GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – We see it all the time on social media- videos of service men and women surprising loved ones when they come home from deployment. Friday, it happened right here in the CSRA.
Major Kamona Riley-Lee, a nurse with the Army National Guard, deployed to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo in January, leaving her third grade son, Benjamin here at home.
“It’s been a hard transition. We are really like best friends. It’s just been me and him from the beginning,” she said.
After finding out when she was supposed to go home, she discovered it aligned with Grovetown Elementary School’s Veteran’s Day program and thought it would be perfect to surprise him there.
“I’m extremely anxious. I’m excited. I hope that all of these nine months were worth it. I hope that he’s excited to see me,” Major Riley-Lee smiled.
The school honored veterans with breakfast, a speaker, and performances- which Benjamin was a part of.
Then came the encore. Onstage, Benjamin read a “Thank you” poem to the veterans attending the ceremony. The principal announced that someone deployed to Kosovo had a message for him. To thunderous applause and cheers, Major Riley-Lee came around the corner with balloons and a teddy bear to see her son for the first time in months.