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Kayla recalled the complete shock of seeing her dad. Aside from being stationed outside of Florida for his entire military career, he had been away on various deployments for most of her childhood, including in Iraq.

\"I was like, ‘No, that’s not my dad.’ I was shocked,\" she said. \"I didn’t know what to do. My mind just went blank. I just went and hugged him and was full of joy.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy St. Thomas Aquinas High School
PHOTO: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Tillman surprised his daughter, Kayla Tillman, at her high school graduation in Florida.
>

\"Him seeing me made my graduation 10 times better,\" Kayla added.

\"Kayla was squeezing me so hard I could barely breathe,\" Tillman said of the surprise moment.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy St. Thomas Aquinas High School
PHOTO: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Tillman surprised his daughter, Kayla Tillman, at her high school graduation in Florida.
>

For Tillman, the enormity of the moment struck him earlier in the graduation ceremony, as he waited backstage so that Kayla would not see him.

\"When they started playing the graduation music, tears just started coming down my eyes because right then and there I realized how much of her life I’d missed,\" he said. \"I didn’t realize the stuff my kids were going through by me not being there physically.\"

\"It was rough on her and I’m proud that she finished school while dealing with the fact that her dad was in the Army and not there like her friends’ dads were. For the situation we were in, I’m so proud of her,\" Tillman added.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy St. Thomas Aquinas High School
PHOTO: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Tillman surprised his daughter, Kayla Tillman, at her high school graduation in Florida.
>

Kayla plans to attend college in Louisiana in the fall. Her dad, also the father of her 15-year-old sister, is hopeful he can catch up with his daughters while he is stationed in Georgia for the next three to four years.

In just over one week, Tillman will start an extended leave that will give him more immediate one-on-one time with his two daughters.

\"I want to spend all my time with my girls,\" he said.

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