This past week Dave Voss, a soldier from the U.S. Army, from East Bridgewater MA, returned to his hometown to surprise his brother and sister. Voss showed up unknowingly at his brother, Dylan Voss’s soccer game and surprised his sister, Victoria Voss, in her 8th grade art class at East Bridgewater Junior Senior High School. Both times resulted in a very heartfelt reunion.
This is the first time an East Bridgewater military homecoming went viral on Facebook and I got to thinking how difficult it must be to carry out such a surprise. I sat down with Dave Voss to find out what it takes to execute a military surprise homecoming.
Turns out that Voss had been planning the surprise for two months in advance. He had only been home twice since he left for basic training, August 18th, 2015. He had done a surprise home visit last time he returned home and loved the experience, so he knew he wanted to do it again, this time with his brother and sister.
“Last time I surprised my mom and it was amazing, so I wanted to see how they react to it,” Voss said.
Voss said it was pretty easy to plan the surprise from Fort Bliss, Texas, where he was stationed after he completed basic training. He did, however, have some help. A few different people were involved in the planning Voss said. His mother and his fiancé helped carry out the surprise by convincing his brother and sister that he was not coming home and revealing it at the right time.
As you can see, they were very happy to have him home.
Voss said East Bridgewater Junior Senior High School was very welcoming of him. In fact, he was blown away by the support of the entire town of East Bridgewater. The media spread the heartwarming story all around Massachusetts and he said he is very thankful to be able to return to a town like East Bridgewater, where people truly care for one another.
“Everyone in my company has seen it too and it’s insane,” he said.
Not many of Voss’s army friends have pulled off a surprise homecoming like he did, which makes it even more special. He is now home for two weeks before he ships off to Kuwait in June. Voss said he will be spending his time at home eating all the food he can't eat while he is on active duty and of course, seeing his friends and family.
In case you haven’t seen the video, it can be found here:
