MILITARY MATTERS: Restaurant and Community Support GA Troops Returning From Europe

HINESVILLE, Ga. (WTVM) - The first couple hundred members of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia have returned from their deployment in Germany.

Along with families reuniting, the community is also showing support, serving those who serve the country. That’s always been a goal of Zum Rosenhof, a veteran-owned, German restaurant in the heart of downtown Hinesville, 40 miles southwest of Savannah, where they love to see soldier homecomings.

“It’s like family coming home. It’s like brothers, sisters, or my husband coming home. This is actually what it feels like. It’s goosebumps,” Zum Rosenhof co-owner Anka Hinze said.

Anka and her husband call it a sigh of relief with 3,000 plus troops from Fort Stewart returning from Europe.

“There’s a lot of less worrying going on. Granted, they were in Europe, but families are happy. Whether they’re local family or not. Without the community, and without the military base, this place wouldn’t be functioning the way it is,” Zum Rosenhof co-owner and veteran David Hinze said.

“It’s like Christmas in August to have them back home safe and sound. Living back in the community, school has started, they’re getting back into those routines, all those things that make family what it is,” Liberty County Board of Commissioners Chairman Donald Lovette said.

County leaders say the community is proud of the men and women who serve.

“We support the role that Fort Stewart plays in keeping the world a safer place. So, every time units are deployed, we are there for them. We support them. Our prayers leave with them, and they return to our hugs,” Lovette added.

And the 3rd ID soldiers deployed to Europe are all expected to be home by the end of the month.

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