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Beautiful Homecoming For Pennsylvania Soldier: Surprises Children At School Event

Published on: January 22, 2017 at 1:17 PM ET
Erin Fitzgerald
Written By Erin Fitzgerald
News Writer

Meyersdale Area School witnessed a beautiful homecoming for a Pennsylvania soldier. He surprised his children at a school event, WJACTV reports.

Meyersdale Area Elementary School was holding a fundraiser event on Friday for their 2017 mini-Thon to raise money for childhood cancer awareness.

The children of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Roush had no idea who was behind the curtains when they stepped on stage to talk about their dad’s military experiences.

With their backs turned to the curtains, they were emotionally surprised when their father appeared at their side and greeted them with a hug. The children spread happy tears as they held their father for the first time in nearly a year.

Sgt. Roush was deployed for almost 11 months during his sixth deployment.

“I’ve been gone for 10 to 11 months now and I’m going to try and surprise the kids because they haven’t seen me in a while.”

The children were thrilled to have their father back. It is almost unimaginable for children to be away from their military parents for months at a time. It was definitely emotional watching the homecoming event.

Last week was also an emotional moment for an Airman’s children, who was surprised by their father while in school, WANE reports.

Master Sgt. Richard Goins was scheduled to arrive home from his deployment on Wednesday, at least that’s what the children believed.

The freshman twins and 7th-grade daughter had no idea that they were going to see their father one day early. When Goins and his wife entered Carroll High School, Goins’ twins were more shocked than ever to see their father.

Following the emotional reunion with his son and daughter, the family went to Maple Creek Middle School to surprise their youngest daughter. What a wonderful surprise for this military family.

According to WANE , Goins had just returned from his deployment to Kuwait, followed by Qatar.

A couple of weeks ago, a young boy unwrapped a very large present that was setting on his doorstep. What he didn’t know was that it would be the best gift of all; his father, ABC 11 revealed.

The Fort Bragg soldier, who’s family requested their names to not be released, had been deployed for what seemed like a lifetime for his little boy.

When the Fayetteville family saw what was inside that very large wrapped gift, the emotions took over. The boy’s mother told reporters that her son would ask regularly when his dad was going to be home.

“It’s such a blessing to have him back home! Having a deployed soldier is always hard for the family, (especially) when you have kids. My son was always asking when his daddy was going to return. He’s super close with his dad, and he was missing him dearly. When he opened that box and he realized it was his dad inside his voice broke down!”

https://youtu.be/A-4lfaJlV5I

A Fort Lee soldier, who just returned from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan, has made a surprise homecoming for his young children.

Army Major Brian Slotnick was set to come home shortly after Christmas, but the family wasn’t sure exactly when. Major Slotnick entered his children’s daycare facility in Chester County, Virginia. The words that the soldier heard when his son and daughter wrapped their arms around him was enough to melt the world, My Fox 8 reports.

“I love daddy!”

Slotnick’s heart was certainly melted as his three-year-old daughter, Scarlett, and five-year-old son, Louie, wrapped their arms around him for the first time in a year.

https://youtu.be/0pEtethihl0

Slotnick mentioned that he is excited to enjoy some time with his wife, Maureen, and his children.

“I am happy to be home and reunited with the family. I am just looking forward to some good family time.”

See the emotional homecoming of the Pennsylvania soldier here . God bless each and every soldier and their families and thank you for your service.

[Featured Image by Shutterstock]

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