Military dads get special treatment from MLB, Obama this Father's Day

Efram Ramirez

Welcoming a deployed parent home is always special for military children, but four major league baseball teams made the homecomings particularly special for four fathers and their children, ESPN reports.

The Mariners, Braves, Twins and Diamondbacks all worked to organize the reunions for U.S. Army First Sergeant Steve Smerer, Air Force reservist Master Sergeant Dave Sims,
Master Sergeant Robert Buresh and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Aguirre with their children, the news outlet reports.

While each event was unique to the service member and his family, most involved a special surprise for the children, seeing their father appear at a major league game earlier than they had expected him home.

For Buresh, who had been deployed six times, surprising his daughters, ages 11 and 8, both Twins fans, was important. The team set up a Kids Race the Bases contest that the girls would participate in, not knowing their father would be at the end of it.

"I asked for it because I wanted to have a really good memory coming home from deployment for my kids," Buresh told the news outlet. " It wasn't about me."

His eldest daughter, Annie, told the news source that it was a shock to see her dad waiting for her.

"I look up and I see him and I think, 'Huh?' and then I cried out, 'DADDY!' When I saw dad, it was almost like everything just blacked out," she told the news outlet.

President Obama also hosted a special Father's Day celebration for military parents, The New York Daily News reports. He got together with several military fathers and local barbers for an unannounced lunch at a Washington, D.C. barbecue restaurant.

"These guys are also young fathers, and they’re doing great," the President told reporters. "When these guys are deployed sometimes, they're leaving the family behind. I just want to make sure they get support."

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