Nothing has the power to induce tears of joy as much as a military family reunion. Because brave service men and women need to leave their families to fight for freedom and democracy around the world in the name of the United States of America, they inevitably leave behind loved ones. And these family members and friends must wait anxiously to hear from them via long-distant communication or their eventual homecoming. And although things are not as dangerous as they were a few years ago, service men and women are still at considerable risk. And sometimes they do not make it home safely. This is a tragedy.
But a few days ago, a seven-year-old girl got the surprise of her life when her father came home from deployment and visited her at her school.
During a school-wide assembly on Tuesday at the Okte Elementary School in Clifton Park, New York, a little girl was suddenly pushed into the spotlight when little Natalie Plamondon’s mother was invited to be a guest reader.
And Natalie stepped up to join her mother in reading “Hero Dad” to the assembly of students.
“My dad is an American soldier. My dad is my superhero,” Natalie read from the book aloud to her classmates. None of the children there knew that a huge surprise was awaiting Natalie as soon as she finished the story.
With the book finished, Lt. Col. Jean-Paul Plamondon walked into the room and gave Natalie the surprise of her life. As soon as she recognized her father, she darted across the room to jump into his arms.
For nearly a year, Plamondon has been in Kuwait on deployment. Although he has been able to communicate with them through video chat, he has not seen his daughter or his wife, Valerie, in months. And because Valerie knew her husband was soon returning, she worked with the school to make it a surprise for their daughter.
“I thought it was going to be January 31st. I thought he was somebody else, but then when I realized it was daddy, I just wanted to run and hug him,” Natalie told a reporter with Fox & Friends, Ainsley Earhardt.
On the Fox & Friends story, some people stated that they were offended how the homecoming came during school and interrupted class. Robert Racy quickly defended the military family’s unique homecoming.
“An American kid welcoming home her dad, a U.S. soldier protecting our country so that she and her classmates can enjoy this great country in peace offends you? You sound bitter and jealous,” the reader says to the person who did not like how the homecoming disrupted the class.
Another person wrote how videos like this serve as reminders of the good work the people in the United States military do.
“They should post videos like this every single day to remind people that our protectors have families too. God bless them all.”
“Thank you for your service, and may God continue to bless you and yours, Lt. Col. Jean-Paul Plamondon.”
Watch the amazing homecoming below. What is your reaction to the clip?
