When U.S. Army Pfc. Cody Marshall was visiting his grandmother in DeKalb on Sept. 29, he was surprised by the sounds of sirens and motorcycles outside. The ruckus was a surprise welcome-home party organized in part by the Warriors’ Watch Riders.

“My dad told me we were going to my grandma’s to take pictures and I heard sirens, so I thought there was a fire. I looked out and saw all the bikes, so I asked my grandparents what was going on, and then we all went outside,” Marshall recalled. “It was pretty crazy.”

Marshall is used to surprises. He serves with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division and just completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where he received two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in combat within a two-month period. He laughed when asked if any dignitaries or celebrities had visited his combat outpost, where temperatures can reach 120 degrees.