Soldier Dad Surprises 4-Year-Old Son At Claremore School

After being deployed for a year, a Green Country father surprised his son at school Friday.

The day started like any normal one for 4-year-old Grant Nicholls. Then he got the surprise of a lifetime.

First Sergeant Bruce Nicholls is part of Oklahoma's 45th Infantry and returned home Friday morning. The father-son duo have spent the last year apart.

"It's been rough. He misses his daddy cause he sees everybody else's dad and he's like 'I wish my daddy was home,' or when he talks to him on the phone he wants daddy home," said Teresa Nicholls, wife.

That dream is here sooner than Grant thought.

"I missed you Daddy. I missed you," Grant said.

Grant's been counting down the days until Easter, because that's when his dad was originally supposed to come home. Friday, he's all smiles when he sees his dad standing in the classroom.

"I got so excited," Grant said.

"It's been great. It's been great. I was really missing the family and we're all back together now. Feels good," said Bruce Nicholls.

The father and son aren't the only ones happy for this reunion. Grant's mom is fighting back tears as she sees the two join arms.

"It's just awesome to have us back together as a family. It really is. To have him have his dad back, it's just awesome," Teresa said.

Teresa says they came up with the idea to surprise Grant from a show called Coming Home, which features more of these real life stories.

"He was crying one night and he was like 'I want my daddy to surprise me like that' so I was like okay that's it, we're going to surprise him," she said.

"I hope everyone is coming home to such a great reunion with their families," Bruce said.

The Nicholls family will go fishing this weekend.