WAYNESVILLE — Two area elementary students were surprised today by their dad who’s been deployed for nearly a year.
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Master Chief Petty Officer William Davis has spent 20 years in the United States Navy. In that time, he’s been to 32 countries. He’s spent the last 11 months in Kuwait.
“I left home April 7 of 2024,” he said. “So I got back, drove home late last night on March 7, 2025.”
On Monday, he went to Wayne Local Schools in Waynesville to surprise his son, Declan, and his daughter, Olivia.
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As seen on News Center 7 at 5:00, Davis went to the lunchroom first and surprised Declan while he was eating. Then he moved down the hall, where Olivia was in gym class.
Both Declan and Olivia’s jaws dropped when they saw their dad and then both of them ran into his arms.
Declan and Olivia told News Center 7 about how surprised they were when they saw their dad.
“My head was about to blow up,” Declan said.
Davis told News Center 7’s Mason Fletcher he was eight hours ahead of his kids while overseas. While they still talked on a weekly basis, nothing beats seeing them in person.
He described what it was like to his kids' faces light up at the surprise.
“More happiness than I ever thought it would, so it’s just - there’s no other way to describe it,” Davis said.
Both kids said they missed their dad so much while he was gone.
“I would have went to Iraq to see him,” Declan said.
Olivia said it was the most she’d ever missed someone.
“I can’t take the smile off my face,” Olivia said.
To make the day even better, Declan and Olivia got out of school a little early to spend the day with their dad for the first time in 11 months.
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