Marine From Oklahoma Returns Home For The First Time In 3 Years

A Tulsa Marine is home just in time for Christmas. He has been stationed in Japan and has not been able to come home for the last three years.

Waiting at the Tulsa International Airport, a family friend's sign showed it all: Corporal Riley Ingram has changed a lot in the three years he's been away.

"He was sort of a chubby cheeked, little boy when he left and when I see pictures of him now, he's a young man,” his mom, Debra, said.

Debra waited anxiously at the airport to see her young man through the crowd of other passengers getting off the flight.

The two of them have relied on phone calls to communicate the last three years, at all hours of the day.

"He still, even now, forgets the time difference and so he's often calling me at 3:00 in the morning going, 'Hi mom, what are you doing?' It's like um, I was asleep. But that's fine. I'll take his call anytime,” she said.

His permanent station is in Okinawa. She said Riley has asked for leave but was never granted it, because of COVID restrictions.

He put in this request back in August, and his mom only found out a few days ago that he would actually be coming home.

"Normally by now, I would have shipped him his presents and I didn't do that this year,” she said. “So I was, I guess just really relying on a lot of hope and a lot of prayers that he would indeed get to come home."

Then finally, the two shared a hug years in the making. After about 24 hours of traveling, it may take a bit for it to sink in that he's actually back in Tulsa.

"Kind of at a loss for words,” Riley said.

His neighbors are ready to welcome him back too, if only for a short time. But first, all he wanted was a simple Tulsa staple.

"Go eat at Brownies. Go get a burger,” he said.

Cpl. Ingram will be home for three weeks, then head back to Japan. He said he just wants to spend as much time as possible with family and friends.