Lyric Garlitz will always remember this day. She said she thought her teacher was acting a little strange.
"She was doing all this weird and different stuff," Lyric said. "I didn't know what to do."
Little did she know, her father, Sergeant Christopher Garlitz, was right outside.
He'd returned a month early from a tour in Iraq, and his first stop? A fifth grade classroom at Crestview Elementary.
"We didn't get a lot of time to talk while I was in Iraq and find out how everything was going, so i wanted to make it special," Sgt. Garlitz said.
Lyric said she does not remember much about the moment after her father surprised her because she was so happy.
"It was shocking," Lyric said. "In a good way."
Although Sgt. Garlitz is a hero to Americans across the country, he said his daughter is his hero.
"She's tough because it's not the first time and it is probably not the last time," Sgt. Garlitz said.
"I am really proud of him for what he is doing," Lyric said.
Lyric said she thought often about the day her father would come home, and this moment topped anything she could have imagined.
