A routine school assembly turns into a soldier’s surprise homecoming.
Army Sgt. Derek O’Brien returned to Kansas a couple weeks early.
Staff at Peterson Elementary School in Wichita helped make the soldier’s return one that many –especially Derek’s son, Cade — will never forget.
“I thought they were just filming the assembly,” Cade said in reference to the camera crews in attendance.
“It was good to see,” Derek echoed. “I just missed him a lot. and glad to be back with him.”
Derek had been deployed to Afghanistan for nine months. Along to reuniting with his wife, Andrea, Derek got a surprise of his own — meeting his four-month-old son, Braxton.
“Worried,” Derek said. “Seeing his face for the first time. Wondering how he was going to adapt to me coming up without ever having to… just seeing him on the computer all the time. It was pretty amazing to see his reaction.”