Photos courtesy of the Mason family

Cpl. David Mason in Afghanistan.

Cpl. David Mason returns home after serving time in Afghanistan.

For U.S. Marine Cpl. David Mason, coming home on Thursday, Oct. 30, after serving time in both Afghanistan and Iraq was more welcoming than he ever imagined. But he wouldn't trade his experience fighting for his country for anything.

He was welcomed home in Rocky Mount at his grandparents' home for dinner, and then returned to the neighborhood he grew up in, only to find his neighbors had lined the streets with luminaries and yellow ribbons, and were waving American flags.

"It really means a lot to be appreciated for what we do. Everywhere I go I run into people who hear I'm back. It just means a lot to be back in Roanoke and have people so appreciative. You can disagree with the war and still support the troops."

Mason, who attended North Cross and Cave Spring High School, decided to join the Marines after his second year at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee -- much to the surprise of his worried parents, Tom and Becky Mason of Cave Spring.

"They were worried at first. I mean we are in a war. But I've never seen them more proud of me before. If there is anything in their wardrobe that isn't Marine Corps, I'd be surprised. They've been the most supportive parents I could have ever had."

In 2005 Mason started boot camp and spent three months at the school of infantry before being trained as a machine gunner, his primary job.

He then went to Ramadi, Iraq, from 2006 to 2007 for nine months where he was put in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) until NATO asked the U.S. for additional troops.

"We didn't even see a ship, except for training," he said. "We just flew over and flew back."

Mason was based in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the middle of the desert.

During the time that he spent in Helmand Province, his and his team's mission was to stop the Taliban from traveling into South Afghanistan, where 90 percent of Europe's opium was being grown, in an effort to curve the poppy production.

"We got rid of a lot of the Taliban. It was a pretty big area. When we got there we were fighting pretty hard," he remembers.

"The majority of the population left and as the fighting stopped the population came back and we were able to provide humanitarian aid. That was rewarding."

Mason spent four months of his eight-month deployment in Garmsir, Afghanistan.

"It's in the middle of nowhere," he said. "We had no shower, slept on the dirt, no water and the temperature was 140 to 150 degrees. It was ridiculous. It was difficult but everyone is in it together from the commanding officer on down."

One thing Mason has come to appreciate is his education.

"People there had no education, they were just farmers. The Taliban priests and Islamic fundamentalists taught them what they know. That is one thing that hit me hard, what it's like not to have educational opportunities. I'm so much more appreciative of what we have in the U.S. Heat, air conditioning, electricity, water -- the little things."

During their humanitarian efforts, Mason's team was able to go into the neighborhoods and provide the people with medical supplies, shoes, food, and educational material. But the fear of the Taliban was still with the people and they refused to help the Marines find where the Taliban were hiding out.

"You get mixed emotions about the people," he said. "They'd be thrilled to death about being free from the Taliban. They'd tell us stories about the Taliban killing their children for no reason. They were happy about us helping them, but wouldn't tell us where the Taliban was because they were scared."

"It's catch-22 for them. They need the aid, they want the aid, but they can't help us."

During his enlistment, Mason had been promoted three times.

Mason still in the Marine Corps until this summer when his four-year contract is over.

He plans to return to college next fall to study business and finance.

Until then, he will head back to Camp Lejeune to instruct other Marines on machine guns.

"It definitely helped me grow up," he said about his two deployments. "The Marine Corps was the toughest thing I've ever done, but it's the best thing I've ever done and as long as I live I'll never regret it."