KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN – JUNE 24: U.S. Army soldiers carry a critically wounded American soldier on a stretcher to an awaiting MEDEVAC helicopter from Charlie Co. Sixth Battalion, 101st Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Shadow June 24, 2010 near Kandahar, Afghanistan. As combat operations begin to escalate near Kandahar, the 101st Airborne MEDEVAC unit transports casualties of war as well as sick and injured local residents. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Cpl. Murphy Houston, a Marine amputee with Wounded Warrior Battalion East – Detachment Bethesda, stands on crutches welcoming home Marines of 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, upon their return from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan’s Helmand province on Nov. 24. Houston was deployed and served with 1/12 when he was injured earlier this year and he and other injured Marines flew from the Bethesda, Md., to see his unit return to Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Hundreds of Marines from 1/12 and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, returned on flights together and the last flight reunited with families at MCB Hawaii on Thanksgiving morning.