Two Michigan students received the surprise of a lifetime when their father, who had deployed to Kuwait with the National Guard, visited their school upon returning home.
Video clips posted to Twitter by the West Ottawa Public School System show Staff Sgt. Kyle Greenway making an entrance at North Muskegon High School and hugging his children, Bailey and Brody.
“Staff Sergeant Kyle Greenway was stationed in Kuwait with the @NationalGuard since May of 2022,” the tweet read. “He has not been able to see his wife, Ashley, or kids Bailey (9th), or Brody (8th) for 46 weeks. Today he returned home & surprised his children at @MacBayMS!”
WZZM 13 reported Greenway has served in the National Guard for 16 years, having gone on two deployments at the time, noting that during this most recent deployment, he has not seen his family in 46 weeks.
Greenway’s wife, Ashley, described the family’s anticipation of his return, per WZZM 13.
“It was overwhelmingly exciting as it was getting closer and the date wasn’t changing at all,” she said.
However, when the day finally came, it proved worth the wait.
A YouTube video showed the event, which was held in the school’s auditorium. At the key moment, Greenway enters to the applause of the whole student body as the camera focuses on the stunned faces of his children. Soon, they rushed to hug him.
“So I was confused,” Bailey said of the reunion, per WZZM 13. “And then I was like, excited. And I didn’t really know what to feel — because he was just there.”
Greenway himself described his long-awaited reunion with his family as a moment of “overwhelming joy.”
“I’m just relieved, finally had my whole family together again,” he said, per WZZM 13. “I had to brace myself because she (Bailey) came at me pretty darn quick. We have relief, just overwhelming joy.”
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