Trenton and Aiden Aguirre of Walzem Elementary School got a very sweet surprise when their father, deployed to Korea and immediately reassigned to Fort Campbell, returned home for a three-day weekend.
US Army Sergeant, Jeremy Aguirre, was waiting for his boys in the library when they were ushered in and reunited. Their mother, Kristina, had been planning this surprise reunion for weeks, and boy where they surprised.
“I am pretty sure that when they first see me, my youngest Aiden will be in tears and my oldest, Trenton will try to act cool and composed,” said Jeremy. “I haven’t been able to see my boys a lot within this past year. I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot, seeing them grow and change. This Labor Day weekend we are going to make up for lost time.”
When the boys walked through the library door and realized what was happening, the exact opposite reaction from the two happened, with Trenton overjoyed in emotion.
“This feels so good and all I could think was….. he’s back,” said 5th- grader Trenton. “I was definitely crying. I just missed him so much and us going out together and doing stuff together.”
The Walzem community has been a strong support for both boys while their father has been away. Trenton, who has been on the Walzem campus for the past two years had a hard time adjusting when his father was deployed. The counselors made it very clear that they would be a strong support system for not only the boys but the entire family. But not only were the counseling team a big help, but Principal, John Hinds was a great resource to Trenton.
“This school year has been wonderful for Trenton and Aiden and it is because of the Walzem community,” said Kristina. “They have been great to all of us while Jeremy has been away and I am thankful for that.
Walzem Elementary Principal John Hinds just wanted everything to go smoothly during the surprise reunion.
"They are just such a great family,” said Hinds “It's good to see them reunited after all this time."
