Soldier Returns From Afghanistan, Surprises Kids
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Staff Sergeant Corey Humphrey's son and daughter got a big surprise Monday morning.
Their father showed up in their classrooms after a nine month deployment to Afghanistan.
Corey Humphrey Jr., 7, was in his second grade class at Charter Schools of Excellence Riverland Campus in Ft.Lauderdale when his father snuck into the classroom.
The class was doing a concentration exercise, and Corey was so focused on his teacher, he didn't even turn to see who tapped him on the shoulder until his teacher told him it was okay to look.
When he realized it was his father, he jumped into his arms and held onto him.
"I missed you Daddy," he said.
This was the fourth deployment for Humphrey, a 16 year army veteran.
He served in Afghanistan for the past nine months as helicopter mechanic.
It's a job that makes his son proud. "He works in the army and works hard," explained Corey Humphrey Jr.
Father and son agree it's difficult to spend so much time apart.
"You miss so much of their life. Kids grow up so quick, especially when they're little. You leave one day, you come back, they're like little men now," said Staff Sergeant Humphrey.
Father and son look forward to playing Wii together.
After surprising his son, it was time to surprise Humphrey's daughter.
Courtney, 4, had just finished lunch with her Oakland Park Pre-Kindergarten class when her dad arrived. Staff Sergeant Humphrey was concerned his daughter wouldn't remember him right away.
Before his nine month deployment, he'd been through months of training and hadn't spent much time with his kids in a year and a half.
He said he was feeling, "just a little nervous… didn't know if she was going to really recognize me after all the time gone away."
He didn't need to worry, Courtney jumped right into her dad's arms. "I love my daddy so much," she said as she gave her father a big hug.
To celebrate the happy reunion, the family is headed to Disney World this weekend.
