TODAY'S TMJ4

A Soldier Home For Thanksgiving, Home For Good

By George Mallet

GREENFIELD - Sgt. Maj. Tom Peil is on the phone with his mother. He is in his Greenfield apartment. She is in her Oak Creek home. She thinks he is still far away as he usually is on Thanksgiving. For a quarter century, Tom, a seasoned Army professional, has celebrated Thanksgiving in remote corners and hot spots around the globe: Bosnia, Iraq, Korea and beyond.

"What do you guys got planned for Thanksgiving?" he asks cheerfully of his mother.

What Tom has planned is a big surprise. He and his daughter, Morgan, will drive from the modest apartment they just secured in Greenfield to the family's annual Thanksgiving feast in Oak Creek. The family hasn't seen Morgan in three years. They have no idea Tom has set up residence in Wisconsin.

Shortly after sunset, Tom and Morgan show up at the home of Tom's mother. One friend and one brother were in on the plan, but nobody leaked the surprise. Susan Erdman melts when her son walks in the door.

"Wonderful, just wonderful," she says as tears fill her piercing eyes. "He's been… I'm going to start to cry."

"He's been all over the world, hasn't he?" asks TODAY'S TMJ4.

"Yes he has," Susan says overcome by emotion.

Tom's brothers and sisters thought he was going to be deployed to Iraq again.

"I wasn't expecting him to walk through that door," says sister Sarah Robertson as tears stream from her eyes.

"I'm just very happy that he's back home and safe in one piece," says Tom's brother, Doug Felde.

Tom has a big announcement to make.

"I'm retiring from the Army," he proclaims in a loud stentorian voice. The news is met with more applause than 15 people should be able to muster.

"I've also decided to settle down here in Milwaukee," he says to far louder cheers.

Late Thursday, the family makes plans to spend much of the long holiday weekend together.