Navy Dad Is Away From Family For 20 Months, Then He Appears At 7-Year-Old Son’s School Unannounced

Jan 22, 2019 by apost team

When you’re a child, your parents are more important to you than anything. They’re there to comfort you, discipline you, teach you everything you need to know and they’re there for you through anything that life has to offer.

Having parents around at a young age is important to the development and success of children, so it can be disheartening when a father or mother has to be away from their children, even if it’s for a good reason.

One second grader knows this situation all too well, as his father is in the Navy and has to be deployed for extended periods of time. The seven-year-old, named Ethan Anderson, live with this reality every day, but little did he know that he was about to receive the surprise of a lifetime!

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His father, named Jon-Andrew Anderson-Ingebrigtsen, is a commanding officer and was working on his third deployment overseas. He was meant to be back at his home in April, but due to new circumstances, he was able to come home much sooner to see his family.

After accepting a job offer at the Pentagon, Jon-Andrew knew that it was the perfect time to come home and surprise his son!

He thought that surprising him at school would make Ethan extremely happy, and he couldn’t wait to see his reaction. Ethan arrived at school that day not suspecting a thing. He attends school in Milwaukee, and during their gym class period, everything was going according to plan... or so Ethan thought!

The teachers told Ethan that they were starting the roller skating unit of class, so Ethan figured that he was about to learn how to roller-skate and have some fun skating around the gym.

However, he could have never expected his father waiting for him in the gym! When the surprise finally came to fruition, Ethan was in disbelief that his father was really standing in front of him.

For the first time in years, he was able to give his father a hug and feel the warmth radiating between them. His father admitted that he was a little overwhelmed, but overjoyed to be back where he belongs. “I can’t believe it,” Ethan said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I didn’t recognize him for a few seconds because he usually wears a blue uniform.” You can hear more about their reunion in the video below.

What do you think about Ethan’s story? Have your parents ever had to go away for an extended period of time? Did they surprise you like this too? We would love to hear your stories, so be sure to let us know!  Feel free to pass this along to your friends and family to make their day.