Army Captain Surprises Sons After Deployment In Kosovo

Fifty members of Oklahoma's Army National Guard have been 6,000 miles away in Kosovo for more than 10 months as part of a peacekeeping mission with NATO.

News On 6’s Craig Day and Reagan Ledbetter traveled with them, getting a firsthand look at the training.

Related: Traveling With The Guard: The Importance Of NATO In Kosovo

They told News On 6 one of the hardest parts of the whole exercise was missing family.

“Missing some of the basketball games, soccer games, school events, it’s really hard to miss those things,” said Capt. Jimmy Norvell.

Capt. Norvell's two sons have been missing him right back, but that ended on Tuesday with a surprise at Bixby West Elementary. Capt. Norvell just returned home from his deployment in Kosovo. He has been away from his family for 289 days.

“It’s a long time," he said. 

But unbeknownst to his sons, they will soon be reunited.

“This is going to be a core memory for them, as they grow up and grow older; that is something they’ll always remember,” Norvell said.

He will now be home with his boys for good.

“They wanted me there for basketball games and soccer games and football games, but they understood what I was doing, so they’re going to be surprised to have me home,” he said. 

Norvell says the surprises will allow him to step away from his role as captain and simply be “dad.”

In Charlie’s third-grade class, students gathered for story time. Little did he know, his dad was waiting just around the corner.

"I'm a little nervous now," Norvell said. 

As Capt. Norvell entered the classroom, Charlie wasted no time and melted into his dad’s arms.

"Guess who's home?" said Norvell to Charlie. 

Following a quick story time and high-fives from classmates, the family headed out. But the reunions didn't end there.

"One of two; we got one more left to go," said Norvell. 

In the cafeteria, Brooks was in for his own special surprise and couldn't contain his emotion as he hugged his dad tightly.

Now that the family is reunited, there’s lots they want to do together.

“Pumpkin patch is first, we've got to do that,” said Norvell's wife. “Wrestling him,” said Charlie. "Wrestling, yep," said Norvell.

After all, they have 289 days to make up for.