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Soldier who grew up in Eagle Mountain given welcome home procession

Posted at 5:15 PM, May 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-22 22:09:31-04

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — A Utah soldier got a hero's welcome Wednesday in his hometown of Eagle Mountain.

From a distance, the procession sounded like an emergency but was actually a celebration for an Eagle Mountain native turned hero.

Austin Robinson spent nearly a year deployed in Iraq working as a helicopter mechanic for the Blackhawks.

"Coming from where we were at, it’s completely different over there so having people getting excited about our country is pretty cool," Robinson said.

Robinson’s mother, Stacey, is thrilled to have her eldest son home.

"We just had a hole missing in our family without him here," she said.

Robinson returned home to an excited community including a group of students led by a man who knows him personally. Darren Beck was Robinson's principal.

"Awesome young man and an awesome family so that made it that much more special to come out and welcome him back,” Beck said.

"That was cool. I hadn't seen him for years now," said Robinson.

Eagle Mountain makes it their mission to welcome home every member of the military who's been serving in combat zones overseas.

"I'm very grateful for our community. I love that Eagle Mountain does this. Both my husband and I are employees of Eagle Mountain and it means a lot," said Stacey Robinson.

A tight-knit city, proud to be home to a selfless soldier and the family that anxiously waited for his return.

"If you don't have community you really don`t have a whole lot," Beck said.

"Now we're back whole again," said Stacey Robinson.

Eagle Mountain City believes this was the first welcome home procession for a military service member who actually grew up in Eagle Mountain.