She didn’t know it at the time, but her hero stood tall after serving a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan. Tech Sergeant Casey Richardson teamed up with his wife, an assistant teacher at the school, to surprise their daughter, who has taken their long separation very hard.

“They have a very tight relationship, so it’s really bothered him being gone, but I think that she’s going to be so happy,” Alexia’s mother, Charity,  told WXXV-TV.”This was my first deployment, so I had to learn a lot. It was tough being over there, being away from my family, and I’m very happy to be back,” said her father.