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6yr Old's Best Birthday Present
Gabriel Hurles celebrated his sixth birthday by unwrapping the best present ever - his father home on leave from Iraq.The youngster was so engrossed in the cupcakes his mother brought to his class yesterday that he didn't notice the enormous wrapped box.'That's one big, giant present,' a classmate told him. 'See what you got, Gabriel.'
Surprise: Gabriel tears off the wrapping paper to find his father straight off the plane from Iraq
The six-year-old peeled back the wrapping paper to find the surprise of his young life.'It's my dad!' he announced joyfully to his classmates at Sutro Elementary School in Dayton, Nevada. 'Hi, Daddy!'
Army mechanic Casey Hurles, 23, hadn't seen his son since he left in June. When he learned his leave would coincide with his son's birthday, he hatched a plan to hide out in the big box.'It was such a rush of emotion,' said Hurles, who said he got butterflies in his stomach while waiting in the box.An overjoyed Hurles eats a cupcake with his son Gabriel after the surprise 'I always get them when I see him,' he added. And he admitted he also got a surprise when his son pulled open the wrapping paper, saying: 'He gets bigger every time I see him.''He’s my son. I feel anything he does,' said Gabriel’s mum, Jackie Holocker, 25. 'I’m excited when he’s excited. I think it’s wonderful.'
After Hurles sat down and ate a cupcake with the birthday boy, teacher Dawn VanSickle presented him with a banner from the class that read, 'Welcome Home. Thank you for your service.'VanSickle told the Nevada Appeal she was happy to arrange the reunion in her classroom.'One of the first things Gabriel shared about himself was that his dad was in Iraq and that he was waiting for his dad to come home,' she said. 'He talks about his dad all the time.'Hurles, who joined the Army four years ago, is a mechanic in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. He completed one tour in Iraq and is seven months into his second tour. He expects to finish sometime this summer and talks to his son on the phone almost daily.
Gabriel’s grandparents, Darrell and Karen Hurles, and uncle Joel Hurles were also there.'His dad wanted him to have this memory because you never know what tomorrow might hold,' Gabriel's grandmother Karen said.Gabriel said he looks forward to playing with his dad over the next two weeks but understands why he has to leave again.'He has to work,' Gabriel said. 'He works in the war.'
Gabriel Hurles celebrated his sixth birthday by unwrapping the best present ever - his father home on leave from Iraq.The youngster was so engrossed in the cupcakes his mother brought to his class yesterday that he didn't notice the enormous wrapped box.'That's one big, giant present,' a classmate told him. 'See what you got, Gabriel.'
Surprise: Gabriel tears off the wrapping paper to find his father straight off the plane from Iraq
The six-year-old peeled back the wrapping paper to find the surprise of his young life.'It's my dad!' he announced joyfully to his classmates at Sutro Elementary School in Dayton, Nevada. 'Hi, Daddy!'
Army mechanic Casey Hurles, 23, hadn't seen his son since he left in June. When he learned his leave would coincide with his son's birthday, he hatched a plan to hide out in the big box.'It was such a rush of emotion,' said Hurles, who said he got butterflies in his stomach while waiting in the box.An overjoyed Hurles eats a cupcake with his son Gabriel after the surprise 'I always get them when I see him,' he added. And he admitted he also got a surprise when his son pulled open the wrapping paper, saying: 'He gets bigger every time I see him.''He’s my son. I feel anything he does,' said Gabriel’s mum, Jackie Holocker, 25. 'I’m excited when he’s excited. I think it’s wonderful.'
After Hurles sat down and ate a cupcake with the birthday boy, teacher Dawn VanSickle presented him with a banner from the class that read, 'Welcome Home. Thank you for your service.'VanSickle told the Nevada Appeal she was happy to arrange the reunion in her classroom.'One of the first things Gabriel shared about himself was that his dad was in Iraq and that he was waiting for his dad to come home,' she said. 'He talks about his dad all the time.'Hurles, who joined the Army four years ago, is a mechanic in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. He completed one tour in Iraq and is seven months into his second tour. He expects to finish sometime this summer and talks to his son on the phone almost daily.
Gabriel’s grandparents, Darrell and Karen Hurles, and uncle Joel Hurles were also there.'His dad wanted him to have this memory because you never know what tomorrow might hold,' Gabriel's grandmother Karen said.Gabriel said he looks forward to playing with his dad over the next two weeks but understands why he has to leave again.'He has to work,' Gabriel said. 'He works in the war.'
