Sgt. Dad Reports For Pick-Up

Andre Cunningham came home from a four-month deployment in the Middle East a week early — and deployed to Benjamin Jepson School for a surprise mission.

Cunningham, a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard, conspired with Jepson officials to surprise daughters Serenity, 8, and Moriah, 4, at a class assembly and a read-aloud after not seeing them since July.

Cunningham has been serving in the military for the past 11 years. He spent the past four months in the Middle East for a second deployment term as a vehicle mechanic.

His daughters were expecting his return on Thanksgiving. His wife Shoneace Cunningham thought he’d be coming home this coming Friday.

Instead Andre came home a week early, first surprising his wife last weekend with the help of his in-laws.

The parents celebrated Andre’s return home with a weekend at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

“It was hard surprising her because she’s like a FBI detective,” Andre joked about his wife.

When Shoneace was unexpectedly reunited with her husband, the two decided they would surprise the girls at school Monday. Shoneace reached out to Jepson principal Lesley Stancarone Monday, and the school swung into action.

Serenity’s third-grade class gathered for what the students believed was a class assembly to celebrate ​“recycling day.”

The students sat surrounded by recycling bins and talked about what kind of objects can be recycled together. Serenity sat front row, unaware of the soon-to-come surprise.

While third-grade teacher Amanda Lupoli read the book Recycling Day by Ed Miller to the class, Andre walked from the front of the school building to the back just past the school playground.

Familiar with the uniform, Serenity bobbed her head back and forth past her teacher to recognize the familiar face and gave her dad a wave. She rocked with excitement in her seat waiting until Lupoli gave permission to get up, then raced into her missed father’s arms for a long-awaited hug.

Her first request while at her dad’s side: ​“Can we get a puppy now?”

This was not Serenity’s first experience with dealing with her father being deployed. For four months of Shoneace’s pregnancy with Moriah in 2016, Andre was deployed int he Middle East.

That first absence was more difficult for Serenity. This time was difficult, too, but Serenity ​“stepped up as a big sister” and helped Moriah deal with the temporary absence of their father, Shoneace said.

During this recent deployment, Shoneace said, she struggled with raising their family alone. She received support from her parents and church community.

For the first month Andre was gone, Moriah had constant nightmares. She would wake up screaming for her father. ​“I was running off of five hours of sleep if I was lucky,” Shoneace said.

Shoneace spent time beside Moriah to help her sleep at night after Andre left. ​“You would have thought he died with how hard she took it.”

While her dad surprised her little sister Monday, Serenity returned to her class for a few minutes to enjoy recess with her friends.

During Moriah’s surprise, her pre‑K class sat at the front of the building for an outdoor read-aloud. While the class sang along with pre‑K teacher Jane Limauro, Andre walked from the school’s front doors and once again received a wave from Moriah before jumping from her seat into her father’s arms, which she refused to leave for minutes.

The two classes each made signs for Andre reading ​“Welcome home our hero” and ​“Welcome Home Benjamin Jepson Hero.”

Andre, a New Haven native, transferred to Benjamin Jepson in the third grade and graduated in eighth.

When asked what the girls plan to do first with their dad, Serenity responded ​“I’m going to keep asking him for a puppy.”

“I’m going to look for one,” Andre promised.

The family said they plan to celebrate the day with a Hibachi dinner, as requested by the girls.

Watch the two surprises here and here.