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Staff Photo by Dan Henry
Spc. Chris Weir embraces his two daughters, Kylee, 6, left, and Ashlyn, 4, as he sees them for the first time after returning from Iraq on a two-week leave.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Ted Bryson promised two students that the phone connection would be so clear they’d almost be able to reach out and hug their daddy.
He wasn’t lying.
Along with about 540 other students, Kylee Weir, 6, and her sister Ashlyn, 4, were waving tiny American flags Monday morning in the gym of Oak Grove Elementary School. The girls were told they would use an Internet connection to talk with their father, Spc. Chris Weir, who’s been in Iraq since December.
The other students were told the assembly was an early Veterans Day celebration.
Then the two girls’ principal, Mr. Bryson, called them up to the podium, asking them to welcome the guest speaker. When Spc. Weir walked into the gymnasium with his wife, Candace, the two girls froze and a look of complete disbelief filled their faces.
That stillness lasted about two seconds.
The girls bounded across the floor and leapt on their father, who they’d seen only once since he left for a combat tour in Iraq.
Ashlyn clutched her arms around her dad’s neck as he scooped the girls up in his arms, and Kylee beamed a mile-wide smile as she perched on her father’s other hip.
It was Kylee’s idea that sparked the surprise visit. While Spc. Weir was home on two weeks leave this summer, she and her dad saw a video clip online of a father surprising his daughter.
“She said, ‘I want you to do that, Dad,’” the specialist said.
Spc. Weir, 29, joined the Army shortly after his younger brother, Sgt. David Weir, was killed in Iraq in 2006. He was assigned to David’s unit, the 101st Airborne Division.
“My whole life I’d desired to serve, but never had the motivation,” the specialist said. “Then David’s death, that was motivation I needed ... ”
The brothers both attended Oak Grove Elementary, and a painted mural of David Weir riding in a humvee is at the school’s entrance.
Keeping their father’s surprise visit a secret was tough, Mrs. Weir said. The couple didn’t know exactly when Spc. Weir would return. He arrived in Fort Campbell, Ky., on Friday and got to Cleveland on Saturday.
To keep the girls from finding out, they stayed overnight with relatives.
“I told them that Mommy was going to see a friend. And he is my friend,” Mrs. Weir laughed.
Todd South covers courts and the military for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper for three years and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact Todd ...
What a bizarre way to manipulate people's emotions.
Just letting people see each other without these manipulations is a nicer thing to do for children.
This isn't about the kids at all, it's about other people using the kid's emotions for their own agenda, and as such, is somewhat shameful.
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