Norwalk fifth grader gets surprise reunion with mom deployed to Iraq
Sgt. Erica Gildae surprised her daughter, Riley, at her fifth grade graduation at Cranbury School in Norwalk on Tuesday. The two haven't seen each other in eight months.
A fifth grader in Norwalk got the surprise of a lifetime on Tuesday.
Riley Gildae’s mother came all the way from Iraq, where she was deployed with the U.S. Air Force, just to see her daughter graduate from elementary school.
“I’m very excited,” Sgt. Erica Gildae said. “It was a long eight months without seeing my kids.”
As dozens of students packed into the Cranbury School auditorium for a “promotion” ceremony, Gildae paced nervously outside, waiting to surprise her daughter.
“Yesterday she asked me, she said, ‘Mom, I wish you were here for my graduation,’” Gildae said. “I said, ‘Oh, maybe next year.’”
With cameras rolling, the principal called Riley Gildae to the stage. She thought she was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
But then came the announcement no one – especially Riley – knew was coming.
“I am honored and thrilled to share that Sgt. Gildae is here with us,” principal Dr. Jenna Masone told the cheering crowd as Riley's mom walked out with a bouquet of flowers.
At first, Riley was stunned. Then came the hugs and the tears.
For Masone, the moment was thrilling.
“Riley’s mom contacted me about two weeks ago and said that she had made arrangements to come here to be present for the promotion, and we were very happy to put the surprise together for her,” she said.
Riley spent this year away from both of her parents. Her father, Airman Brian Gildae, was also deployed to Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean.
Riley and her little sister spent this year in Connecticut with their grandparents.
“The whole family has sacrificed,” Masone said. “Her parents and her immediate family, they lived in Texas. And while the parents were deployed overseas, Riley and her sister came to live here in Norwalk.”
The Gildae family’s time in Connecticut is short, though. Later this summer, they will ship out again for Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
But for now, a moment to celebrate graduation.
“Oh, very emotional, but I’m happy too,” Gildae said after the reunion.
