Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tony Spain | Lt. Col. John Palo, a 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment planner, hugs his son...... read more read more
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SUMTER, S.C. - The best reader of the day never read a word, but was the story of the day during a community reading event at Oakland Primary School in Sumter, S.C., Feb. 3.
First grader Aiden Palo was among students paying close attention as members of the community took turns reading children’s books to the class. It was after the third reader that he got the surprise of his life.
Aiden had no idea his dad came home early from a six-month deployment to Qatar until Lt. Col. John Palo, Third Army/ARCENT, 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, plans officer, walked through the door still in his Army Combat Uniform to greet his son.
Aiden smiled big and the crowd filled the room with applause as the 6-year-old raced into his father’s arms and buried his head in his dad’s shoulder.
John said it was good to be home, and he was looking forward to catching up and spending time with his son.
“It’s like being a kid at Christmas. You’re incredibly excited, but it doesn’t get old at all. It doesn’t get easier having to leave every time either, that’s the hard part. Coming home is the easier part, the fun part,” said John, a Nashua, N.H. native. “I got a feeling we’ll be playing a lot of Legos, but I’ll do whatever he wants me to do, and I’ll have no problems doing it.”
Aiden’s mother Angela Palo said it’s hard on Aiden to be away from his father, and she wanted the homecoming to be special. The surprise had been in the works since Christmas.
One of the things Aiden and Angie did to count the days was put 180 M&Ms in their own separate jars and ate one everyday to keep track of how much time was left before John came home.
“Some people count cards, others mark days off the calendar, we ate M&Ms,” said Angie.
The Palos try to get as much face to face time with dad while he is gone. They set aside time usually on Saturday and Sunday so they can see each other each week, but there are some things you just can’t capture through technology.
“I’m gone for large chunks of time. He’s a lot taller, and he has no teeth,” said John.
The best phrase that best captured the moment of the day came from Aiden Palo, “It’s awesome!”
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2012 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 83306 |
| Location: | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 440 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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