North Platte welcomed home another soldier this afternoon.

Josh Stansbery was wounded in Afghanistan in August and today he returned home in time for the holidays and to receive some much needed Tender Loving Care.

Private First Class, Josh Stansbery is a hero and today he received a hero's welcome.

"I figured there was gonna be you know, a small group of people. I wasn't expecting a whole room full of you know, veterans and just the amount of support is just immense, you know, it's very overwhelming," he said.

While waiting for Josh's return his mom Terri, had been receiving the support Josh felt for the first time today.

"Well, I kinda warned him, I said, that I got a feeling it's a little bit bigger than what I thought it was going to be and so, I tried to warn him as best I could. There's a lot of support and it's unbelievable, it's wonderful. Our community has outreached a lot and I really, really appreciate everything," she said.

And while he's here Josh plans on saying thanks to everyone who has supported him along the way.

"I'm planning to go out and try and find all the people that have been, you know, sending me cards and supporting me and doing all the fundraisers," he said.

He says being away from family while serving in the military brings things into an entirely new perspective.

"You know going over there to Afghanistan and being away from family for that long, it doesn't seem like it's that long till you actually are gone, you know, you're excited to get there, you're on the plane, you know, you're ready to land in Afghanistan, you know, all the things you've learned you're ready to do, you know and then once you get there and things start to settle in and it's a lot different than what people expect," Josh said.

"To know that he's made it through all this and he's in one piece, that really is wonderful. It's a God sent," Terri added.

"You can't beat a hug in person, you know especially a mom's hug, that's for dang sure," says Josh.