It takes a lot of sacrifices to serve in the military. The soldier may spend months away from home at a time without having any regular methods of communication with the people he leaves behind.
The American Marine Dave Woodruff was used to this way of life. The longest he could tolerate being separated from his family was probably two years. He was eager to get home to Deville, New Jersey, and see his family as soon as he could. In addition, he hoped it would be a memory they would always remember.
Woodruff realized that his eight-month assignment in Spain might end sooner than anticipated, so he developed a unique plan to celebrate his return to the United States. He thought of creative methods to please and surprise his parents. In order to ease his parents’ grief while he was away, he and his friends made a delightful treat.
His parents’ religious background was heavily influenced by the adjacent Christ the King Congregation. When his parents were about to leave for the day one day, the pastor broke some surprising news.
We have a brief surprise before I dismiss everyone, the pastor added.
After that, the pastor played a clip of Woodruff talking to his parents. When he got back, he made the decision to take advantage of the opportunity to wish his father a happy birthday early.
The Marine stated that he had been abroad for two years, highlighting how much he had missed his father’s previous birthday festivities. He put together a small present to surprise his parents as an apology for the time he had missed.
His mother couldn’t keep back the tears. She pulled out her glasses to dry them while she was crying tears of joy. When she finally learned that her child was safe and back at home, she felt relief.
It was an emotional moment for his parents and other church members who were familiar with Woodruff. Even still, the surprise persisted. Woodruff repeated himself on-screen, “Turn around.” “One last thing…”
At the entrance, Woodruff waited for the film to end with patience. He smiled at his parents and thanked them. They welcomed their son, who had been absent for what felt like an eternity, and gave him the biggest embrace they could manage.
Everyone concerned is looking forward to the casual get-togethers between troops and their loved ones. These moments mean a lot to them in light of their hardships and uncertainty. Troops would document these reunions on video in order to preserve their memories of them.
