Cathy Beulah (right) hugs her daughter Darykah Henderson Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 after a five-month deployment to Southwest Asia as part of the Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing to support Operations Freedom’s Sentinel and Inherent Resolve. The senior airman is part of material management for Keesler Air Force Base.
Biloxi, Mississippi
Nerves, butterflies and excitement filled family members and loved ones Saturday as they waited on a tarmac at Keesler Air Force Base for the sound of four C-130s flying overhead.
Those massive planes were filled with airmen from the 815th Airlift Squadron and other Air Force personnel throughout the 403rd Wing returning after a five-month deployment to Southwest Asia in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel.
The 403rd was assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait.
They provided airlift and airdrop functions in a combat setting as well as aeromedical evacuation support throughout the command, according to Keesler.
The small crowd lined on the tarmac cheered as the cargo planes flew overhead around 3 p.m. and soon began to roll and come to a stop a couple hundred feet from where the families stood waiting. A few airmen were perched on top of each C-130J with an American flag flying.
Once the families were waved in to greet their airmen, some began to run to find their loved ones as they unpacked their belongings from the planes.
Cathy Beulah beelined toward her daughter Darykah Henderson as soon as she spotted her. She hugged her as tears welled up in her eyes. Henderson laughed and said, “Hey, mom!”
Mobile, Alabama, native Beulah said she was overwhelmed with emotion seeing her daughter for the first time in five months.
“There’s no words,” Beulah said. “It felt like a whole year.”
“It feels great,” Henderson added. “She’d call me every day asking me, ‘when are you coming home? I miss you!’”
Henderson, a senior airman, works in material management for Keesler and has served in the military for four years. She arrived just in time to celebrate her 22nd birthday with her family on Valentine’s Day.
Matt Matassa popped the question to Megan Lucas two months before Matassa got the call that he would be sent to Kuwait with the 403rd Wing in the fall.
“We’ve been apart a majority of our engagement,” Lucas laughed.
She said she’s not in a hurry with wedding planning just yet. She’s known Matassa for most of their lives. They met when they were kids and went to high school in Kennesaw, Georgia, before dating a couple years after Lucas graduated. They both now live In Ocean Springs.
“My stomach was in knots this morning, I was so nervous and I don’t really know why,” she said. “I guess I just haven’t seen him in so long. I was just really excited to finally see him.”
She said she will give him a break for a few days before they go headfirst into wedding planning. Lucas and Matassa haven’t set a date yet, but she said she’s happy to have him home to enjoy that process together.
Evelyn Boyd is no stranger to the military life. Her husband, Master Sgt. Lawson Boyd, was on active duty with the Navy for six years before the Air Force reserves where he’s served 11 years.
The first time she went to kiss him, his mask got in the way, a very 2021 moment for a homecoming.
This deployment was his first with the Air Force, while with the Navy he would serve a few month-long stints on a submarine.
“I was so ready for him to be home, I was so excited,” Evelyn Boyd said.
She said she was “blessed” this time around because she was able to talk to him every day.
Their kids Jackson and Bethany were also there to welcome Master Sgt. Boyd home, waving small American flags and signs.
When asked what their plans were now that their loved one is home, Jackson said “Disney World!”
“That’s what he would want,” Evelyn laughed as they walked out to the parking lot toward their car.
Alyssa Newton is an award-winning multimedia journalist with a background in television, radio and print. She’s originally from Dothan, Alabama and has a journalism degree from the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Her passion lies in storytelling, news, sports and a strong espresso.
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