Parade springs uniformed surprise on 3 girls
STOW – Even though Patrick Mckelvey wore a mask and sunglasses, his eldest daughter recognized the man behind the mayor of the Akron suburb of Stow getting out of the firetruck, and she dashed into his arms. After more than a year, Daddy was home.
Sgt. 1st Class Mckelvey, a member of the Ohio Army National Guard's "Steel Panthers 145," had been stationed in the Middle East for 14 months but returned home Friday to his wife, Matilda, and daughters Kyrie, 10, Cora, 6, and Elsie, 3.
The children had been told there would be a parade, but they didn’t know that their father would be on the firetruck passing by the house.
“My kids think this is a parade counting down to a trip to Disney,” Matilda Mckelvey said. “They think he’s coming home in three weeks.”
Patrick Mckelvey gathered his daughters and lifted them in a huge hug. As for his surroundings, he said: "I'm glad to see green instead of sand."
The Guard member left on Aug. 28, 2019 and was stationed in Kuwait, the
United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Spartan Shield.
This was Mckelvey’s third deployment in 10 years, his wife said. The first was in 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom for combat, and the second was in 2009 with Multinational Force and Observers for joint training to build international partnerships.
“Every mobilization has been different,” Patrick Mckelvey said. “This one was a variety of different things to maintain defense readiness. It was more active duty every day.”
He returned to the United States three weeks ago but had to go through quarantine and finish a demobilization process before joining his family.
“I want to see my girls,” he said of his wife and daughters. “I haven’t seen them in almost 14 months.”
COVID-19 has been an additional challenge for the family.
“Because of everything the girls have been through emotionally this year, I wanted to do something to surprise them,” Matilda Mckelvey said. “There’s usually a welcome home ceremony for soldiers, but because of COVID, that has been canceled.”