Boy, 4, Has Adorable Reaction to Dad Returning Home From Deployment
— -- A joyful reunion between father and son is bringing tears to eyes across the globe.
Kimberly Gershowitz of Kings Bay, Georgia, captured the heartfelt moment when her 4-year-old son Matthew was surprised by his dad returning from deployment in May.
Gershowitz shared the video with the "Love What Matters" Facebook page Wednesday, where it was viewed over 600,000 times.
"The outpouring of love from people all over, their comments about my child and his upbringing, it was so touching and emotional," said Gershowitz, who has another son, Keith, 2, with husband Aaron. "It made you realize that people do care that your husband is serving and protecting them. I was overwhelmed."
Aaron Gershowitz is a MM1 nuclear mechanic on a submarine with the Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia.
He had been deployed for three months before coming home to his wife and sons.
"Usually the first two weeks Matthew doesn't really get it," Gershowitz said of her oldest. "He'll ask me if Daddy is on the boat and 'When is he coming back?' It's that grief process with the anxiety and the sadness because he doesn't think he's coming back."
For his father's most recent return, Matthew was surprised by his family at his daycare center.
Gershowitz recorded the occasion on video, which she said brought her to tears.
"I did not expect the emotions and the things that came out of the mouth saying, 'I cried so much for you,'" Gershowitz recalled. "I didn't realize how much it affected him until I heard him talk and then I lost it. That kind of hit me hard."
She added: "When he sees it, he goes, 'Oh that's when Matthew was happy Daddy came home. His immediate response after that is, 'Daddy's not going on [the] boat yet right? It was really precious..."
Since his homecoming, Gershowitz said her husband has been enjoying as much family time as possible.
