AUDUBON— When borough resident Mark Mooney returned from the war he fought 43 years ago, there were no welcome signs, no cheering crowds, no police escorts.

He and his fellow soldiers coming back from Vietnam were jeered by protesters. They were spat upon. They were called baby killers.

On Saturday, Mooney finally got the proper reception he and so many other Vietnam vets deserved.

At about 1 p.m., a band of more than 50 motorcycle riders from the American Legion Riders, Warriors Watch and other veteran biker clubs pulled up in front of Mooney’s house on Oak Street to surprise the retired 63-year-old.

Mooney was all smiles as he came out of his house and stood on his front porch, his wife, Lynn, by his side. He walked down the steps to greet his brothers and sisters in arms who, one by one, came up to shake Mooney’s hand, thank him for his service and officially welcome him home.

“This shocked me, I’ll tell ya,” said Mooney, who has been awarded more than a dozen military medals, including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

“I’m surprised as hell. I just got done mowing the lawn, and,” he paused, wiping a tear from behind his glasses, “I wasn’t ready for this.”

Lynn, who had known about the surprise for the last couple months, was also beaming. “This is so nice,” she said. “He’s totally surprised.”

“Mark was saying to me, ‘What’s all that noise?’ (as the motorcycles roared closer to their home),” she continued. “I said, ‘I don’t know, let’s go find out.’ He had no idea about this.”

From Oak Street, the caravan proceeded through the streets of Audubon into Oaklyn and to American Legion Post 84, where Mark has been a member for more than 40 years. He also volunteers his time tending bar there.

Along the way people standing on sidewalks clapped, cheered and waved American flags. Motorists beeped their horns. A half-block from the post, ladder trucks from the Audubon and Oaklyn fire departments had hung a huge American flag across Newton Street.

Kirk Hehl recently became the director of the American Legion Riders and has known Mooney for four decades. He said the idea to honor the Army vet had been floating around for a year or two.

“When I became director I really wanted to put (the welcome home) together,” Hehl said. “Mark has done so much for the post, and with his service record of course, we felt he was due. I’m real glad this worked out.”

Inside the post, with its tables decorated in red, white and blue, Mooney’s friends and fellow vets chowed down on meatballs, pulled pork and coleslaw. The 1960’s song, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” played over the loudspeaker.

Mooney, still smiling, stood against a wall, holding a bottle of beer. He talked to a visitor about his days in the country.

“It was kind of crazy,” he recalled. “We were in a lot of firefights and had a lot of contact with (the Vietcong) there. Once we landed with 120 guys right in the middle of a line of them. We left with 68 of us.”

After leaving the Army in 1970, Mooney became a third-grade teacher in the Medford School District. During his 27-year tenure, he served as vice president and president of the Medford Education Association.

“In the Army I started out as a sniper, then was a machine gunner,” Mooney said. “I went from that to being a third-grade teacher. That’s quite a change in venue.

“I also tended bar at night for 33 years while I was teaching,” he said. “So both jobs were similar: I was dealing with children at both.”

Mooney’s son Patrick, of Cinnaminson, was smiling as broadly as his father. The 31-year-old said he found out about the plans for the surprise a couple weeks ago.

“He’s a really good guy,” he said of his dad. “This is very cool. To see the big American flag as we came to the post. That was awesome.”

Lynn Mooney also couldn’t stop grinning. She admitted that she didn’t know all the particulars about Saturday, and was glad to be kept in the dark.

“They called me and wanted to make sure we kept (Saturday) open. But I didn’t want to know everything because I didn’t want to slip. I didn’t want to be the one to let the cat out of the bag.”

Oaklyn Mayor Bob Forbes was on hand, enjoying a meatball sandwich. “This is a great event,” Forbes said. “It’s fantastic. This is the first (homecoming) I’ve been invited to and I’m just overwhelmed.

To see all the bikes come in, and such a great turnout, this is a great event. I’d like to see more of this.”

Hehl said he is working on granting the mayor’s wishes.

“We’re hoping to join up with a couple other posts and do something for more Vietnam vets around the area,” Hehl noted. “It’s a shame how some of these guys came home. They weren’t welcomed, they were spit on. And all they were doing was what they were told by the military.

“They were just serving their country. We’re not going to forget the other vets. We’re going to try and include everybody we can.”

Vietnam vet Ron Croce was in the Army during the Tet Offensive in 1968. He said he was told to not wear his uniform when traveling after he returned to the states.

“We were treated very poorly,” Croce remembered. “Even to this day. A couple years ago somebody called me a baby burner.

“That’s why (current returning soldiers) get what they get now with the welcome home receptions. We’re not going to let (what happened to Vietnam vets) ever happen again.

“I used to be a member here at Mark’s post,” Croce said. “That’s why it was an honor for me to be here. He’s a great guy and he deserves to get this kind of reception.”