Soldier surprises his kids at school with early homecoming: 'They thought he wasn’t coming in until June'
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A soldier turned this elementary school’s assembly into a heartwarming reunion on Monday.
Justin Bunch wasn’t coming home to Tennessee until June — or at least that’s what he told his eight children.
"Keeping this from the kids was really hard," Justin’s wife, Kasey, said to WBIR. "I was shaking because I knew that they were going to be so excited because they thought he wasn't coming in until June."
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Justin, who had been away for nine months serving in the Army, decided to hatch a plan with his wife Kasey to surprise his tight-knit brood.
Kasey went to Bay Ridge Elementary school, where several of her children attend school, and asked principal Kim Turner how the pair could pull off a surprise homecoming.
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The two settled on Justin dressing up as the school’s mascot: Twister the Tiger during a school assembly.
Once the students were in the gymnasium, Turner began calling up Bunch’s kids — who each gave Twister high fives as they filed next to him.
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Soon after his children were standing next to him, Justin took a step forward and removed the tiger head.
"When I saw him take the hat off, I went 'Oh my God' and I just ran. I wasn't thinking; I was just running," Bunch's son, Chad, said to WBIR.
His older kids, who were standing off camera, also ran up once they realized who was in the tiger costume.
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Teacher, faculty, students and parents at the gymnasium all began cheering and crying.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I was expecting it and I was trying to prepare myself for it but it was very special. I was happy to be a part of it," Turner said.
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Justin and Kasey both seemed pleased with how it turned out.
"These are my kids. This is my family so it means a lot," Bunch said, WBIR reported.