I've got 4 of my 8 kid's in service. All 3 son's and a daughter. It's been 8 years since I have had all my kids for a holiday. Either deployment or college. Last Christmas they all planned it. Was able to be home all together. I don't think I stopped crying for days.
Please remember we have had hundreds of thousands and continue to have Moms, Dads, Brothers and Sisters go over-seas... for months to years sometimes. This also ties into the Pride we have for our Country and Flag.
People often tell me “thank you for your service”. My wife tells me to just say “thank you”. I consider serving as my guilty pleasure because I am proud to have served in the US Marine Corps for 21 years and loved what we did together in arms. I stand firm that it is the spouses and children who deserve the thanks. The kids are born into it and they form a strong bond with other military children. Only they understand what they go through emotionally when their parents deploy for weeks or months at a time. I accumulated more than 13 years total time deployed for training or combat and away from my family. These families become tough and cope with it as a community.
I am a combat veteran ( Vietnam ) You can not possibly know the good the four of you have just done. Whenever I feel low I come here to see all of you. Thank you for this and God bless all of you.
The clip at 4:32 is extra special as the little boy is walking to his dad for the first time. The child had never been able to walk before due to his disability and his walking to his dad was the result of just over a year of intense 4 hours per day of physical therapy. This clip was the first time that his father had ever seen him stand on his own in his entire life.
My Dad’s deployments (US Navy) were always about 9-10 months…in fact, I didn’t meet my dad for the first time until I was 7 months old. He had already been gone two months before I was born. I can relate to all these emotions.
Aww, I just love Cat! I'm crying watching Cat cry watching this. 😅 I have 2 Army daughters and I'm so proud of them! It's so hard when they're away. Take care guys, Aloha!! ❤
I'm a army US army veteran 11 years I hadn't seen my family in over 11 years and when I came back from overseas I went to see them and all they said is oh you're home show videos like this means so much to me
Welcome home! If you were my , run from ½ the way around the world you give you a hug!!! My son is currently serving. Hes been in 12 years both Marines and Army. So he still has 8-10 years left to retire. I only saw him maybe 4 times during his 20s. It's been a year since I've been able to hug him.😢
Thing that makes me emotional about these videos is that I always think about the families that don't get to experience this, the ones that lost someone in the service. Always breaks my heart.
I'm the same as Jono, I can easily go down the rabbit hole with these kinds of videos. Sometimes I watch videos like surprise homecomings when life just feels a little tough and I want something more wholesome.
I don't know if you know the process of a family member (who's a soldier) that dies in a war, but please watch the movie called Taking Chance with the actor Kevin Bacon. Kevin's character is a military escort who brings the soldier's body to his family, the process, honor, respect, and ca re that goes into preparing the body, staying with the body all the way to his family. With the video you just reacted to the tears were: relief, joy, filled with a different kinds of emotions, with Taking Chance the emotions are very different. I hope you watch it for yourselves, but, if you are able to, please react to this very important movie, thank you.
We as a nation learned a lot from the way Viet Nam veterans were received. A man came in with his returning soldier son to our office in WV. I thanked him for hs service and his father cried.
I'm always SO happy to see my nephew when he comes home to visit. Shoutout to the Devil Dogs. My Mom tells me stories about my Grandfather being gone, back when calling long distance was a special occasion. He spent over a year in Korea.
A lot of people don't realize that the family sacrifices just as much as the soldiers do. The soldier has the constant duties of deployment to worry about while the spouse and children are living with the fear that their loved one my be severely injured in combat or may never return at all. The soldier is usually too busy to think much about the separation where that's all the family can think about. The stresses of the family and constant worry for soldier's safety and well being is why there is a greater than 60 percent chance that the marriage of a soldier will end in divorce.
These always get my waterworks flowing. I know what it's like to be on the deployment end but I can't imagine what it might be like for the family left behind, especially the young ones.
