National Guard soldier returns home, surprises sister at school

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WE ARE GOING TO END THIS 5:00 NEWSCAST WITH SOME GOOD NEWS. CHECK OUT THIS EMOTIONAL HOMECOMING TODAY IN BURNSIDE, IOWA. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? WHOA! CARL. LET ME SEE YOU, TOO. OH, WHAT A MOMENT. THIS IS 11 YEAR OLD LEILA AND HER BROTHER CARTER, REUNITING TODAY AT SOUTHEAST VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL. SPECIALIST CARTER FERRY JUST RETURNED HOME AFTER SPENDING 315 DAYS IN SYRIA WITH THE IOWA NATIONAL GUARD. HIS SISTER COULD NOT CONTAIN HER TEARS AT THE JOY OF HER BROTHER COMING HOME.

WATCH: Deployed Iowa soldier returns home to tearful surprise reunion with 11-year-old sister

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Updated: 9:48 PM MDT Apr 8, 2026

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Spc. Carter Ferry has spent nearly a year overseas with the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.On Wednesday, that deployment gave way to a moment much closer to home.Ferry, a 2024 graduate of Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie, Iowa, returned home and made a surprise visit to Southeast Valley Middle School in Burnside — all to see his 11-year-old sister, Leela.She had no idea he was coming.When Leela saw her brother walk in, the room quickly filled with emotion. She ran to him, overcome with tears, as the two embraced for the first time since his deployment began last May.The reunion marked the end of months apart — and the kind of homecoming neither of them will soon forget.

Spc. Carter Ferry has spent nearly a year overseas with the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

On Wednesday, that deployment gave way to a moment much closer to home.

Ferry, a 2024 graduate of Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie, Iowa, returned home and made a surprise visit to Southeast Valley Middle School in Burnside — all to see his 11-year-old sister, Leela.

She had no idea he was coming.

When Leela saw her brother walk in, the room quickly filled with emotion. She ran to him, overcome with tears, as the two embraced for the first time since his deployment began last May.

The reunion marked the end of months apart — and the kind of homecoming neither of them will soon forget.



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