A soldier returning from a one-year overseas deployment had a very public reunion with his son at a high school football game in Alabama. The touching video of the father seeing his son for the first time in over a year is going viral. Army Major Fred Grooms Senior has been stationed in Kuwait since 2020 and last week he surprised his son, Fred Grooms Junior at his final football game of the season.
Grooms Senior wasn’t scheduled to come home until the end of October, but he knew he’d miss his son’s last football game of the season if he couldn’t get home earlier. So he told his commander the situation and was given permission to leave two weeks early. Getting to the game undetected was another challenge. He arrived a day before the game, so his wife hid him in their house until the kids left for school.
When players took to the field for the coin toss, Grooms Senior was hidden in plain sight, dressed as a referee. Players from both teams, including Grooms Junior, were instructed to get a good look at the officials for the game and that’s when the happy reunion took place. The father and son had a long hug at the 50-yard-line while players, officials, and fans cheered.