Daughter was missing dad who had been deployed overseas for a year—got a surprise outside her classroom
Many military personnel have to go through the challenge of being deployed far away from their families. One military dad had been deployed overseas and hadn't seen his family in almost a year. His first-grader daughter had been missing him loads throughout that time. So when the man, Austin Bonstetter, finally got a chance to come back home, he knew what his first step was going to be and it led to an emotional reunion with his daughter, Ava, per 13 News.
Austin had been working as a US Army mechanic in the Middle East for 309 days and hadn't been able to see his family, including Ava, throughout the time. It wasn't easy for the 7-year-old girl, per KOTV. So when Austin finally returned, he decided to plan a big surprise for his daughter with the help of his wife, Martina and the principal at Northwest Elementary School, per PEOPLE. The kids were told that a local celebrity was going to visit their school that day. "I was super pumped immediately, just hearing how exciting that would be for their family. We told them that a local celebrity was coming, so they’ve just been super excited all day long, the anticipation of figuring out who the local celebrity was going to be," the principal, Taylor Harper, pointed out.
As Ava and the other students had no idea who was coming in, she was super surprised when her dad was the one who walked inside during class. The little girl immediately ran towards her father and jumped to give him a big hug. The class was told that a celebrity would come in for story time, per Fox23 News Tulsa. The girl introduced her dad to the class after they met. "So this was our local celebrity. He has been overseas fighting for all of us so we can be free," Harper told the class. "He was all the way on the other side of the world," Ava proudly explained. The family sat down with the class as the teacher did a military-themed story time for the students.
The teacher also explained that when soldiers are away from their base, they have to sleep in tents through the story. Ava couldn't contain her excitement after that. "I felt very happy. I thought it was going to be someone I didn't know. I didn't think it was going to be my dad," she expressed. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the absence of a deployed family member can be quite stressful for the family as they get used to going about life without their presence for prolonged periods of time. Austin told 13 News, "It was amazing. It was all thanks to this one right here (his wife) and this wonderful school for letting me."
The man was now non-deployable for two years and was looking forward to spending all of that time with his family. After a photo session with the class, the family was hoping to get to Taco Bueno, as Austin had wanted to go to the restaurant for months. The mom, Martina, was glad to have her husband back home as well, per Fox 23 News. "Just doing the everyday tasks, just life. Because that's the hardest part, not being able to do everything together. So, just anything," she went on. The dad shared a message for the families who were going through such a separation. "Hang in there. You'll be home sooner than you think."