Sergeant pulls off a masterful surprise at the Ted

Turner Field already felt emotionally charged and patriotic for Memorial Day, but Master Sgt. David Sims managed to make 42,000 people audibly gasp with a collective “ohhhh.”

He and the Braves surprised his wife and four children with an onfield reunion during the Braves-Cardinals game, coming home a week early from his six-month deployment with the Air Force in Afghanistan.

Sims’ 24-hour journey back ended along the first base line at Turner Field, shortly after he first spoke to his family in a video message taped from Afghanistan and broadcast from the Turner Field bigscreen.

“I love you so much. I miss you. I hope you’re having fun watching the Atlanta Braves,” Sims said in the video. “I can’t wait to be with you again. In fact, wait one minute.”

Then he popped out from the other end of the Braves dugout onto the field, where his children, ages 10-13, turned, looked, pointed and then sprinted to him, with his wife Robin trailing in flip flops. They mobbed him with a group hug.

“I had a suspicion, but he still surprised me in the end,” his wife said later. “I thought he would be here. I watch one too many television shows and one of my favorite ones is ‘Coming Home.’ Last time he deployed he came home in a Christmas box, so it’s not past him to surprise me.”

On their way home to Centerville, where Sims is stationed at nearby Robins Air Force Base, they planned to stop for a bite.

“A greasy burger would be good,” Sims said.

DAVID GOLDMAN / AP U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. David Sims of Centerville in Middle Georgia is embraced by his wife and children during the fifth inning of Monday’s game.