InsideEdition.com is taking a look back at the military men who protect and serve our nation while also being loving dads eager to surprise their families.
From the court or a ballpark to a classroom or school play, these military dads have brought countless tears of joy to their families as they return from service.
Read: Here Are 10 Moms Who Inspire Us
InsideEdition.com is taking a look back at the military men who protect and serve our nation but keep their families' spirits among their top priorities.
During a Utah Jazz game in March, Major Samuel Sanderson's son and daughter put on blacked-out ski goggles and walked around the court until they found a surprise guest.
They then took off the goggles and saw it was their father who had been away on deployment for six months. The siblings sobbed in their dad's arms, clearly overjoyed to have him home.
The basketball court is not the only sporting arena to host a military surprise.
In May, the children of Air Force Technical Sergeant Lance Daigle attended a baseball game at Five Country Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., home of the Carolina Mudcats, and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Unbeknownst to the teens, they were throwing to their father, who had disguised himself as the team's catcher. After the pitches were thrown, he ripped off his catcher mask and revealed who he really was. The children then ran to their father and the whole family embraced.
While sports venues are top locations for military reunions, they're not the only places to bring families together.
A Delaware teen got the surprise of a lifetime when her Army father, Tech Sgt. David Opperman, surprised her by walking through the door of her school as the pair chatted during their weekly Skype session.
Opperman’s 13-year-old daughter is deaf and the school made a special arrangement for her to video chat with her dad on one May afternoon. After they ended the call, Sgt. Opperman walked through the door of her classroom and the young lady broke down in tears as she saw her father in person for the first time in more than six months.
In May, one military dad surprised his three kids at their Connecticut school during a morning assembly.
Sgt. Antoine Gibeau returned from his 11-month deployment in Africa and dropped in on Prospect Elementary School’s morning assembly. His three kids Tyler, 9, Gavin, 7, and Madison, 5, were among the 600 students in attendance.
As the crowd erupted in applause, Tyler, Gavin and Madison timidly walked up to the front of the gymnasium and enveloped their father in a hug.
For a reunion as important as one with a parent, sometimes you need a little magic.
Drake Krainbrink, 10, was at his birthday party at Impossibles Magic Shop and Theatre in Nevada in February with his friends, family and brother, when it was time for the big finale — and a huge surprise for Drake.
Read: Grieving Mom Donates More Than 4,000 Ounces of Breast Milk to Honor Child's Memory
Magician Justin Impossible disappeared behind the curtain in the room full of onlookers, and when the curtain fell again seconds later, Drake’s dad Benjamin Krainbrink, a first sergeant in the Nevada Army Guard Reserve, was standing in his place.
The two sons were ecstatic to see their dad and ran right up to him.
"At first, he looked at me like he didn’t believe I was there," Krainbrink told InsideEdition.com. "Then I waved at him to get me come on stage and then he jumped up and tackled, gave me a big hug and a smile."
