Local guardsman given hero's welcome

When SSG Matt Nore returned to Wrangell Friday, following an 11-month deployment in Cuba, he wasn’t expecting such a large welcome. Dozens of family members, friends and well-wishers were at the airport terminal with signs, banners and cheers to welcome Nore when he stepped off the plane.

This was the fourth overseas deployment for the Alaska Army National Guardsman but his first surprise homecoming. Nore served two tours in Iraq and one in Mongolia, and his latest tour was served at the American base in Guantanamo Bay.

“I feel it’s way overdue,” said Edna Nore, his wife of four years, who was...