A soldier dad made his return from deployment extra special for each of his four sons by surprising them individually after arriving back on U.S. soil.
Derek Heffner, 35, from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, had been based in Europe for seven months, and so he wanted to do something truly memorable for his four boys on his return.
With the help of his wife, Audrina, 35, Derek, a sergeant with the U.S. Army, planned four separate surprises for his return, having arrived back in his hometown while the kids were still in school.
The first surprise was planned for Derek’s son, Trenton, aged seven, who couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted his father standing in the hall of his school during lunch period.
Then, Derek surprised sons Benjamin, five, and Tyler, 10, outside their school, with the pair running into their father’s arms on separate occasions.
And then, finally, it was the turn of Derek’s oldest son, Thomas, 12, who saw his father jump out from behind a car while walking home from school.
Audrina said: “Their dad returned home during school hours and we couldn’t wait, so we decided to surprise them all at school.
“It was such a happy feeling to see the look on their faces once they realized Dad was home.
“The response the videos got was awesome.
“People were happy to see the kids reunited with their dad.”