For Ryan Hughes, a kindergartner at Deer Park’s John Quincy Adams Primary School, the best surprise of all came at the end of a recent school day.
The unannounced guest arriving at teacher Allison Jurman’s classroom to pick him up from school was his father Michael, a staff sergeant newly home from serving with the U.S. Army overseas.
“He’s been gone since the summer, nine whole months, so this is a wonderful day,” said elated mother Theresa Hughes, who accompanied him to the classroom.
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“I’m very happy,” said Michael Hughes. “It’s good to finally be home.”
This was the fourth deployment for the father of three, who works as a financial planner when not serving his country. While an emotional Ryan held tightly to his father, who was still clad in fatigues, the soldier took a few questions from the other children – describing the experience of sleeping in a tent every night as well as his military work communicating with local people – before heading home for well-deserved quality time.
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“This was a wonderful opportunity to reunite a family,” said JQA Principal Christine Criscione.