Mom Drives All Night So Baby Daughter Can Tap Out Air Force Aunt in Emotional Ceremony

An Air Force graduate burst into tears of happiness when her “best friend” sister drove 16 hours overnight so her baby daughter could tap out her beloved aunt.

Carly Spalding, 20, had no idea she was about to be paid a surprise visit by her sister, Laura, and four-month-old niece, Ella, at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, on February 6.

Laura, 26, has always been her sister’s best friend, and during Carly’s nine weeks of training, the pair were only allowed to communicate via letters.

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The separation was tough as the pair had always seen each other as just a phone call away.

That distance was made to feel even greater when Laura thought she wouldn’t be able to attend Carly’s graduation, as she had a newborn daughter and a five-year-old.

But the week of the event, a wave of sadness came over Laura, who said she felt like she couldn’t miss one of her sister’s greatest accomplishments.

Facing flights that would cost around $1000 to travel from her home in Tennessee to Texas, Laura decided her only option was to drive, bringing her baby daughter while leaving her five-year-old to stay with family and attend school.

Leaving on a Tuesday night, Laura travelled for 16 hours, before making it to Texas the following evening.

The graduation was then on Thursday morning, and during the tapping-out ceremony, Laura had her camera rolling as she approached her sister, holding her daughter in her arms.

As soon as Carly saw her sister and niece approaching, she immediately fought back tears, before sobbing uncontrollably when Ella tapped her out.

Laura said: “The week of her graduation came and suddenly sadness came over me.

“I cried practically all Monday, thinking I was going to miss one of her greatest accomplishments.

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“I knew I had to find a way to get there but flights were over $1000, so I knew my only option was to drive.

“I knew from the start I wanted my daughter to tap Carly out – she was always there as my other daughter grew up, and I knew it took a toll on her not being able to see my youngest.

“The moment was everything; it made every single second of every hour I drove worth it.

“She had just accomplished one of the greatest things any man or woman could do for the country.

“I was so incredibly proud of her, and so happy she got to have the moment she deserved.”