Soldier Dad Stuns 2nd-Grade Daughter with Surprise Visit at School

Valerie Dell sat stunned, eyes wide, when the scheduled "mystery" guest who dropped by her second-grade classroom Wednesday ended up being someone she knew very well.

“Can’t a daddy surprise his daughter?” U.S. Navy HMC Blair Dell asked as he was reunited with Valerie at in Plainfield. Blair has been in Afghanistan for nearly a year.

The 8-year-old girl jumped into her father’s arms for a long hug, happy to have him home and shocked he was actually there, she said.

“I was very surprised,” Valerie said. “I thought he was coming home in 12 more days. It feels great, very great. I missed him for so long.”

Mom Candus Dell loved the look on her daughter’s face.

“It was priceless,” she said. “She was in shock.”

Blair Dell, a combat medic with the Navy and Marine Corps Combat Team, arrived home earlier in the day and reunited with his wife and 3-year-old son before heading to the school to see his daughter.

School officials were alerted ahead of time that he planned to drop by, and he was greeted by fourth- and fifth-graders waving homemade signs and flags and chanting, “USA, USA.” In response, Dell handed out high-fives.

Many of the students thanked Dell for his military service, and a small group began singing the National Anthem.

As Dell and his wife entered the school, they were greeted by kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade students who lined the hallways with colorful banners and posters, all made Wednesday morning so the surprise for Valerie wouldn't be accidentally spoiled.

Students clapped and cheered as Dell weaved his way through the hallways towards Laura Frego’s classroom in the back of the school.  

Frego had told her second-graders that a mystery reader would be coming to the classroom. She gave them a few clues, such as the guest would be a tall man, leading the children to believe the mystery reader would be Principal Trevor Harris.

After a touching and emotional homecoming, Dell read the students, “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” and “We Are in a Book,” with Valerie by his side.

“This has been a truly humbling and amazing welcome,” said Dell, who has served in the Navy for 16 years. “Never once have I had a reception like this.”

Dell said he was nervous in the days and hours leading up to his homecoming.

“I’d be a fool not to be anxious and excited to see my family again,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

As part of Dell’s visit, he talked with the fourth- and fifth-graders about his duty in the military.

He told them he spends a lot of time studying, reading and learning how to prepare for his missions, stressing to the students that military work is not all about combat.

“We don’t want people to think that America is all about fighting,” he said. “We are there to help.”

Before leaving, he offered the students words of encouragement.

“No matter what you do in life, there is honor in it,” he said. “Put your heart and soul into it, seize it, grab it, enjoy it. … When you get older, find something to make you happy and make it your own.”