Military families sacrifice a lot when it comes to being separated from their loved ones for long periods of time. So when their loved ones eventually return home after months of serving the country either at home or abroad, the reunions can be all sorts of emotional. Recently, a Washington state dad returned home from his own deployment to surprise his young son, and the video of their reunion has left the internet in a puddle of tears.
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The emotional clip was shared over the weekend on 'Good Morning America'
And although very few details were released about the story behind it, it was captured by the little boy's mom, Kelsi Westbrook.
In the clip, the little boy is outside playing in the water when his dad suddenly appears in the background and walks onto a nearby pier.
Suddenly, the little boy turns his head after hearing a noise
"Hey! What are you doing?" a familiar voice calls out.
And when the little boy turns to move his head, it takes him about a millisecond to realize whose voice it is.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" the kid screams in excitement as he makes his way out of the water and onto the grass.
Filled with happiness, the toddler makes his way over to his dad
But even as he runs, you can tell he almost can't believe it.
When the father and son finally meet up, the dad drops to a squat and throws his arms around his son in a great big bear hug.
The scene was highly emotional, but luckily it's the last time they'll have to do that. According to ViralHog, Westbrook told the website that her husband Clay "officially said goodbye to the Navy" this month and came home from "his last deployment EVER!"
"So glad we pulled off this surprise!" she added.
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The video went viral over Memorial Day weekend
But perhaps that's no surprise, given the emotional meaning behind the holiday and the fact that everyone (and we do mean everyone) is a sucker for happy homecoming videos.
Here's hoping this little guy grows up to know just how much his dad sacrificed for his country — as well as how lucky he is that he was able to come home.
