The soldier walked into the studio without knowing that it was a part of a perfectly executed plan to surprise him, organized by his lovely wife. We’ve watched countless military reunions and cried watching the emotional interactions.
Today’s story is also about a military reunion, but different. Us army captain Gerardo Garcia served in Afghanistan, far away from his loved ones. As he got an early chance to return home for Christmas, he planned on surprising his wife and three children.
After returning to America, he was asked to participate in a holiday greeting video for his comrades back in Afghanistan. This was before returning home.
But what captain Garcia didn’t know was that his wife knew that he was returning early for Christmas. And that his family planned a surprise reunion for him.
Good-morning America (GMA) helped captain Garcia’s wife organize and execute this surprise. The GMA invited captain Garcia for a holiday greeting video for his fellow soldiers. It was planned to be recorded in a remote studio.
The GMA invited a few more soldiers for the video recording. The Garcia family got ready to surprise their dad.
“He doesn’t know that he’s about to see his family, and he has no clue what will happen. He thinks he’s here for a video for his comrades back in Afghanistan,” George Stephanopoulos explained to his co-hosts. The surprise was so well planned that captain Garcia didn’t even get a hint of what would happen next.
The Garcia family waited outside the premises until it was time for the surprise. To avoid any suspicion in captain Garcia’s mind.
It was time for the interview, and George started talking.
“Four tours in Afghanistan, it’s a lot. Living a long distance away from your loved ones and serving the country on the frontline is a sacrifice that I can’t even imagine doing myself. Today you’re here to send your greetings to the fellow mates back in Afghanistan for Christmas,” said George. “But before we get to that, I’d like to show you something exciting, for that I want you to turn around,” he added.
Everyone in the room was excited to see how Cap. Garcia was going to react upon seeing his family.
Because the technology in the remote studio wasn’t the best, there was a few-second delay in the audio, which made George’s talking unclear to Cap. Garcia.
Therefore, George had to continue reading the lines repeatedly until it was clear.
After hearing the odd request, Cap. Garcia was confused. He turned around and saw his fellow soldiers, nothing special. This made him ask the question, “And then what?”
Everyone in the room started to chuckle when Cap. Garcia turned around again and got the answer.
Cap. Garcia was surprised to see his family. He immediately ran towards them and gave his family a big, tight hug.
It was a heartwarming moment for everyone in the room. Everyone teared up, seeing the emotional interactions of the family. It was just beautiful.
After enjoying the moment together, they gathered in front of the camera while wiping tears. Next, the interviewer asked Cap. Garcia’s wife Andria”, How did you plan this beautiful surprise?”
“I watched lots of posts of surprise reunions on social media lately, and I wanted to make my love happy by surprising him in such a manner. Therefore, I planned this with the help of my children and the GMA,” she answered. “I thought we’ll get caught, but luckily we pulled off the surprise,” she added.
Now that the Garcia family is reunited, they have a lot of plans for their holidays. Do you want to know what they are? Watch the video below to hear from them, and please share this with your loved ones.