Mountain City, Tenn. -- Twelve days ago, Spc. Fred Greene from Mountain City was shot to death at Ft. Hood Texas.
The suspected gunman, Army Psychiatrist Nadal Hasan, faces murder charges in a military court, as communities like Greene's lay their soldiers to rest.
The Tri-Cities region will lay Greene to rest this week. There is a public visitation for Greene scheduled today from 4 to 7 p.m., at the Hux-Lipford-Teague Funeral Home in Mountain City. Greene's funeral service starts at 11 a.m. Wednesday, outside Baker's Gap Baptist Chuch.
His body arrived, by plane, at the Tri-Cities Regional Airport just after 9 a.m. Sunday.
Greene's family, the Army Honor Guard, and Patriot Guard Riders were there to meet him.
They held a silent drill for Mountain City's "silent soldier."
Sergeant Joshua Butler said, the Army assigned their best to escort Specialist Fred Greene home.
"It's hard on the Nation like it is on us," Butler said. "It's not only the typical [Killed In Action] from Iraq or Afghanistan, this one's on our own soil," he said.
The day was harder still on Greene's family. They stood together, some tearful, as guard members guided him to the hearse.
"The family, of course, is still struggling with the loss, but they definitely appreciate the well-wishes of their friends and neighbors, and the American public," said Army Spokeswoman Cathy Gramling.
Gramling said the family re-routed Greene's motorcade early Sunday morning so it would make its way through the communities he knew best.
Family, friends, and well-wishers lined up along Main Street to welcome him home.
Voreda Gentry didn't know Greene, but she cried all the same.
"He's one of our boys," Gentry said. "And it very well could have been my son back in Desert Storm."
Korea, Vietnam, and World War II veterans also paid tribute Sunday. Chief Master Sgt. Richard Dionne said, it's a tribute they know all too well.
"We've all put people we knew in boxes under that flag," Dionne said.
"And when that casket goes by with that flag on, it doesn't make any difference what war you were in, what battle you were in, or -- in this case -- [if you were killed by] the act of a terrorist," he said.
To view a video version of this report, click the play icon above.
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