Army captian reunites with stepson in surprise fashion
Deibler Elementary School student Tyler Scott hadn’t seen his stepmother in nine months. Capt. Anne Scott was away in a movement control battalion in Kuwait and had been communicating with Tyler through Facebook, Skype, phone calls and texts.
Anne was due back home in December and thought, “Why not make it a surprise?”
Deibler held a special assembly Tuesday, Dec. 4, so the entire school could see the reunion between the 9-year-old third-grader and his stepmother.
Principal Deb Brady showed the students on a map where Kuwait was and talked about the dust storms and temperatures reaching 125 degrees in Kuwait. Brady gave the students a little homework, as well: thank those you meet in the military for giving you your freedom.
“Raise your hand if you are wondering why we have a lot of guests here with cameras,” Brady said to the students, who waved their hands excitedly.
Tyler’s dad, Sgt. Walter Scott, was there to help present the “mystery delivery” from Kuwait: Anne in a box wrapped up like a Christmas present.
Anne popped out of the box with her arms wide, with a moose in one hand. She hugged Tyler and gave him a stuffed animal moose with “Hugs and Kisses from Kuwait” on it.
“I’m so surprised!” Tyler said.
Tyler’s class made a book for Anne with thank you cards for her service. Two other third-grade classes made books for Tyler and his stepmother with suggestions of what they can do together now that they’re back together as a family.
“[It’s been] very hard being away from family and friends in an environment that’s very hot and dusty. It’s hard, but you make friends over there as well so it kind of helps you through,” Anne said.
Walter set the surprise up by telling Tyler that Anne’s return was delayed and she might not be home until the end of December.
“It was Anne’s idea. She wanted to be unique,” Walter said. “You can be like everyone else or you can be like no one else. Because we’re dual military, we didn’t want to be like anyone else.”
It was the school’s idea to have Anne jump out of a box on stage. Originally, Anne planned to surprise Tyler in his classroom, but the surprise plan grew. Anne said she was thrilled about the idea.
“The school has been very, very supportive,” Walter said.
Anne said it was hard for the thousands of troops still in Kuwait, but she was appreciative of the support from the general public in the form of boxes, care packages and pen pal connections.
:DOWHr, wKRsH firsW wiIH died in 2005 from cancer, was excited to see the reunion of Anne and Tyler.
“Their happiness and their connection means everything to me,” he said.
Tyler described the experience as very special. Now, he’ll look forward to the long trip to Michigan, where the Scott family is originally from, for Christmas with his parents.
“I’m going to spend time with them and have fun with them,” Tyler said.
After the excitement of Tuesday afternoon, Anne and Walter planned to take Tyler out of school and have some family time.
Anne said it was a great Christmas present to be back together again.
“Now when he hears ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ his mom will be home for Christmas,” Walter said.
To see video of the reunion, visit PerkasieNewsHerald.com!