BUCHANAN — The family of a Buchanan soldier is anxiously awaiting news from the war zone that their son is finally on his way home. U.S. Army Private Ryan "Bubba" McNeely was hit by shrapnel and gunfire during an ambush in Afghanistan.

He remains in critical condition at an Army hospital in Germany.

One soldier from McNeely's Airborne Infantry unit was killed during the attack, and another wounded after an improvised explosive device, or IED, exploded while the unit was on patrol in Eastern Afghanistan near Sharana.

Pvt. McNeely, 22, suffered shrapnel wounds to his liver and a gunshot wound to the upper right chest, which collapsed his lung.

McNeely had been in Afghanistan since March after enlisting last summer. He was stationed in Alaska until his unit deployed, and had just returned from a mid-tour leave in early June.

Knowing he was so close such a short time ago makes it that much tougher.

"It's a roller-coaster, you know? That's all. Up and down," said Ryan's father Mark McNeely. "He wanted to do this since he was a little kid, when his friends started calling him Bubba."

For the past five days, a single sheet of paper has helped bring the McNeely family comfort. Every mark and picture on it is a tribute to a man now regarded as a hometown hero.

"There are still people yet to come that want to sign this," McNeely said, holding up a 10-foot long banner filled with signatures, pictures and messages of support.

"They're coming by everyday," he continued. "We even get people stopping we don't even know. And they stop, and walk on the porch with tears in their eyes, you know? It touches me, you know? Big support. If it wasn't for them, it would be really hard."

Of course, that doesn't mean it's been easy.

Late Wednesday night, McNeely and Ryan's mother Kim Crawford, who also lives in Buchanan, received the phone call every military parent dreads.

"They said, he was shot, but wasn't dead. He was in a convoy, and a roadside bomb went off. They bailed, took cover, then took on small arms fire and then an IED went off. And the first story I was told was that he was hit by the IED," McNeely said.

It wasn't until the next day that McNeely learned his son had also been shot in the chest.

"I kept thinking positive thoughts. He's going to be OK. I'm still trying to hold on to that, but it's tough," McNeely said.

McNeely says his family was originally told Ryan would be flown back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., immediately on a special "medical flight" equipped with an intensive care unit, doctor, nurse and respiratory therapist on board.

By late Tuesday, plans had been changing by the hour, after Ryan developed an infection and fever following his removal from a ventilator, McNeely said.

For them, comfort now lies in family.

"Ryan has a lot of family and a lot of friends, and we've all just kind of banded together to be there for him as much as we can," said Ryan's sister Jamie Crawford. "We all have faith. You have to have faith. It's the only thing that can get you through times like this."

Crawford's father is proof of that, she says.

"Doctors said I was terminal with melanoma five years ago," McNeely said. "Here I am."

Ryan McNeely's community is banking on the same thing happening now.

Across town, signs bear his name, asking for prayers of healing. On McNeely's Facebook page, friends and family have left messages of love and support.

Fellow veterans at Buchanan's American Legion Post 91 pray for him each morning, and are asking the community to do the same.

"I'm keeping him in my thoughts, and his family, too," said Vietnam Veteran Jim Lolmaugh.

"Everybody has been praying," agreed Teri Dobrzykowski of the American Legion. "Everybody is supporting them. And we hope he's doing great and hope he'll be home soon."

They are words that bring comfort.

They are also words delivered directly to Ryan in Germany Tuesday.

"We got a chance to talk to him on the phone real briefly. He was pretty groggy. But, I told him -- stay strong. Everybody's here, wanting you home, you know? We just want to get him here stateside. We're waiting. We're waiting."

"I can't wait to tell him he means the world to me," said Crawford. "To tell him, I love you, Ryan. I believe in the power of prayer. And I know that my brother will come home."