Jupiter Marine not fearful of transition

JUPITER, Fla. - The garage door opened at the Marine Reserve Center in West Palm Beach and in came sixteen marines.

Waiting for Sgt. Arthur Ramirez was his girlfriend Olivia Owens and her three daughters.

"I missed you so much," she said to Ramirez.

"We can be a family, and get back to normal and doing everyday things," said Owens.

For seven months, Sgt. Ramirez worked communications in Afghanistan, spotting targets from the ground for American jets.

"We were living in a mud hole. We had one meal a day. No showers. Hardly any electricity," said Ramirez.

He saw painful things.

"Every veteran that went out there. There were a lot of things that went on that was pretty difficult," said Ramirez.

Owens heard from him ten times in seven months.

"I didn't watch the news too much. When I did, I would hear things that would make me uncomfortable and start thinking about him," said Owens.

Her rock was gone, but life didn't stop on the homefront.

"We had a water heater catch on fire. A stove catch on fire. Our house got hit by lightning," said Owens. "It seems like it was a lot longer than seven months."

Thursday was their first day together and the first day of a difficult transition.

"I'm not fearful of that. It's going to be a good transition. I'm happy to be back," said Sgt. Ramirez.

His first meal in the United States was pizza.

Friday's activity? Bowling.