WATCH: Returning soldier surprises daughters at Jessieville Elementary

WATCH: Jessieville prepares for a soldier’s homecoming at hotsr.com

U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Garrett, of Jessieville, reunites with his daughters Rayleigh, 7, left, and Sofia, 5, right, at Jessieville Elementary School Friday. Garrett had not seen them for one year while he was stationed in South Korea. - Photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record
U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Garrett, of Jessieville, reunites with his daughters Rayleigh, 7, left, and Sofia, 5, right, at Jessieville Elementary School Friday. Garrett had not seen them for one year while he was stationed in South Korea. - Photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record

JESSIEVILLE -- After spending one year stationed in South Korea, U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Garrett surprised his daughters Rayleigh, 7, and Sofia, 5, in a heartfelt reunion during their lunch break at Jessieville Elementary Friday.

Rayleigh Garrett, second grade, and Sofia Garrett, kindergarten, were seated in the back corner of the school's cafeteria on what they thought to be just another school day. Little did they know their dad, who they had not seen in a year, had arrived home the night before and would be walking through their cafeteria doors with flowers in hand.

Before the surprise, Michael Garrett said he anticipated running and screaming from his daughters when they saw him -- they did both, in addition to tight hugs.

He said while he was away working as an Automatic Logistical Specialist, he was able to talk to his daughters, but it was difficult to do it very often due to the 16-hour time difference.

Having arrived the night before, he said he wanted to hug and greet his daughters then, but they were asleep, so he waited patiently.

His wife, Dawn Garrett, said it was not hard to keep the secret from her daughters of his homecoming because they knew it was going to be soon, just not when exactly.

Ashley Layfield, Jessieville School District's public relations coordinator, said the school got involved with Garrett's homecoming after Dawn Garrett contacted Tiffany Harden, Rayleigh Garrett's second-grade teacher, and asked if her husband could come surprise his daughter at school by showing up to the classroom.

"Tiffany told me because I'm public relations coordinator, and I suggested making it a little bit bigger-scale by doing it during lunch where people could come and get to experience the moment with the family," Layfield said.

She said it took just a few phone calls to coordinate the time to make it happen.

"We had to get Sofia's kindergarten teacher to agree to bring the class in so she could be there during Rayleigh's lunchtime, because they have two different lunchtimes. So Mrs. Amanda Wylie in kindergarten was very cooperative, excited and eager to be a part of it," Layfield said. "We had arranged for Rayleigh to have an open seat beside (Sofia) so her little sister could come and sit with her."

She said she also prepped Eddie Picking, the elementary counselor, to make an announcement to the students having lunch that there was a "special visitor" so all the focus would be on Michael Garrett's entrance.

"The fact that a family could be reunited here at our school was really special for us because we have such a family friendly school culture," Layfield said. "We like to have a lot of parental involvement. We like to see parents on campus supporting our students ... so the fact that they could come and make an appearance and surprise their kids here on campus rather than just at home or at an airport was really special."

Michael Garrett will be home for the next few weeks before he and his family move to New York, where he will be stationed at Fort Drum until further notice. This month marks eight years he has served in the military.

Local on 01/18/2020

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