Welcome home, boys

Tears welled up in Juventina Benavides’ eyes as she waited by an escalator at John Wayne Airport, reflecting months that she had worried about her son, Nelson, who spent most of the past year under fire in an Iraqi combat zone.

Her husband, three daughters, niece, nephew, brother and son’s girlfriend stood beside her, holding balloons and home-made signs welcoming their 24-year-old soldier home to Costa Mesa as he finished his deployment. When they had to say goodbye to Nelson last year, everybody was apprehensive.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said sister Griselda, as everyone waited more than an hour by the foot of the escalator for the delayed plane. “He is the only boy in the family, and he had to put his schooling on hold. There are mixed feelings. You try to be positive, but you also try to be realistic.”

When the family finally spotted Nelson and fellow Costa Mesa soldiers, Tony Vo and Jeeandy Morales, dressed in camouflage uniforms, arms-locked at the top of the escalator, they cheered wildly.

The three men spent their time in Iraq training the local police forces to keep the peace in preparation for the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of the 56th Military Police Company deployed from the Irvine Reserve Center.

“They’ve gotten a lot better. In the short time we’ve been there, it has changed a great deal. They’re making a lot of progress,” Morales said.

“It’s not a year or two solution; it’s going to take a while,” Nelson added.

Morales and Nelson, who went to rival high schools Estancia and Costa Mesa, were promoted to sergeant while serving in Iraq. The friends, who grew up in the same Westside neighborhood, want to be Costa Mesa police officers.

“That’s all we’d talk about [while we were in Iraq],” Morales said.

Even after a year being on the receiving end of gunfire, with scant rest, Nelson, Morales and Vo want to start their police service as soon as possible.

“We’re ready to jump in right now, if they gave us jobs,” Vo said.

Nelson has wanted to be a cop for more than a decade now. He joined the Costa Mesa Police Explorers, a program where kids learn the ropes from experienced officers, at age 14.

Nelson’s girlfriend, Lorena Berber, is just happy to have her boyfriend and all of his companions from the Irvine Air Base back in one piece. She said she was sad and upset to see Nelson leave, but he called her every week.

“He wouldn’t give me too much detail about what’s going on. He’d just tell me he was ready to come home,” Berber said.

The family has a solid week of celebrations planned, including a bonfire, house parties and dinner at a mariachi restaurant.

Tell us your thoughts on the GI Bill passed by the Senate on Thursday, supported in part by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). E-mail us at dailypilot@latimes.com, or comment on our website.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.