Hamill expected to return home today

By Staff
from staff and wire reports
May 8, 2004
MACON Thomas Hamill, the truck driver whose abduction and daring escape in Iraq captured the nation's attention, was expected to be back with his family early today.
Macon Mayor Dorothy Baker Hines said Hamill's wife, Kellie, called city hall Friday to confirm the couple's planned arrival at the Meridian Regional Airport about 2 a.m. today.
Hines said she and other town officials planned to be among those welcoming the couple. There are no commercial flights arriving in Meridian then, indicating the Hamills are traveling on a private plane.
One family member, however, said she'll wait to visit with Hamill today. Vera Hamill, Thomas' grandmother, said family members plan to visit with her grandson throughout the day.
A family spokeswoman said Hamill would make no statements at the airport or after he arrives home. Friends and volunteers were busy Friday cutting the grass and placing flowers outside the Hamill home.
Another friend planned to paint the brick home's white trim today.
Hamill, 44, escaped his Iraqi captors on Sunday and has been treated for an arm injury at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He was wounded when his convoy was ambushed April 9.
Many in this East Mississippi city of about 2,500 have grown tired of the almost constant media attention. On Jefferson Street, where most shops are located, people turned away when asked about Hamill.
However, dozens of area residents have shown their concern by attending nightly prayer vigils outside the downtown courthouse.
Hamill said earlier this week that he was looking forward to quiet time with his family. As a result, Hines said Thursday that plans for a parade and other celebrations in Macon were called off for now.
Hines said Kellie had told her Friday that "as far as the parade goes they may be open to one later. He just wants to get home, be with his children and rest."
Peggy Heard, a 73-year-old Macon area resident, said she understands Hamill wanting privacy.
Anxious mother
Hamill's mother, Phyllis Hamill, who lives with her son, said Friday that family members had not been told when the couple would be back in Macon.
She also said her son, a former dairy farmer who went to work as a driver for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq to support his wife and two children, faces additional treatment for his arm wound.
One of the first things Hamill will encounter after meeting with his family will be letters and calls offering him movie and book deals.
The Hamill family has hired the same public relations team that handled former POW Jessica Lynch Charleston, W.Va., attorney Stephen Goodwin and his daughter, Aly Goodwin-Gregg.
No decision
Goodwin said Hamill has made no decision about a book deal. Lynch received a book deal valued at $1 million and a network turned her story into a television movie.
Josie Harvey, secretary to the mayor, said Hamill's popularity is obvious to city hall workers. She pointed to a large cardboard box filled with letters of support. Addresses on the envelopes, sent in care of the city, were from as far away as California and New York.
She said Hamill also had been offered jobs by companies in Mississippi and other states.
Macon Alderman Willie Dixon, 52, had a different view of the excitement Hamill's story has created.
He said there were soldiers from Noxubee County who have served in Iraq and returned home, including some who were wounded. He said there were no big celebrations for them.