Maj. Mickey Thompson has been in Afghanistan for the past year. His three kids thought he wasn't coming home for another couple of weeks. So when he got back early, he decided to surprise them by getting wrapped up as a Christmas present.
At a school assembly, his daughter was told she'd won a raffle prize. It took her a moment to realize that the present was her dad.
"He's missed a lot of events, you know, a lot of times we'll be somewhere doing something special and they'll be like, 'I sure wish dad was here,'" said wife Marcia Thompson.
Mickey Thompson said at first he thought he'd just walk into school to surprise his kids, but then the teachers came up with the present idea.
