--- title: Sgt. Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration description: Bergdahl's hometown is canceling a celebration for the returned sergeant at the end of the month amid a rising backlash canonical: https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-04T18:11:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:01:17.244Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sgt. Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration og:description: Bergdahl's hometown is canceling a celebration for the returned sergeant at the end of the month amid a rising backlash og:url: https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22dd9569e530cc59/6986962c810bbb7d1fc9205b/bowe-bergdahl-hailey-idaho.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3264 og:image:height: 1836 og:image:alt: Bowe Bergdahl Hailey Idaho og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sgt. Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration twitter:description: Bergdahl's hometown is canceling a celebration for the returned sergeant at the end of the month amid a rising backlash twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22dd9569e530cc59/6986962c810bbb7d1fc9205b/bowe-bergdahl-hailey-idaho.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9310169b-b37e-4835-bbce-40b1f9c12ae6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover [Watch (HLS stream): Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/opLiU1dV.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2014-06-04. Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover_ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jun 4, 2014 6:11 PM UTC  Flags and balloons, marking the release from captivity of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, adorn the sidewalk outside a shop in the soldier's hometown of Hailey, Idaho, on June 4, 2014. Flags and balloons, marking the release from captivity of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, adorn the sidewalk outside a shop in the soldier's hometown of Hailey, Idaho, on June 4, 2014. Brian Skoloff—AP by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jun 4, 2014 6:11 PM UTC _Updated 4:45 p.m. E.T. on June 4_ A [rally](http://www.trust.org/item/20140604202258-r9ce9) in U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s Idaho hometown celebrating his release after nearly [five years of captivity](http://time.com/2803616/bowe-bergdahl-american-afghanistan-returned/) has been canceled amid growing questions about the circumstances of the soldier’s capture. The joy over Bergdahl’s return among residents of the small mountain community of Hailey, Idaho has been dampened by claims that he abandoned his post. Some have also claimed that the subsequent search for Bergdahl cost the lives of up to six soldiers, Reuters reports. Hailey’s city administrator, Heather Dawson said town officials called off the June 28 rally at the request of organizers. The town “will be unable to safely manage the number of people expected,” Dawson told Reuters. But residents say they support Bergdahl either way and that they’re continuing to prepare for a June 28 rally in his honor. “People in Hailey have been aware for some time that there were questions about how Bowe came to be captured, and that there was a chance that Bowe could be in trouble when he came home,” said Stefanie O’Neill, a rally co-organizer. The backlash over Bergdahl’s release reached a fever pitch early this week amid reports that the [White House overrode interagency security processes](http://time.com/2818827/taliban-bergdahl-pow-release-objections-white-house/) to free [five Taliban higher-ups](http://time.com/2803988/guantanamo-detainees-bergdahl/) in exchange for Bergdahl’s release. There has also been increasing scrutiny of Bergdahl’s[ absence from his post](http://time.com/2816172/bowe-bergdahl-desertion-trial-court-martial/) in Afghanistan before his capture. \[[Reuters](http://www.trust.org/item/20140604202258-r9ce9)\] ## Transcript [ INAUDIBLE ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/"},"headline":"Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration","datePublished":"2014-06-04T18:11:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:01:17.244Z","description":"Bergdahl's hometown is canceling a celebration for the returned sergeant at the end of the month amidst a rising backlash","url":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/","keywords":["Afghanistan","Military"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22dd9569e530cc59/6986962c810bbb7d1fc9205b/bowe-bergdahl-hailey-idaho.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22dd9569e530cc59/6986962c810bbb7d1fc9205b/bowe-bergdahl-hailey-idaho.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bowe Bergdahl Hailey Idaho","caption":"Bowe Bergdahl Hailey Idaho","creditText":"Brian Skoloff—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/afghanistan/","name":"Afghanistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/","name":"Bergdahl's Idaho Hometown Cancels Homecoming Celebration"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover","description":"Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/opLiU1dV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-04T11:59:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/opLiU1dV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2822794/bergdahl-idaho-homecoming/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```