Kids at Outback Steakhouse shocked when Dad comes back from Afghanistan

Soldier's Return Shocks, Delights His Children

Emotional Homecoming Caught On Camera

POSTED: 8:18 am MST February 10, 2012


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A soldier surprised his three children at dinner when he returned home from Afghanistan, and Action 7 News caught the emotional homecoming on camera.

Sgt. Eric Cole served two tours in Iraq and is now serving in Afghanistan. He said that each time he leaves, it gets harder but it's also sweeter when he comes home.

Cole's three children got the surprised of a lifetime when he showed up to surprise them at a local steakhouse. Cole is on a brief break from a 12-month tour.

"It was great. We were trying to surprise them anyways, so you guys being here is even better," he said. "It's one of those things that's hard to put into words. It's a reminder of what we're over there for."

Sgt. Cole said he wanted to eat at Outback Steakhouse because Outback gave the soldiers a free steak dinner last year while he was serving, and he's been thinking about it ever since. He'll return to Afghanistan next week.

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