ZELIENOPLE — Zelienople resident Jesse Hogan, who serves in Bravo Company 1st of the 116th Infantry as a sniper and sharp shooter, was shocked at the reception he received on Saturday when he returned home from his fourth tour of duty overseas.

Mike Schoeffel, the vice president of the Zelienople American Legion Riders, said about 60 motorcycles traveled to the Pittsburgh International Airport to greet Hogan with a flag line at the exit to the terminal.

He said Allegheny County Police Department officers escorted Hogan's vehicle to Interstate 79, and the Adams Area Fire District tower truck held an enormous American flag at the park and ride on Route 528 at the I-79 exit.

Jackson Township police held traffic so Hogan's vehicle could make a swift entrance from Route 528 to 19 north, where two tower trucks from the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Department displayed another huge flag near the Sunoco just south of Zelienople. Several fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles lined both sides of Route 19 into Zelienople, where more than 300 residents packed the streets to welcome Hogan home.

The entourage turned left at the Kaufman House and proceeded to the former Zelienople fire hall, where Hogan left his vehicle and helped his family thank all those involved.

“He was floored,” Schoeffel said. “He kept saying 'Do all these people know it's just one person coming home?'”

Hogan completed his fourth tour of duty upon returning home on Saturday. He served in Iraq twice, in Afghanistan once and most recently in Qatar.

He is the son of Brad and Kristen Hogan, the husband of Candace Hogan, and the father of the couple's 4-year-old son, Tristan.