TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- John Lidster is a soldier in the United States army. He is serving in South Korea.
Halfway around the world, his mother is on life support at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.
On Christmas day, he was flown into Los Angeles, California from South Korea. He was going home to see his mother.
Lidster was supposed to catch a connector flight to Chicago, but after a mix-up in customs, he missed his flight. That’s when the Patriot Guard was contacted. They arranged for Lidster to get on a later flight to Chicago. He landed just before 9 p.m. Saturday night.
From Chicago, a Patriot Guard member drove him to the Indiana state line, where he was met by an Indiana State Trooper.
Lidster was then rushed to the Michigan state line and a Patriot Guard member drove him back to Traverse City.
John Lidster arrived at Munson Medical Center at 3:45 Sunday morning. There were 13 Patriot Guard members waiting for him in a sea of American flags.
Because of the amazing efforts made, he made it home before his mother passed away.
She is in critical condition on life support at Munson Medical Center.
