Marine, Amador Valley High Grad Gets Hero's Welcome In Pleasanton

PLEASANTON, CA — U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Daniel Bennett was welcomed back to Pleasanton this month with a touching community homecoming celebration hosted by the Pleasanton Military Families Support Group. Originally scheduled to return to California on Jan. 4, Bennett's flight from Baltimore was canceled and organizers scrambled to bump the celebration ahead a day.

On Jan. 5, Warriors' Watch riders met Bennett at the First Street Ale House in Livermore and escorted him home to Pleasanton. He was greeted by city officials, firefighters, and community supporters as well as representatives from the Danville, Livermore and Pleasanton Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legions, and the Vietnam Vets of Diablo Valley.

Bennett received certificates and tokens of thanks for his service. A representative from the Amador Valley Quilts of Valor presented him with a patriotic quilt.

Bennett, an Amador Valley High graduate, enlisted in 2014. He attended boot camp in San Diego County and was eventually selected for the Presidential Support Program in Washington D.C. Bennett became a tour guide in the Pentagon and was deployed to Japan in 2018. Bennett will finish his college degree in Maryland.

The Pleasanton Military Families Support Group is a nonprofit organization that provides support to troops and families of military personnel in the East Bay.

Photos courtesy Eric Muetterties of Studio 52 in Dublin