Military father surprises wife, son at North Andover school

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A military father surprised his wife and son during a school assembly in North Andover.

They had no idea he would be there, but he had a little help. Caden, 7, was all smiles for what he thought was a spirit day assembly on Monday at Thomson Elementary School. He was asked to hold the flag and then got a huge surprise when his father entered the school’s gym.

Sgt. Jason Chin returned home from Kuwait and reached out to the principal to see if he could set up a quiet surprise.

“I wanted a five-minute in-and-out of the classroom, I didn’t want to disrupt the school or the class at all,” he said.

After a year of students and Sgt. Chin writing letters back and forth, the North Andover school wanted to do something more.

“We thought it was important to have a whole school assembly and honor Sgt. Chin to his service to our country,” Principal Christopher Raymond said.

“Just seeing his smile after so long, it’s just overwhelming,” Sgt. Chin said.

Sgt. Chen read a book to Caden’s second-grade class and then left to go surprise his 3-year-old daughter.

“Your heart just smiles,” he said. “It makes the sacrifices that military families all worth it in the long run.”

This was his second deployment, but his first since Caden and his sister were born. He is not sure how long he will be home, but plans to enjoy every minute of it.

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