I was an Army Brat also an Army vet. We moved every 3 to 4 years and in between them dad did two tours of Nam with the First Air Cav. He was a front line medic in the Korean conflict for 15 months. These are as real as it gets sometimes you did not know if he was coming back alive or with a flag draped over his casket
Got a story for you- I was stationed in Germany in the Army with my wife and kids from 1982-85. My son was born there and he was 14 months old when I finally got 30 days leave to go back home and visit. I had been trying to get leave for 5 months before it finally got approved. We didn't tell ANYONE that it got approved. I showed up at home at 6:30 am with the family, TOTALLY unannounced. My Mom was napping on the couch- she had just gotten back home from taking my Stepfather to work and didn't need to wake up my brothers and sisters until around 7 am for school. I shook her awake, she looked at me, blinked and shook her head TWICE before she realized that she WASN'T dreaming lol. It took 2 hrs before she finally chewed me out for doing that to her. I had been gone from June 82 until this leave, March 84. 22 months. My wife and kids joined me RIGHT before Christmas (best Christmas ever BTW) Dec 82, so they had been gone for 15 months.
I'm retired Air Force so I can relate to this very much. I can be difficult for people to remember that military people are people just like you with families, Wifes and kids. You might also want to watch people seeing color for the first time using special glasses. Just as emotional.
The family should be known as the silent military since they serve as well in the way of sacrifices and the like. An old army brat here. Mom made so Many sacrifices to help dad while he was deployed and when he was on base
Im an Army Brat, both my parents' service in the Army they were stationed in Germany, where I was born. And then we were transferred back to the United States in California. My parents were stationed out of Monterey. However, my mother had to stay longer in the military. Because of the maternally leave. She had to take because she gave birth to 3 more children while in the Army so when she came home. Back in 89. She woke me up with a kiss. So when I see these children jumping into their parents arms remind me of that time
Every one of these soldiers is returning from a deployment in a war torn area of the world. This is different than being stationed somewhere for a hitch of service (in those cases, the family can go with their loved one, and live on the base). The soldiers know when they leave they are going to dangerous duty, as do their families, thus the long durations of time away, and the very emotional reunions. Likewise, many of the older children know there is the chance they may never see their parent, again. THANK YOU to your family for understanding and appreciating the sacrifice so many American families make to keep the world a safer place.
aw man these videos always bring me to tears, huge crocodile tears. the only connection i have to this is my cousin who joined the army a few years ago but its a completely different intensity of emotions compared to what all those kids and wives, and husbands feel. I applaud everyone who has served our country, is serving, and will serve. they have all my love, respect, and admiration
Can’t watch one of these without crying. My sister was deployed twice during the last war. She was always in a friendly country so the threat of death wasn’t there but it’s still tough for everyone involved when they are gone for so long. I was pretty young so I also didn’t understand that she was very safe where she was at. As a kid when you hear war you only have that one picture in your head of what war is. I still have all the letters she wrote me while she was deployed. Forever great full for what she and all other military personnel do and sacrifice.
My father was in the US Air Force and was station overseas in the Middle East for 2 years. That was a long time ago. I know how they are feeling. I was 8 through 10 years of age.
I cry everytime I see this homecoming videos... because it reminds me that I to leave my family to study abroad...... I'm in class 10th... and I have to go abroad for further studies 😢😢
Thank you for this one. Not many can react to emotional videos. I love to watch videos with people like you. I live alone. So it’s nice to watch videos like these with someone else.
I don't even have to watch these to get emotional. I have seen quite a few on videos but when I used to live near a military base you see it almost all the time.
I have a 3yo boy and 7mo girl. I would never. If you tell me I have to leave my kids to go fight, I’m fighting you instead. When I’m not home my son constantly pesters, “Where’s daddy?”. Those words have ended my road rage and other dangerous activities.
The US has over 800 bases OUTSIDE of America. Plus our Navy patrolling the oceans. Hundreds of thousands of our Nations Finest deserve every bit of this when they return and more. Then there are those that never get to return home. We owe them ALL. God Bless
I still remember being four years old and waiting in the airport for my oldest brother to come back from Vietnam. I remember standing there, oblivious, as my whole family took off running to where he had appeared in the terminal. All I could do was run after them! He was my hero then and now.
