A dad celebrating his birthday broke down in tears when his military daughter walked in the door to surprise him after three years apart.
Derrick “Bone” Kimble, from Oakland, Mississippi, had not seen daughter Bree Danner, 27, a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force, in person for three years.
Bree will be joining her husband, who also serves in the Air Force, in Hawaii later this year, but was able to visit home in July around her dad’s birthday party – so she decided to plan a surprise.
On the day of the surprise, she walked towards her grandmother, Jean Kimble, 70, who took a second to realize who was approaching her home before Jean darted across her front yard to embrace Bree.
Bree then went to surprise her dad, and after leaving him open-mouthed and speechless, he quickly retreated to another room to gather himself but could not hold back his tears.
As his emotions started getting the better of him, his daughter told him ‘happy birthday’ before going in for a long-awaited hug as the pair were finally reunited after so long.
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The moment was captured on video by Bree’s aunt, Victoria Kimble, who said: “We never get to see her enough.
“All of the siblings had already predicted Jean was going to be ecstatic and that Derrick was most definitely going to cry – we were right.
“Everyone who knows Derrick knows that if he doesn’t love anything else, he loves and adores all his children.
“It was heart-warming for both, but specifically for Derrick because it was his actual birthday, and as they hugged and reunited, tears filled our eyes.
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“The response to the video has been overwhelming, especially from strangers, and the comments have been heartfelt, such as “I wish I had a dad like that” or “I miss my grandmother.”
“It really makes you stop, think, and realize just how many individuals out there lack family, love, support, and so much more.
“No matter how long it has been or is going to be, always make time to spend with family – communicate with them as much as you can, whether it be via text, a phone call, a video chat, anything.
“Hug them. Tell them you love them. If someone crosses your mind, take that exact moment to make them aware as they probably need you more than you need them.”