Heartwarming moment a little boy bursts into tears of joy when his soldier dad surprises him by returning from Afghanistan during a school assembly
- A soldier has surprised his son with an emotional reunion in front of his school
- Lieutenant Anderson surprised his son William on stage at assembly last Friday
- Heartwarming footage was uploaded to Highlands Christian College’s Facebook
A soldier who was deployed to Afghanistan has surprised his son with an emotional homecoming reunion in front of the boy’s school classmates.
Michael Anderson, who spent the last seven months overseas with the Australian Defence Force, surprised his son William on stage at assembly last Friday.
Heart-warming footage of the boy bursting into tears during the emotional reunion was uploaded to Highlands Christian College’s Facebook page on Thursday.
A soldier (pictured) who was deployed to Afghanistan has surprised his son with an emotional reunion homecoming in front of the boy’s school assembly
In the video, William is seen on stage while his dad appears – via video link – to thank the school for their commitment to sending letters and care packages to his platoon.
‘Thanks for all the care packages and letters everyone at the school has sent over to us – that support goes a long way with all the soldiers, lieutenant Anderson said.
‘It’s gives us plenty of fond memories of opening up some of the the jokes, (and) some of the questions that everyone wrote us.’
Lieutenant Anderson gave a special shout out to his son William, before saying he missed him and was looking forward to seeing him soon when he returned home.
As the clip comes to an end, the boy’s father said he wanted to give the school a special gift and he asked the assembly to wait while he went to get it.
Instead of reappearing in the video, Lieutenant Anderson then emerged from behind the stage and is reunited with his son, who is clearly overcome with emotion.
As the school gives the solider a round of applause, the father gives his teary son a hug, before announcing he has a gift from the platoon to show their appreciation.
Lieutenant Anderson then reveals a rectangular banner with his platoon’s symbol and the words ‘Operation Highroad Camp Qargha 2018-2019’ written across it.
In the video, lieutenant Anderson emerged from backstage and reunited with his son, who was clearly overcome with emotion
‘I’ve had every member of my platoon sign the back – so thanks for your support. It goes a long way with all the guys and girls,’ he said.
‘It won’t be forgotten either – many thanks a lot for that.’
The soldier then presented the autographed banner to the principal, who gave thanks on behalf of the school.
‘I just want to thank you for your service. I know that it’s a huge sacrifice giving up your life and leaving your family for an extended period of time,’ the principal said.
The soldier (pictured with his son William) then presented the autographed banner to the principal, who gave thanks on behalf of the school
Lieutenant Anderson (pictured) revealed a rectangular banner with his platoon’s symbol and the words ‘Operation Highroad Camp Qargha 2018-2019’ written across it
‘On behalf of the school, we just want to thank you for your service, and can you please pass on our thanks to your platoon as well.’
The Facebook post has since been viewed by thousands of people, with many taking to social media to comment on the touching reunion.
‘Oh wow. What an amazing reunion. How wonderful that the school acknowledges and thanks him and the platoon for their service,’ one person wrote.
‘What a wonderful video…certainly a tear jerker,’ another person said.
A third person added: ‘That is so lovely well done to all involved xox.’