Alivia Howell, above, reacts to seeing her father, Tech. Sgt. William Howell, walk through the door to her kindergarten classroom at Fort Cherry Elementary Center earlier this month. Howell surprised Alivia and her twin brother, Nicholas, who is in the striped shirt behind her. The family was stationed in California when Howell relocated his wife, Melinda, and children four months ago back home to Hickory before his upcoming one-year deployment. He has been an aircraft mechanic for the U.S. Air Force for 13 years and will be helping to maintain the F-16 fleet in Korea. At right, kindergartners watch as Alivia and Nicholas hug their dad. Howell poses with his children following his surprise trip home.