Meeting his daughter for the first time was only the beginning of a great homecoming.
Cpl. Bryan Walters was honored by his hometown of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania with a hero’s welcome home parade. At the request of his wife, Michelle, the the Warriors’ Watch Riders, a local biker club of fellow military veterans, helped pull off the amazing homecoming.
According to The Mercury News, Walters was deployed in in the Red Sea near Yemen for the past seven months. The parade was attended by members of the Phoenixville community, including firefighters and veterans. The veterans presented Walters with gifts, such as commemorative coins and a plaque that honored his service in the Marine Corps.
While on deployment, Walters missed the birth of his first daughter, Kinley, but their first meeting was beautifully captured in a homecoming video.
“He left when I was 28 weeks pregnant in December of 2014. On March 3rd I had her,” said Michelle Walters. “He got to be on the phone, thankfully, so he could hear her cry for the first time. He came home last Wednesday and met her for the first time. It was emotional and (I) was just happy for him to be back and actually get to do his father duty. She is four and a half months old now.”
Between meeting his daughter and returning home, it was an emotional day for Walters.
“We were getting off the bus and I saw my wife standing there with Kinley and it hit me, oh my gosh, there is my daughter that has no idea who I am. I saw her and my heart dropped. She was so beautiful. It was really emotional but the excitement of meeting her took over. I was so excited to finally hold her. I think she realized who I was the second hour we were together,” said Bryan.