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PEARL, Miss. -- We've seen several instances of soldiers coming home unannounced and surprising their families, usually at school with unsuspecting children. Well, one army major back from Afghanistan went to great lengths to surprise his wife, and this one is a classic.
It seemed like any other night at Trustmark Park Friday. Jackson resident Darla Harlow and her two daughters were enjoying a night at the field after winning free tickets to see the M-Braves. Little did Darla know that she would be randomly selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.
She also didn't realize she would be in for the surprise like none other, because behind the plate to receive her first pitch was her husband, Major Michael Harlow, who just returned from deployment in Afghanistan. Darla had no clue.
The two hadn't seen each other in over nine months until that moment on the field.
"I wanted to make sure she remembered what I look like," said Major Michael Harlow.
Michael Harlow just completed his mission in Afghanistan with the Mississippi Army National Guard's 184th joint sustainment command. He and his two daughters, Molly and Casey had been working on this plan for over two weeks. The idea of the surprise happening at a Braves game fit perfectly with the background between the two.
"The first time I ever saw her I was watching an Atlanta Braves game and we watched some of that and later we got married we were so poor we had to save up money to buy a dill pickle," said Major Michael Harlow. "But we came to a AA baseball game in Jackson."
