Posted:
Jul 04, 2013 11:10 PM EST
Updated:
Jul 04, 2013 11:10 PM EST
Posted by Holly Roney -
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Reporting by Jennifer Steck -
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Please see here to view the video and watch the story
TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) -
A
local family received a big surprise at the Mud Hens game Thursday night.
The
Schuster and Ricard families were brought to Fifth Third Field to see a special
message from Schuster.
"They
told me he was going to get a Hometown Heroes award," explained Schuster's
mother Pat Ricard.
While
watching the video – which was taped three days before on the flight deck of
the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – they had no idea what was coming.
"He
was there," Ricard said tearfully. "It's hard to say. I haven't seen him in
almost two years, so it was nice seeing him. I miss him."
"I've
never done anything like that before in my life," Schuster said of his part. "Just
to surprise somebody to that caliber is amazing…[It's] just as heartwarming to
be the person involved with the military homecoming as it is to watch it on TV."
A
Berkey native, Schuster has been serving in the Navy for 13 years, and is
returning home from a 9-month tour. A single dad of two daughters, he says he
couldn't have asked for a better day to pull off the surprise.
"A
lot of people forget. We have Independence Day, and we have a military that's
always fought for us, and having a homecoming on the Fourth of July is just the
epitome of it," he said.
"He's
very dedicated to his job, he loves the Navy," Ricard said. "And he's a very
dedicated dad, and he's just – [I] couldn't be more proud of him."
Welcome
home, Chief Petty Officer Schuster, and happy Independence Day.
Copyright 2013 Toledo News Now. All rights reserved.
Thanks for the story from http://www.toledonewsnow.com/
http://blushingbeebyme.blogspot.com/2013/07/navy-officer-surprises-family-at-mud.html
