‘I started tearing up’: Son has emotional reunion with Air Force father at school on Veterans Day

ATLANTA, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) – This Veterans Day was extra special for one student in Georgia who believed his dad, who serves in the Air Force, would not be home for another two weeks.

Fourth graders at Kemp Elementary School in Powder Springs celebrated the veterans in their life with patriotic songs Tuesday morning.

As they sang, 10-year-old Amare Gore looked into the crowd of proud parents and grandparents, wishing his own father was there.

“I thought he wasn’t going to come back until like two weeks or one week later,” he said.

As they ended their program with “God Bless America,” Amare got a little surprise: his father had sent him a video from Iraq telling him how much he was missed.

Little did Amare know, Master Sgt. Osei Gore was waiting down the hall to surprise his son.

“I was like, ‘OK, maybe he’s going to run over, give me a big hug and whatnot.’ So, when I walked in and saw him crying as well, it made me cry even more,” Gore said. “It really got me. I was standing out there like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to cry,’ and then, like, as I heard them introducing everything, I started tearing up.”

Gore had been deployed by the U.S. Air Force since April and had been planning this surprise for months.

“I’ve been scheming in Iraq,” he said.

Gore said his son’s reaction to his appearance made it all worth it.

“I thought they were joking that he was here, but when I saw him, I was very happy,” Amare said.

The father and son paraded the halls of Kemp Elementary School together, glad to be reunited.

“Being able to walk and do that with my son next to me, I kept looking down periodically, like, smiling, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m really back and able to hold him and see him again,’” Gore said.

“I’m happy that you came,” Amare told his dad.

Once Gore left Kemp Elementary, he went straight to another Cobb County school to surprise his other child. Their plans afterward were to spend the rest of the day reunited while having fun together.

The ceremony was a special occasion for Cobb County families as they honored those who have served, both past and present.

“Veterans Day to me, it’s honoring not only those who are serving, but also those who have served and, of course, those who have passed away during their time as well, because we want to appreciate the sacrifice they have given to our country,” Gore said.