A 3-year-old girl interrupted a military homecoming ceremony this week after she spotted her father standing in the front row.
She darted across the floor to embrace him. Her dad, 1st Lt. Daniel Oglesby, quickly hugged her back before she raced back to her mother.
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"That moment was about the family, so I figured I'd greet her, give her a kiss on the head, and then tell her I'd meet up with her momentarily after we were done with the presentation," he told TODAY.com a day after the ceremony Tuesday.
"We all understand. That's their moment. It's tough on them being away from family for eight-plus months," he said. "When they finally see them, there aren't many people who will stand in their way of seeing their parents, and it definitely wasn't going to be me."
Oglesby and his family will celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together this year.
"That's the toughest part of the entire job is to be away from the family," he said. "Having that reunion, it doesn't make up for the lost time, but it's definitely a sweet moment to finally be able to see them and embrace them again."
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