I absolutely love those surprise soldier homecomings or reunions at sporting events. Sometimes I see them on ESPN and think, “dang, wish I was there”. They move me.
On Friday night (July 26th), my wife and daughter and I went to the Omaha Storm Chasers game. While I was walking back to my seat, I overheard the between inning quiz/interview with a wife of a U.S. soldier. She was asked a number of questions and at the end she was asked what she would want to say to her husband, who is deployed overseas. She said something to the effect of, “Love you and I can’t wait to see you in a week”. Of course the announcer said, “why wait, tell him now…he is here tonight!” They hug, kiss and everyone applauds.
Almost immediately, I headed over to the top of their section and waited for them (as I suspected, they decided not to stay for the rest of the game!)
When the couple walked up, I introduced myself and my Giving50x52 journey and my request that they be my week 49. They agreed.
Brent, from Georgia, just returned from 8 months in Afghanistan. He is in the Marines. His wife is Stephanie and they were officially married in December, but they said a true ceremony is yet to happen…likely this fall.
They met while Stephanie was travelling with the USO in Twentynine Palms, CA.
Stephanie’s dad is retired military and their family moved around a lot, but Papillion has been home for the past ten years and is where her father retired.
I’m proud of and appreciative of our military personnel. These surprise homecomings captivate the emotion of the separation, and the reconnection, with their family.
Brent, I salute your service to our nation…and Stephanie, I applaud your strength and support.
I was honored to meet both of you!
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Below is an e-mail I received from Stephanie on July 31st:
There’s no “LOVE” button to click on here, so we had to settle for “LIKE”! 🙂 Welcome home, Brent, and THANK YOU for your service!
Love this story! My nephew just returned from a year deployed in the Middle East with the U.S. Army, so this resonates close to home. Stephanie and Brent’s follow-up letter was particularly nice.