VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Chris Richards' deployment, which was initially set for seven months, ended up lasting for 10 months. His wife, Robin Richards, said, "It was a lot longer than it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be back in July or August, and it just kept getting extended and extended."
The long wait was especially tough for their 7-year-old son, Liam, who eagerly anticipated his father's return so they could watch their favorite team, the Detroit Lions, together.
"Everybody knows Liam’s a Detroit fan. He has a Detroit backpack, and he’s wearing jerseys all the time," said Liam’s mother, Kelly Burrell.
The family had already purchased tickets for a Lions game, but Chris’ deployment kept getting delayed.
"Ten months seems like 10 years to a child, but we kept reassuring him that Dad was going to be okay," Burrell said.
Just days before the game, Chris’ ship, the USS Roosevelt, finally returned home.
Kelly, who teaches at Pembroke Meadows Elementary, where Liam is a second grader, planned a surprise for her son.
“We knew we wanted to surprise Liam at school, but we didn’t want it to be an embarrassing moment,” she said.
While Chris lives in Raleigh with his wife and stepkids, the love in their blended family is unmistakable.
“Chris sent me a text and said, ‘I’m 10 minutes down the road,’” Burrell said.
At school, Kelly took Liam to the parents’ table, pretending they were going to have lunch together.
“He could tell I was acting a little odd,” she said.
Robin recorded the special moment when Chris walked into the cafeteria to surprise Liam. “I happened to look at the door and saw Chris walking through. Immediately, Liam knew something was going on behind him, so he turned around, and that’s when he saw his dad,” Burrell said.
Chris expressed relief and happiness: “It took a second to realize that it was actually him, present with me, not just on a FaceTime call or a phone call.”
Liam shared his reaction: “When he was first coming, I said, ‘Who is that?’ And when he came closer, I was like, ‘Whoa, it’s my dad.’”
Chris added, “Once he realized it was actually me, the raw emotion just kind of came out from him.” The touching reunion was emotional for everyone, including Robin, who was crying as she recorded the moment. After she shared the video online, it quickly went viral.
“It was like 100,000 views every minute or something ridiculous,” said Robin.
The video has received over 3.3 million views on TikTok, catching the attention of the Detroit Lions.
At the game, Liam and Chris were invited onto the field.
“I got to go on the field and take a picture with Terrion Arnold,” Liam said. They also received plenty of Lions merchandise.
For Chris and Liam, the best part was finally doing something they love together after such a long time apart. “It had been so long since I’d seen him, and just being able to grab him and hold my sweet little boy…” Chris said, trailing off.
