TSgt Tim Land came home from deployment with the Air Force and surprised his stepdaughter, Morgan, at school. Watch video
MONROE TWP. -- A student at Williamstown Middle School got a special surprise Thursday when her stepfather, who had spent several months on deployment with the Air Force, came home early and met her in class.
TSgt Tim Land was deployed to the Middle East just before Christmas and came home Thursday morning. He was part of a flight crew responsible for refueling other aircraft. After months away, Land and his wife, Corey Land, knew he would be coming home six days earlier than he'd originally expected.
Morgan Bruynell, 11, had told her family that she didn't want any advance notice of Land's return home. She was counting down the days, however, on a calendar in her fifth-grade classroom. With that in mind, the couple started planning.
"At first, we were just going to call her down to the office," said Land.
"She had been saying she want to be surprised," Corey added. "But we didn't know how to pull it off."
Plans changed when Land heard that Morgan's classmates had supported her as she coped with his absence.
"Her teachers said her classmates were helping her get through it," he said. "So we decided to show up to her classroom."
Land walked up behind Morgan as she worked on a laptop at her desk.
"I didn't know it was him at first," she said afterward. "I was really surprised."
Land had already met Morgan's brother, 14-year-old Noah, in a hallway at Williamstown High School before going to see his stepdaughter.
"I'm just glad I didn't cry in front of my friends," Noah said.
Morgan gave Land a tearful hug, and her classmates applauded.
"I just feel lots of joy," she said. "My friends told me about the things they had gone through, and that made me feel better. One of my friend's dads has to travel a lot for work, so she knew what it was like."
The first thing she wants to do now that Land is back is go on a cruise -- after the family goes out to dinner together.
Land has been in the Air Force for 19 years.
"This was my first deployment while having a family," he said. "I'm just so happy to be back."
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.