to Algonquin on Saturday by more than 100 friends, family members and community supporters, with the Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle brigade and area law enforcement leading the way.
He flew in to Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Saturday morning, where his family arrived in a limousine to bring him out west, while the surprise motorcycle brigade that planned to meet them there shifted to Plan B.
"Originally the plan was to escort him from O'Hare but it's under construction, and (the Illinois Department of Transportation) wouldn't allow it," said Jay Plettau, his father. "So we went to Jimmy's Charhouse in Elgin, and the brigade was waiting on their bikes behind the building so he couldn't see them."
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The surprise element worked, and Richard Plettau said he loved it.
"I was blown away," he said. "I didn't really expect it. I had no idea."
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Plettau was home in February, and since he arrived in the states two weeks ago, he's been at the military base in Fort Hood, Texas. Jay Plettau said he'll enjoy spending time with his son, and that he, too, was surprised with the turnout of supporters Sunday.
"I'm totally overwhelmed by this. We didn't expect this at all," Jay Plettau said. "And Richard kind of suspected something was up, but I think he was expecting more of a celebration with family at home. It snowballed. This is phenomenal."
Sometimes, soldiers returning from overseas aren't too fond of crowded surprise gatherings, Plettau acknowledged. But his dad said the past two weeks at Fort Hood have given him a chance to decompress somewhat.
"When he came in two weeks ago, you could see he was tired. He had been traveling for 20 hours," Jay Plettau said. "In Iraq, his whole environment (had him) on the edge 24 hours a day, all the time, so he's still adjusting."
Plettau said he was a platoon leader in Iraq and will be a planning commander for his next phase of military service, in Georgia. For the next week, he'll spend time with his parents, Karen and Jay, and his brother Steven, who celebrated with him and dozens of guests at the family's Algonquin residence after the homecoming at the .
