After being held in Guam from Covid test mistake, Detroit Marine vet comes home

"You can't see it right now," Montae Willis said, pointing at his mask, "but I am smiling right now."

There was no grand welcoming party for Willis at Detroit Metropolitan Airport but the Marine veteran was happy to be home nonetheless. This comes after a controversial and tumultuous two-week stay in the western Pacific.

"I don't ever want to be isolated again, man. I can't even wait to get a warm hug," Willis said.

The 32-year-old was quarantined and held in isolation in Guam after a COVID-19 testing mixup in which public health officials in Guam claimed he had the disease.

"I don't trust the results of my test because as you've seen in the photograph they have my name at the top but there's not a single thing other than my name to identify me to the positive result," Willis said in a video on Aug. 20. "The birthdate was incorrect. The address was incorrect. the phone number was incorrect and the race was even incorrect."

Willis demanded another test and it came back negative. Even so, health officials in Guam wanted him to take a third one while continuing to hold him in a hotel that doubled as a COVID-19 isolation facility for another week. 

"Honestly I've never seen such a thing and so, we're going to fight to get him out of there," said Rep. Andy Levin (D) on Aug. 22.

Levin worked to have the U.S. military administer a third Covid test. Willis was leery of having health officials in Guam do it. That test also came back negative. Willis got word he could go home on Sunday.

RELATED: Marine vet stranded in Guam after questionable COVID-19 test result

"It feels so good to be back home, the last two weeks have been waiting and waiting," he said. "I can't thank Congressman Levin enough."

FOX 2 first told you about Willis last week. Press in Guam picked up the story and it spread quickly there, Willis says it even got the attention of their governor. 

"I thank the local Guam community, there was an outpouring of people who said this is not representative of our island, just know if this was under normal circumstances we would have shown you a good time," Willis said.