ORANGE — Ryan Emond started his trek along South Main Street in his vehicle, escorted by three Orange Fire trucks. but it wasn’t long before he got out to walk so he could greet the more than 100 people who had lined the street, waving American flags and cheering, to welcome him home.

When his mother, Kimberly Emond, had decided she wanted to do something when he returned from military service in Afghanistan, she received an outpouring of support from the local community, and so did her son on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Emond got out of his vehicle just before he reached the post office and the intersection of South, West and East Main streets, where most of the crowd, including members of the Rolling Thunder Vermont 1 motorcycle group and the Military History Expo, had gathered.

Emond said her intention was to not only welcome her son home, but to remind people that there are many more serving the country, making sacrifices while being away from home.

” At the same time, this isn’t all just about Ryan,” she said. “This is about a local boy serving his country, representing Orange. It is about the community, because his values came from the community.”

Emond’s family has spent almost 25 years in Orange and enjoys the support that a small town offers, she said.

“That is the wonderful thing about being from a small town, it is more of a community,” she said. “It is reactions like this that make small-town America wonderful.”