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‘We’re finally together’: Military father surprises family in emotional homecoming

GRANITE FALLS, N.C. — It was an emotional homecoming for a military father in Caldwell County after serving abroad for nearly a year.

Chief Petty Officer Henry Alderete has been gone from his family for the last year while serving on the USS Lincoln and he was able to reunite with his 8-year-old daughter during a surprise ceremony at Granite Falls Elementary on Monday.

The third graders at the elementary school gathered in the media center when Officer Henry Alderete arrived. His daughter, Kara Alderete was picking a book and had no idea her father was right behind her.

Seconds later, she turned around and fell into his outstretched arms.

“Totally surprised, I had no idea,” Kara Alderete said.

“It’s all surreal,” his wife Heidi Alderete said. “We’ve waited so long for him to come home and now it’s finally here. Three hundred forty days -- we’re finally together.”

Officer Henry Alderete has been all around the world aboard the USS Lincoln, including the Persian Gulf as tension rose between the United States and Iran.

He is a Chief Master at Arms on the ship, helping with security and anti-terrorism to keep everyone on board safe. He has served more than 22 years in the Navy and and said he cherishes every moment he gets with his wife and four children.

He has just two weeks home before heading back and he said he knows how he plans on spending it.

“Just hanging out at the house,” Officer Henry Alderete said. “Reconnecting with my family. It’s been 11 months. It’s been a long time. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

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