SportsLove MattersBaseball

First-Pitch Reunion As U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert Sides Surprises Son At Royals Game

First-Pitch Surprise!
Open Image Modal
By 

Overnight Editor, HuffPost

|

As far as Austin Sides knew, he was throwing out the first pitch at Tuesday night's Royals-Dodgers game in Kansas City because it was his 11th birthday.

But when the catcher took off his gear, Sides got his real birthday present: It was his father, Air Force Maj. Robert Sides, who had just returned home from a yearlong deployment in the Middle East.

Before You Go

Soldier Homecomings In The U.S.
Troops Homecoming(01 of24)
Open Image Modal
A young girl rushes into the arms of her father upon his arrival at Baltimore Washington International Airport in Baltimore, MD, Dec. 20 2011. He was one of more than 300 Airmen, the last Air Force personnel to return home from Iraq. (Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images)
(02 of24)
Open Image Modal
Major Tom Dalton's, left, daughter wipes her eye upon his arrival at Baltimore Washington International Airport in Baltimore, MD on Dec. 20, 2011. Moore was one of more than 300 Airmen, the last Air Force personnel to return home from Iraq. (Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(03 of24)
Open Image Modal
Family members wait in the International Arrivals terminal as Airmen arrive at Baltimore Washington International Airport in Baltimore, MD on Dec. 20, 2011. More than 300 Airmen, the last Air Force personnel, returned home from Iraq. (Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(04 of24)
Open Image Modal
Maj. Thomas Whipple walks to the car with his family following a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, for soldiers from the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade, who returned home from deployment in Iraq on Dec. 24, 2011. (Erich Schlegel, AP)
Troops Homecoming(05 of24)
Open Image Modal
Army 1st Lt. Joe Durlin kisses his wife, Phoenix Durlin, as U.S. Army 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade soldiers return home from deployment in Iraq at Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 24, 2011. These 3rd Brigade troops were in the last convoy to leave Iraq. (Erich Schlegel, AP)
Troops Homecoming(06 of24)
Open Image Modal
From left, Janine Halverson, Shelly Hamedi and Kristiana Deweese cheer as the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade soldiers arrive at Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 24, 2011, returning home from deployment in Iraq. The ladies were greeting Spc. Brian Hamedi, who is Hamedi's son and Deweese's fiance. These 3rd Brigade troops were in the last convoy to leave Iraq as U.S. troops ended their stay. (Erich Schlegel, AP)
Troops Homecoming(07 of24)
Open Image Modal
Media surround a couple as they kiss upon the Airmen's arrival at Baltimore Washington International Airport in Baltimore, MD on Dec. 20, 2011. More than 300 Airmen, the last Air Force personnel, returned home from Iraq. (Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(08 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army Lieutenant Adam Wilson from Ontario, California of the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, is hugged by his mother, Gail Wilson, during a welcome home party after being part of one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(09 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army soldiers from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, walk off the plane as they arrive at their home base of Fort Hood, Texas after being part of one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(10 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army Specialist Cory Davis from Somersworth, New Hampshire of the 1st 229 16th Cav. is greeted by his grandmother Christina Davis as he arrives in Maine for a refueling stop as they make their way to Fort Hood, Texas after being one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(11 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Kym Leyva from San Antonio, Texas greets her brother, Sergeant 1st Class Kevin Ross from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, as he arrives at the home base of Fort Hood, Texas after being part of one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(12 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Chad Johnson from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, is greeted as he arrives at the home base of Fort Hood, Texas after being part of one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(13 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army soldiers from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, sit on the plane as it takes off for the flight home to Fort Hood, Texas after being part of one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq. (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(14 of24)
Open Image Modal
Daniel Sanchez, right, hugs his brother, U.S. Army SPC David Sanchez upon his arrival to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Puerto Rico National Guard officials say they flew home some 20 soldiers for a short break from their medical treatment. Maj. Gen. Antonio Vicens says some time at home with their families will help them recover from wounds sustained in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. (Ricardo Arduengo, AP)
Troops Homecoming(15 of24)
Open Image Modal
US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take part in a ceremony to mark the return of the US Forces - Iraq colors Dec. 20, 2011 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The event marks the end of the Iraq war after the last US combat troops rolled out of Iraq into Kuwait on Dec. 18. (Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(16 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Elama Palemene is kissed by his wife, Annaden, right, and children Ko' Elani, left, and Pe' Ela during an early morning welcome home ceremony for about 300 U.S. Army 1st Cavalry 2nd Brigade soldiers returning home from deployment in Iraq at Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2011. (Erich Schlegel, AP)
Troops Homecoming(17 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Sheehan is hugged by his wife, Danielle Sheehan, as other troops look for their loved ones during a welcome home ceremony at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, on Dec. 6, 2011. Sheehan and the other soldiers returned home from a six-month tour of duty in Iraq. (Ted S. Warren, AP)
(18 of24)
Open Image Modal
Brittney Davis, center, waits for her husband, U.S. Army Sgt. Donald Davis, on Dec. 6, 2011, as she sits with Whitney Joy, left, who was waiting for her husband, Staff Sgt. Alex Joy, and their friend and personal photographer, Arielle Peace, right, as they wait for a welcome home ceremony to begin at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state for soldiers who had been serving in Iraq. (Ted S. Warren, AP)
Troops Homecoming(19 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army soldiers who had been serving in Iraq return home to Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, on Dec. 6, 2011. (Ted S. Warren, AP)
Troops Homecoming(20 of24)
Open Image Modal
Soldiers wave to those arriving in the last American military convoy to depart Iraq from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division after crossing over the border into Kuwait on Dec. 18, 2011 in Camp Virginia, Kuwait. All U.S. troops were scheduled to have departed Iraq by Dec. 31. (Mario Tama, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(21 of24)
Open Image Modal
Specialist Ashley Walter (L) hugs Staff Sergeant Diana Royal from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division after Royal arrived in the last American military convoy to depart Iraq on Dec. 18, 2011 in Camp Virginia, Kuwait. (Mario Tama, Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(22 of24)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas react during a concert by the band Filter, who performed for troops waiting to go home after their deployment in Iraq, at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, on Dec. 15, 2011. (Maya Alleruzzo, AP)
Troops Homecoming(23 of24)
Open Image Modal
US soldiers board the last C17 aircraft carrying US troops out of Iraq at Camp Adder on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on Dec. 17, 2011. From the tens of thousands killed and wounded to the hundreds of billions of dollars spent in eight years of conflict, the cost of the Iraq war is astronomic and still growing. (Martin Bureau, AFP / Getty Images)
Troops Homecoming(24 of24)
Open Image Modal
An empty lot stands behind barbed wire inside Camp Adder, the last United States base in Iraq, on Dec. 16, 2011 near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (Lucas Jackson, Getty Images)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip