Here is a great story by "The Weekly Journals" about a member of our military being able to surprise his daughter.

Remember to say "THANK YOU" to all Men and Women in Uniform when you encounter them.

They sacrifice their way of living, their family relationships and most of all their own lives for our right to be free!

By DAVID FITZGERALD - dfitzgerald@nwnewsgroup.com

Go here to read the story at" The Weekly Journals"

HAMPSHIRE – Kaitlyn Cavanagh didn’t plan on her dad being at the bowling party for her 14th birthday.

He was supposed to be in Balad, Iraq.

But Friday afternoon, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Bill Cavanagh surprised his daughter and strolled into the gym at Hampshire Middle School, where she and her entire class were waiting for a “mystery” assembly to begin.

“Oh my God! Daddy,” Kaitlyn said as she shot up off the bleachers and ran to hug her father.

The entire eighth grade gave the hugging, crying father-daughter duo a standing ovation.

“I’m surprised and excited,” she said through tears. “I’m just happy to see my dad. I thought this was just going to be another assembly.”

She hadn’t seen her father in more than a year.

During that time, Kaitlyn had to deal with losing the townhouse that she shared with her mom and stepdad in a January arson fire.

“It’s been a tough year for her,” Bill Cavanagh said.

But Kaitlyn said she was better, and back to normal.

Now that her dad is home, even if just for the weekend, she said she could relax.

“I have access to e-mail and I can call my wife and my daughter whenever I want to,” Cavanagh said. “It’s difficult, but we do have those features available for us.”

Cavanagh oversees 40 paralegals for the Army and is based out of Camp Anaconda, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. The 24-year Army careerist stays mostly on the base, but that didn’t stop the Hampshire eighth-graders from peppering him with questions about Iraq, the war, the Army, how many push-ups he can do and what it’s like to be away from your family.

He told the students that he visits an Army hospital on the base every week to talk to wounded soldiers.

“There are less and less each week,” he said, noting it as a sign of improvement. We are making progress.”
He also stressed the importance of education.

“Get all the facts. Educate yourself. Take school seriously,” he said. “It’s the cornerstone of your life.”