It's been seven months since four year old Isabell Barnes saw her uncle Luis Ortiz, but the Army Specialist from Williamstown, N.J. thought he would surprise her.
Little Isabell and her classmates at St. Mary's Preschool in Williamstown welcomed their military visitor with flags, patriotic ice pops and even recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Before long, Isabell became overwhelmed by all the excitement and told anyone who listened, that she wanted to go home.
Specialist Ortiz was happy to be home. He is a reservist with the 37th FMCO out of Wilmington, and spent 11 months in Afghanistan.
"I'm ecstatic," said Spc. Luis Ortiz. "I am going to spoil my nieces even more than I have. I am going to take them out. We are going to storybook land this weekend, and Chuck E. Cheese right after this."
Specialist Ortiz wasn't due home until June 1st. He apparently loves to surprise people, and it started with his mom who works at the airport.
"I work for American airlines, and when I came upstairs, there he was with some flowers," said Sally Ortiz. "He was home."
Little sister Jennifer was also stunned when her brother showed up in the driveway. She says she's missed him a lot.
"He wasn't here for my graduation, and that's once in a lifetime for high school students. But he's definitely going to be here for everything else, and that's going to be really important for me," said Jennifer Ortiz.
Specialist Ortiz is home for good and will soon return to his job as a computer technician for Virtual Hospital, and no doubt that will make little Isabell happy.
