Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz reacts after recognizing Zach Carter in the crowd of people welcoming him home outside Cabellas in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Carter was a medic on the scene in Afghanistan who helped saved Rachowicz's life after he and other members of the 713th Engineer Battion were injured by a roadside improvised explosive device. Rachowicz's son Dylan, 12, is at left. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

Paul Segal, cener, hands a check, the result of of fundraising project, to U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz during a welcome home ceremony in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Rachowicz returned to Hammond after spending three months recovering from injuries he suffered while serving in the Kandahar, Afghanistan. Segal, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, is on the board of directors for the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

U.S. Army private Douglas Rachowicz waves to the more than 100 people gathered to in his honor during a welcome home ceremony in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Rachowicz was returning to Hammond after spending three months in Bethesda, Md., recovering from wounds suffered while serving with the Army in Afghanistan. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

Debbie Leonhardt-Rosenwinkel, center, chats with U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz, left, during a welcome home soldier for him outside in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Rachowicz suffered serious injuries from a road-side bomb while serving n Kandahar Afghanistan. The same blast killed Leonhardt-Rosenwinkel's nephew Brian Leonhardt and three other members of the 713th Engineer Battallion. Paul Rosenwinkel is at right. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz turns to his son, Dylan, after being welcomed home by more than 100 people friends, family, well wishers and members of the Indiana Patriot Guard in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Rachowicz, who returned from three months of recovery in Bethesda Md., was injured in Kandahar, Afghanistan in a road-side blast that killed four other members of his unit. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

A Welcome Home pin on the uniform of U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz during a gathering for him outside Cabellas in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. The pin was placed by a randing member of the Indiana Patriot Guard and signifies Rachowicz, who suffered severe injuries while serving in Afghanistan, is now a member of the group. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

A limosine carrying U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz is escorted into the Cabelas parking lot in Hammond Tuesday April 10, 2012. Rachowicz, severely injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan, was welcomed home by more than 100 people during the ceremony. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media