Sergeant Bryan Samsel returned home this weekend after being deployed in the Middle East for over a year and he took the opportunity to surprise his wife and kids at the Dolly Parton Stampede.
“I am surprising my wife that I’m home. I just wanted to do something special with her,” Samsel told a local news station in Branson, Missouri before surprising his wife and two kids. “I’m not one hundred percent sure [how she’s going to react], I expect her probably to cry, maybe beat me up.”
Samsel chose to surprise his family at Dolly Parton’s Stampede because his family loves the show. The last time they went as a family was more than five years ago, when Samsel’s father was still alive.
“He passed away five years ago,” Samsel told Ozarksfirst.com. “So, kind of that monument, just coming back here as a family,” he added, holding back tears.
When Samsel arrived at the stampede with a bouquet of flowers, his wife reacted as he expected and the crowd went nuts. Surely she and their two children are happy that Samsel is home safe after being gone for so long.