Just when you think we’ve seen all of the different ways that returning soldiers could possibly surprise their families, along comes a video that totally sweeps us off our feet!
In 2013, Captain Hyrum Bronson, a doctor for the United States Air Force, was serving out his six-month deployment in Afghanistan. He still had about three weeks before he could return to his family… or so they thought.
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Captain Bronson’s wife, Bethany, was holding down the fort with the couples’ four children on a military base in Okinawa Island, Japan. One day, Bethany took the kids out for a swim in the clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
As the family splashed and paddled around in the shallow water, a friend pulled out a video camera and started filming. He told the family that he would record some words for his friend, Captain Bronson, and send it to him on Facebook.
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“What would you say to your daddy if he was here now?”He asked Charity, one of the Bronsons’ daughters.
“I will love him for always,”Charity said sweetly.
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Turning to Bethany, who was holding her daughter, Lucy, the friend asked the same question.
“Love you! Miss you!”said Bethany, doing a special hand signal that only her husband would understand.
“Alright, I’m going to send this to him on Facebook,”he said. Seconds later, however, it became clear that he had no intention of sending a message to Captain Bronson; in fact, he was in on this ruse the entire time!
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Just behind Bethany and Lucy, a dark shape emerged in the water. Before you start humming the “Jaws” theme song in your head, never fear — it is just Captain Bronson in full scuba gear!
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He rises out of the sea behind his wife, who turns to look and blurts out, “Are you freaking kidding me?”
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Bethany was so overwhelmed and overcome by emotion, she actually turned her back on her husband for a second.
“Mrs. Bronson, your husband’s here reporting for duty,” said Captain Bronson happily. The kids finally spot their dad, and a chorus of “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy” fills the air around them, but Captain Bronson has eyes only for his beloved wife.
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“You get the first hug,” he tells her, taking his weeping wife in his arms. The children soon join the tearful reunion, piling on their parents in their water wings and swim masks.
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Bethany later shared this emotional family reunion to her YouTube page, explaining:
“After being in Afghanistan for 6 months and 3 months of training in the States before that with only a short month home in between, he is finally home! We thought he was coming home 3 weeks from now, but he is sneaky. We can’t believe he is finally back home with us!”
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It’s a rare and beautiful thing to receive a surprise this precious, and it seems like Bethany and her children definitely appreciated the lengths their soldier went to in order to make this moment so incredibly special.
Watch their joyful reunion below, and be sure to share!
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