A FATHER’S RETURN
Marine Sgt. Josh Pegher of Hampton came home early from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan and surprised his three daughters, Caitlin, above; Allison, below left; and Natalie, at their schools Thursday.
The first day of school is always memorable, but the three Pegher children — Natalie, Caitlin and Allison — had an unforgettable surprise Thursday.
After spending nine months in Afghanistan, Sgt. Josh Pegher, 38, of Hampton returned home from his second deployment just in time to see his daughters on their first day of school.
“He was supposed to come home a week later, but came back early,” said his wife, Toni Pegher.
Sgt. Pegher started the day at Hampton High School, where he walked into a crowded cafeteria during lunch, much to the shock of his oldest daughter, Natalie, a 15-year-old sophomore.
The two held a long embrace, both barely holding back tears.
“I was over 100 percent surprised,” she said. “I missed him a lot when he was away and tried to keep strong.”
The family next went to Hampton Middle School to surprise sixth-grader Caitlin, 11, during a schoolwide assembly.
As former Marine Eric McElvenney concluded a speech about his deployment and overcoming adversity, the students were told there was “one more surprise,” and Sgt. Pegher walked down the aisle of the auditorium.
Caitlin immediately turned around from her seat in the second row, ran up to her father, and gave him a big hug.
“It was the first time I’ve seen Caitlin speechless. She’s usually the more talkative one,” Ms. Pegher said.
The last stop for the Pegher family was Wyland Elementary, where Sgt. Pegher surprised his youngest, Allison, 6, in her firstgrade classroom.
After surprising each daughter, he pulled out a gold coin from his shirt pocket and placed it in their hands. He carried the coins with him during his deployment, each with a different engraving of an angel, to remind him of his girls.
“This coin is in my heart every day,” he told them.
Keeping the surprises a secret was not easy, Sgt. Pegher said, especially because he knew how much his family wanted him home.
“Caitlin was crying because her dad wasn’t going to be here for her first day of sixth grade,” Ms. Pegher said.
“Being away from family is tough,” he said. “You kind of have the helpless feeling every once in a while when someone cries, you can’t hold them, and when something goes wrong, you can’t fix it.”
But this time, Sgt. Pegher will be together with his family “for quite a while” — he has no immediate plans for another deployment.
“It feels great to be home,” he said. “It’s been a long tour.”