WATCH: Marine surprises kids in Henry County, comes home early from deployment
Two Henry County kids got a big surprise at their elementary school Friday.
Their father, Sgt. Garen Evans, came home early from his second tour of duty overseas with the U.S. Marine Corps to help give his kids an early Veterans Day celebration, Channel 2 Action News reported. Evans had been deployed for the past seven months in Japan.
However, he worked with his wife, Kristina, the Henry County School District and Ola Elementary School officials to surprise two of their three children, Karter May and Kooper, Channel 2 reported.
“I felt like I owed it to the family with being away for so long,” Sgt. Evans told the news station.
The children and their classmates were told by their teachers that they were celebrating veterans, and a school district official walked in and let Karter May and Kooper separately FaceTime with their father, Channel 2 reported.
However, they didn’t know that their dad was really just steps outside of their classroom door. Once the FaceTime call ended, Sgt. Evans popped in for the surprise, and the news station caught the heartwarming moments on video — first Karter May, then Kooper.
Here's the moment a U.S. marine surprised his son, in Henry County today.
— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) November 9, 2018
How the marine was able to pull off the special reunion, next on Ch. 2.@wsbtv pic.twitter.com/JdImuoGZrg
“Felt like I was going to cry,” Kooper told Channel 2 after reuniting with his father. “I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
Both Kooper and Karter May said they look forward to just hanging out with their dad again before he has to fly back. He redeploys on Monday, but he’s set to return in December, the news station reported.
In other news:
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
