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Father’s return knocks it out of the park

In a July 3, 2015 photo provided by the Dowell family, Brayden Dowell, right, runs to his father Sgt. Adam Dowell’s waiting arms during a surprise homecoming at a Tennessee Smokies game in Kodak, Tenn. Dowell had just returned home from a 10-month deployment. (Lisa Dowell via AP) In a July 3, 2015 photo provided by the Dowell family, Brayden Dowell, right, runs to his father Sgt. Adam Dowell’s waiting arms during a surprise homecoming at a Tennessee Smokies game in Kodak, Tenn. Dowell had just returned home from a 10-month deployment. (Lisa Dowell via AP)

By Associated Press July 18, 2015 4 min read

KODAK, Tenn. (AP) – This recent Independence Day weekend is one that will be hard to top for Sweetwater resident, Sgt. Adam Dowell, and his family.

Dowell, a 2007 graduate of Sweetwater High School, has been a member of the United States Army for nearly eight years. At 26 years old, he has been deployed multiple times, including a stint in Iraq and most recently, a 10-month stay in Kuwait and Jordan with the 252nd Military Police Company.

Dowell arrived back stateside on June 19 at Fort Bliss, Texas, and returned home to Tennessee in early July.

On July 3, Dowell awaited on a balcony at Smokies Stadium in Kodak to surprise his son – 5-year-old Brayden.

“We had been thinking of ideas on what we could do that would be special for both of our kids,” said Dowell’s wife, Lisa Vanegeren Dowell, also a Sweetwater High School graduate. “Adam’s coworker’s wife, Melissa, said she could probably talk to someone with the Smokies and it grew from there. They were more than glad to help and be a part of it.”