This was exactly me when I laid eyes on my son the first time after he was overseas for 4 years!!! I almost couldn't stay on my feet... I was so happy and relieved!!! Also, after he graduated Marine boot camp. After not being able to communicate with my 18 year old son for 3 months!!! I literally had to just stare at him because he was unrecognizable!!!
My husband served for 30 years on submarines. Very limited contact. Our son and I looked forward to every single homecoming no matter is it was 4 weeks, or 9 months. They were all special because he came home.
United States military at least when I was in the Marine Corps we only got 15 days every year to go home and see our families so most of these people are gone a year at least sometimes two or three depending on their job
@@thumper7047 My First deployment as combat medic with 1/87 10th Mountain Div. Was 15 months in Iraq (Counted as 2) during the surge. Also had 2, 12 month deployments in Afghanistan. Although I was a single soldier. It always bought me to tears seeing my friends reunite with their families.
It's very hard for the families. My husband was gone for a year to kuwait. Its even harder for younger children who dont understand why their parent had to go. My kids were scared because my husband was in dessert storm.
when I was in the navy I did 3 6 month deployments and several more 2 - 3 month cruises. Now this was just after dessert storm (1st gulf war), so not wartime. But I never once got a reception like those. I would get oh, you're home, nice to see ya. How long ya home for? I do like these videos though.
Love you guys! Would love for you to watch a couple of videos. The first one is Arlington, by Trace Atkins. The second is Where The Stars and Stripes and Eagles Fly by Aaron Tippin. Hope you can visit my USA soon. ❤
when u come to the states come to florida! the beaches are awesome and we have great diversity in food and tons of cool animal places too ( and rodeos and state fairs)
My wife and I were married for most of my 17 years in the Service. At one point, I was separated from my wife for almost two years due to extended deployments overseas. We're still married, have been for 33 years.
My brother In law is retired chief in us navy and he got in the night before Easter . So my sister laid Easter eggs trail and the last egg was held by my brother in law and my niece was three and jumped into his arms
So much easier when you’re single and without a girlfriend, wife and/or children. I didn’t see my parents or siblings for most of the four years of my active service in the Marine Corps. I was in the UK for 18 months and spent most of my infantry time deployed with my battalion. Honduras, ship/fleet training and 6 months aboard an LST in the Mediterranean. I think Naval submariners probably have it the worst- being deployed for hundreds of days often and spending most of that time submerged.
Thanks for your service Brother . US Navy veteran from 1985 to 1995 . My longest deployment was to the Persian Gulf sailing on USS Antietam CG 54 with the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group .
@@victorwaddell6530 Thank you for yours Brother! I was aboard the Manitowoc for six months during our Med deployment. MARG 1-86. A few of the boats involved are coral reefs now. The “manny” (USS Manitowoc) was sold to the Thai Navy in ‘95 I believe. I served (active) from ‘83-‘87.
I feel so very bad for my father when he came back from Vietnam everyone would spit at him and the stupid army told him he could go home but gave him no money to get home. So he had to hitchhike all the way from the state of.Maryland to Massachusetts It took him 24 hours to get back home. He served 15 months n in Vietnam.
I don't know if i would surprise my kid at the finish line after they just finished a race for safety reasons but i understood the mom just wanting to catch her daughter.
The little girl saying daddy--kills me. I am very close to my daddy. I am a Navy vet and so is he. The roles were reversed--I came home on leave and my mom and a cousin picked me up. They said daddy couldn't make it. I walk around a corner and I hear a voice gehind me saying--What? No hug for your oleman? I knew it was daddy! I fely just like that little 3 yr old girl.
Mom & Dad should react to the Fat Electricians vid :"America's Airborne Anti-hero - Jake "McNasty" McNiece" Adult language. But fun vid even if you aren't into military history. This one kept a smile on my face the whole time.