Amidst the hustle and bustle of holiday travel, a patriotic welcome home awaited West Michigan soldiers and veterans flying into Gerald R. Ford International Airport Wednesday.

Dozens of people came out offering handshakes and salutes to lift up those who are willing to lay down their lives in service of their country.

"These people are here to honor our veterans, our active military, anyone that serves our country," Phil Pakiela, area ride captain for the Patriot Guard, said. "We are here to thank them for their service, and this is the best way we can do it on the holiday. We’re glad to have them home for the holidays.”

Members of the Patriot Guard, Blue Star Mothers, the Boy Scouts of America and others lined up along the concourse exits holding flags while saluting soldiers and veterans, offering handshakes and thanks for their service.

"We get all kinds of reactions some people smile some people will return a salute," Pakiela said. "Some of them just stopped in their tracks or they’re really awestruck."

Pierce Watson, an active duty U.S. Army captain, had a smile from ear to ear when he realized the crowd was there to great him and his brothers and sisters in arms.

"It’s pretty cool to see that they were just supporting soldiers. I thought something for somebody else who was coming home so I was just excited to see whoever was gonna be greeted," Watson said.

Heading home to Lowell for Thanksgiving, Watson said he was blown away when he saw the flags lining the concourse.

"There’s a lot of other people that have given a lot now for this country so it’s cool to see that people will sacrifice their time to show their appreciation," Watson said.

It was all part of Operation Handshake, a nationwide effort started in 2006 to honor U.S. service members, in response to protests surrounding service member funerals at the time.

Also a retired Army sergeant, Pakiela said he supported the operation because when he came home from Vietnam there was no welcome.

"Too many times, it’s just taken for granted or people are forgotten, and we don’t ever want that to happen again," Pakiela said.

Also a retired Sergeant in the US Army, Patrick Clonan, said the greeting was a great surprise as he came home from the holidays and hopes it inspires more people to remember those serving our county.

"We need to show our appreciation to our veterans. They don’t get it very often," Clonan said.