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Military dad surprises daughter at elementary school

Posted at 10:06 PM, Oct 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-14 00:06:47-04

BALDWIN, N.Y. (WPIX) — A Long Island first-grader got the best surprise when her military dad showed up at an assembly.

Brooke Reyes was attending a schoolwide discussion about Veterans Day at Plaza Elementary School. She was brought to the front of the gym to talk about her father.

That’s when she saw her dad, Jason Reyes, across the room.

“Words can’t express,” Reyes said after the reunion. “I got home today, I cried…got to see my big girl today.”

“I was thinking he was a prize to me because he is my hero,” added Brooke.

This trip is also the first time Staff Sergeant Reyes met his newborn daughter, Bianca.

“[It was a] good time away, can’t complain, but time to be home, be a dad again, be part of the family and everything,” said Reyes.

The Air Force aircraft mechanic says he will be home for at least two years before his next deployment.