Wife travels cross country to surprise Marine returning from Afghanistan

We've all seen the heart-warming military reunion where a soldier returning from a tour of duty surprises their family by showing up unexpectedly at their children's school or spouse's workplace, but Sara Taylor decided to turn the tables and surprise her husband by showing up at his homecoming ceremony thousands of miles from their home.

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Gunnery Sgt. Fort Taylor returned home from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan earlier this month. Because he is stationed in California while his wife and children live in Maryland, he had no expectation of seeing any loved ones the day of his return. But Sara felt it was important to show her husband she supports his service and decided to surprise him.

"I just didn't want him to be one of the only people who didn't have anyone when he came back," Sara told ABC. "You have to have somebody there, to be there and physically give him a hug and say, 'Thank you for what you do, I'm glad you're back. I love you.' It just meant a lot to me to be there for him and support him."

Sara says she spent much of the ceremony worried Fort would see her standing in the crowd, but as the video shows, that was far from the case. He was so certain no one would be there for his return that Sara was standing right in front of him before he noticed.

But the moment Fort sees Sara standing in front of him, he immediately tears up.

Sara had to hop back on a plane the next day to return home to their two children, but she says the trip was worth it.

"One day, our kids when they're older, maybe when they have kids of their own and they're married, even after we're long gone, it will be something that hopefully they'll go back and look at and it will make them feel good and know just how much their mom and dad loved each other."

Photos used with permission.