MINT wont boot but can get a command prompt. How can I save /home with permissions?

I hosed my wife's MINT trying to delete X11vnc. It won't boot but using a live boot on a usb, I can see the original /home is intact. I just cannot copy it to a safe place because it thinks I am a different user (indeed, I am).
I plan to reinstall MINT at / without formatting hoping the /home directory will be intact... I just need a way to back it up just in case.
I can get to a terminal session by booting into MINT recovery mode. Suggestions on how to copy the /home folder to a usb drive that way?