Six of Our Favorite Holiday Military Homecoming Surprises

It’s always tough to be away from home for the holidays, especially for those with military ties. A great number of men and women sacrifice their time with their own families to make sure the rest of us are able to gather and celebrate with our own.

The country music industry has always had a large amount of support for the United States Armed Forces. Charlie Daniels’ Birthday Volunteer Jam works to raise money for The Journey Home Project, a foundation that works to help veterans when the return home. Kellie Pickler, Trace Adkins, The Swon Brothers, Brantley Gilbert, Toby Keith and others have teamed with the USO to travel overseas and play shows for our troops stationed far from home, while others like Maddie & Tae, Zac Brown Band, Trisha Yearwood, Tyler Farr are among the many to join forces with the Boot Campaign. Several country stars, like Jamey Johnson, Craig Morgan, Johnny Cash, and others, have even put themselves on the front line by serving their country before becoming country stars. You see, the love for the military runs deep in the veins of country music.

With the holiday season upon us, we wanted to take a look at some of the Internet’s best military holiday homecoming surprises that we could find. Check out some of the videos below and make sure you have tissues on hand…

Our first video is of an Airman returning and sneaking in to his home. His family was bent over in tears of joy when they saw their military man walk into the room.

In our second tear-jerking video, an Airman named Josh surprises his family with the help of some friends. His dad is brought to tears on the driveway and his sister doesn’t believe the news until she sees him with her own eyes.

After four-months of preparation, Lance Corporal Peter Allen surprised his wife Kelly with the help of Santa and a South Florida mall staff. After telling the man in red that she wished her husband would come home, Kelly got the surprise of a lifetime when she saw him standing in the background of their family picture and turned around to give him a hug.

With the help of others, this Marine was able to sneak in to her family home and surprise her mom and sister with the best present of all. After some decoy conversation to distract the two from what was really happening, the soldier in her dress uniform wished them a “Merry Christmas,” much to the shock and joy of her family.

U.S. Army Spc. Ethan Harris worked hard with his dad to plan a memorable surprise for his mom Kim, a teacher at Prairie Heights Schools. During the staff Christmas party, Ethan, dressed as Santa, walked in to surprise his mom. After asking some questions about her “son,” he reveals his true identity for a moving moment.

Second grader Bethany had but one wish for Christmas… for her dad to return home from Iraq. The two had only spent two weeks together in two years and she couldn’t imagine anything she wanted more than to be right in his arms. With a little magic, dad was able to pull off a wonderful surprise as captured by CBS’ On The Road with Steve Hartman.

Thank you to those who serve and who have served this great nation!