LISBON, N.H. (AP) – It’s been a year since New Hampshire soldier Jose Pequeno was critically injured by a bomb in Iraq, and his family says he’s made a lot of progress.

Pequeno, the police chief in Sugar Hill, has come out of his coma, and his wife says he’s much more alert and vocal these days, although not yet talking.

Jose Pequeno has spent the last year recovering from a traumatic brain injury, first at Walter Reed Hospital and then in Florida.

“It’s not as frightening as it was when he first got hurt because he’s doing a lot better then he was,” said his son, Gaige Pequeno.

His children have been able to visit twice, and while Pequeno can’t talk with them, they said they know he is communicating in his own way.

“When we first went there, he moaned and groaned for long time,” said his daughter, Alexandria Pequeno. “I basically said, ‘Hi,’ and, ‘I love you, and everybody sends their love.”‘

Volunteers, families and friends have given their time and effort to the Pequenos. Last summer, the family was given a new handicapped-accessible home in Lisbon, and there have been numerous fundraisers to help the family with expenses.

“I really can’t explain it, but it was a beautiful thing,” Kelley Pequeno said. “People just came together.”

Kelley Pequeno said that she knows her husband has a long road ahead, but she is hopeful he will come home one day.

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Information from: WMUR-TV, www.wmur.com

AP-ES-02-28-07 0501EST