This high school senior's graduation day became an especially memorable one as her father, a deployed Army commander, surprised her onstage after years apart
Staff Sgt. Anthony Tillman strode onto the stage during Sunday's graduation for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, took off his uniform hat and gave his daughter a huge hug."I felt like I was hugging him for hours. I felt like I was hugging him a little bit too long," she said. Kayla said her dad had been serving in South Korea, and had told her three days before graduation that he would not be able to make it.
"I couldn't even move, I couldn't feel my legs, I couldn't feel my arms. I was overwhelmed with joy."Kayla said her dad's been in the Army since she was in the second grade and has been gone a lot.She said he talks regularly with her and her sister over FaceTime, but she hadn't seen him in person since just before the start of eighth grade.She said they only got to spend a short time together after graduation."He left the same night.
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