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Mint Hill twins surprised by father home from deployment

MINT HILL, N.C. — There was a huge surprise for two middle school students in Mint Hill when their dad came back from his deployment.

Army National Guard Sgt. Louis Grady’s 12-year-old twins thought they were going to learn about college and careers during an assembly at Mint Hill Middle School.

Instead, their father walked in to surprise them.

He has been gone for a year. He was stationed in Bahrain, helping to provide security.

“It was so hard, because I’ve never been away from them,” Louis Grady said. “This was my first deployment, first time separated from my kids, my family.”

“It means the whole world to me,” daughter Kaylee Grady said. “I’ve been waiting so long for him to come home.”

Louis Grady said he was surprised to see how tall his children are now. The family plans to spend a lot of quality time together to make up for lost time.

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