Boy Overcome With Emotion When Navy Dad Returns From Deployment
— -- A Virginia boy couldn't hold back his tears Monday night after his Navy dad surprised him, following a 99-day deployment.
"It was almost every day when I said 'I talked to Daddy,' or 'I emailed daddy,' and he'd be excited, but this time his emotion was much more heightened," mom Jennifer Cullen of Chesapeake, Virginia, said of her son. "I'm sure he could sense it with me because I wasn't [myself] either. I had just welcomed home my husband. ... It's been so refreshing having him home. I feel like this is a dream."
Jennifer Cullen told ABC News today that she and her husband, Chief Petty Officer Sean Cullen, had been planning to surprise their son Alex, 7, when they learned he would be coming home from his deployment in the Middle East.
On Feb. 22, Jennifer had a friend bring Alex home from school while his dad hid in another room.
As Jennifer recorded the moment on video, Sean stuck up behind his son.
To Jennifer's surprise, Alex was completely overcome by emotion.
"Alex just would not let him go," Jennifer said. "Sean had to get on his knees and hug him because he was just sobbing."
Jennifer shared her YouTube video with another news organization that published it on their Facebook page, where it racked up over 4 million views.
"[Alex] didn't understand the response," Jennifer said. "He asks me every morning what the count is. ... I just tell him, 'There's a lot of people who love that you welcomed your daddy home.'"
