Soldier Dad Surprises Daughters At School After Deployment

A pair of siblings were given two beautiful surprises at school when their soldier dad returned home from deployment after nearly a year overseas. For James "Keith" Williams, from Union County, South Carolina, deployments are always tough, with his family having to come up with coping strategies for daughters, Aly, 14, and Morgan, 10. When Keith, a master sergeant with the U.S. Army National Guard, headed off to the Horn of Africa in June 2023, it was the second deployment Morgan had experienced, and the third for Aly. And so, when returning home after almost a year, Keith knew he wanted to make the moment extra special for his girls. Usually, the family would travel together to collect Keith upon his return, but, on this occasion, Keith decided to have his dad collect him from the airport, on April 19, so he could head straight to the schools of his daughters and surprise them. At Morgan's elementary school, in the middle of physical education class, the school's assistant principal snuck Keith into the gymnasium behind a curtain. As it happened to be ‘Month of the Military Child’, a teacher called Morgan up in front of the class and expressed how grateful she and Morgan's classmates were for her bravery during her dad's absence. Then, Keith was called from behind the curtain, which caused an emotional Morgan to jump into her father's arms on stage for a long-awaited hug. It was then onto Aly's middle school, where an assistant principal walked into Aly’s classroom and explained that it was Month of the Military Child, too. Aly was asked to pose for a photo for the school's website, but as she stood at the front of the class, Keith was then called upon for the big surprise.

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