Returning airman surprises daughter

Aryanna Dahl, a first grader, wasn't looking forward to being called to the office at Falcon Ridge Elementary School in New Prague on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

She had been told that her mom, Kurston Dahl, would be picking her up for a dentist appointment. So when the call came, she walked down the hall from Cindy McNab's classroom and turned the corner for the office. She saw her mom and started walking over to her. She also noticed a group of people with cameras and gave her mom a nervous look.

Her mom pointed toward the office, and that's when Aryanna's look turned from one of nervousness to one of pure joy. She ran and gave a big hug to her dad, Air Force Reserve Technical Sgt. Nathan Dahl, who had just returned from a deployment in Kuwait. The two embraced for a long time, while cameras clicked and Aryanna's classmates, who had been waiting down the hallway, cheered.

The reunion was a happy one for the Dahls, who also have a 10-month-old son Hunter.

Sgt. Dahl let go of his daughter and she walked back to her mom, turning back a couple of times with a huge smile on her face, then went back for another hug.

"I missed him," she said when asked about her father. When asked if this was better than going to the dentist, she answered with another smile and said "Yeah!"

Sgt. Dahl served with the US Navy for six years, and is now in his sixth year with the Air Force Reserve. This was his third overseas deployment.

After the students returned to their classroom, Dahl sat, with Aryanna in his lap, and answered questions from the students, who had corresponded with him during the school year. McNab unrolled a world map that had two hearts on it, one in Kuwait, where Sgt. Dahl was stationed, and another in Brazil, where McNab's son Nate is.

Sgt. Dahl said he would have about a month of reintegration with his Reserve Unit, a period where military people who are returning from overseas have a chance to adjust and transition from military life to civilian life. He expects to return to his civilian job as an engineering technician for an aerospace company.

But in the meantime, he'll be enjoying his time at home with his family. And from the look on Aryanna's face, the family will be enjoying it too.