Freshmen cheerleaders Micaela Kemerling, left, and Maria Kemerling, right, were recently surprised by their father, Capt. Kody Kemerling, middle, of St. Joseph, Missouri, formerly of Fairfax, Missouri, who returned from a 10 month deployment to Kuwait. Kemerling is in the Army Reserves 113th Engineering Division and has been deployed three times. The girls knew he was back in the states, but their dad had told them he was tied up at Fort Bliss and wouldn’t be home for a while. The girls were completely shocked when, while cheering for the Mizzou Tigers’ basketball team, their dad ran up behind them, throwing his arms around them with a great big hug. Micaela said, “We were told that we were going to go and represent our dad out there for the Veterans United Hero of the Day and had no idea that he was going to be there.” The 19 year-olds burst into tears upon being surprised and buried themselves into their father’s side. A video of the surprise was shared on news stations across the country, melting the hearts of millions of viewers who love seeing our servicemen and women return safely into the arms of their loved ones. (Photo Submitted By Dona Kemerling)
