U.S. Army Private First Class Tyrel Miller came home to Wisconsin from his deployment in Germany to surprise his family for Christmas, according to WLUK.
On Saturday, Miller’s family was out to eat at a Green Bay diner when Tyrel walked up to the table in full uniform, much to everyone’s shock.
“Are you kidding me!” one family member exclaimed when they saw Tyrel.
“It gets hard, because you’re away from home,” the soldier, who had not seen his family since May, told WLUK. “Especially for every other holiday.”
“You’re missing the birthdays, everything, and watching the whole family grow up, so that’s like the hardest part,” he added.
Tyrell’s mother, Michelle, picked him up at the airport on Friday. She says it has been hard to keep the surprise under wraps.
“We were gonna go to South Carolina to see his graduation in January,” Michelle told WLUK. “So that’s what today was about cause he was supposed to call us. That’s what they thought.”
Michelle is overjoyed to have her son home.
“It feels amazing to have all my children under one roof again,” she told People. “I am surely blessed.”
Tyrel’s uncle, Don, was in attendance for the homecoming.
“I’ve been in the military myself for 20 some years and you see the uniform right away you pick up, oh hey something special is happening right,” Don told WLUK. “And for us it was because he hadn’t been home in a long time, so we’re good for that.”
Tyrel is scheduled for redeployment in January, but he will be able to ring in the New Year with his loved ones.
“Being here with the family is really good,” he said.
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