East Bay

Military Dad Surprises Sons at Calif. School After Year-Long Deployment

Dublin Unified School District

A U.S. Navy Lieutenant was captured in an emotional video when he surprised his three young sons at an East Bay school after a year-long deployment Thursday, according to a tweet from the district.

Darren Nelson was deployed in Africa where he was with the Africa Command and was present when three U.S. military personnel were killed, according to Pleasanton Weekly. He returned to the Bay Area last Wednesday, but stayed in a hotel so he could surprise his children at Murray Elementary School the next day.

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Darren Nelson surprises his three young sons at school after a year-long deployment in Africa.

The Dublin Unified School District helped Nelson with the surprise by calling the school together for an assembly to honor military servicemembers and first responders. During the assembly, Nelson stepped out from backstage, Pleasanton Weekly reported.  

Photos: Military Dad Surprises Sons at Dublin School After Year-Long Deployment

The three Nelson boys, Brendon, Ethan and Caleb are in second grade, kindergarten and preschool.

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