U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Andy Patterson arrived home from deployment in Kuwait in the middle of the night on Wednesday, but it wasn’t until the next day that he made a surprise visit to his three children at Brookhaven elementary school in Killeen.
"Each of the kids had their own way of acknowledging, but the acknowledgment that the kids had would be the favorite part,” said Patterson.
This is the third time Patterson has deployed since his kids were born ... something that isn’t easy to do according to him.
"If anything, it gets harder watching your kids grow up and knowing that you’re missing out on a majority of their life when you’re gone during that time period,” said Patterson.
Each deployment is harder and harder on his family too.
"As a military family, we know the sacrifices we have to make as a whole, but it doesn't change the fact that we are human and we just want to be together too,” said Andrea, Patterson's wife.
Now that Patterson is home, his wife had a message for him.
"I love you, I'm proud of you, thank you for all that you do for our family and I am so glad that you are home,” said Mrs. Patterson.
Patterson's son said the first thing that he wants to do is go home and play with his dad.
