The Petrilli family (parents Sgt. Victor and Alicia, and children Maximus and Emily) poses for a photo in the school library.
Students waving American flags and holding balloons lined the walkway leading up to the front of Assumption Regional Catholic School late last month to welcome home Air National Guardsman Tech. Sgt. Victor Petrilli from a six-month deployment.
After greeting faculty and students in front of the main office, Petrilli, with his wife Alicia, walked one more hallway until they heard, “Daddy?” through the commotion of other students. It was the couple’s five-year old son, Maximus.
The Petrilli’s daughter, third-grader Emily, reached out and hugged her father while students sang “God Bless America.”
“I want to snuggle with him all night,” she said, smiling.
To keep the homecoming a surprise, faculty at the Galloway school told Emily and Maximus, a Pre-K 4 student, that they needed to be in the hallway for a Catholic Schools Week photoshoot Jan. 28.
“We’re super excited that he’s back home with us. It feels like a puzzle piece, where we’re now back as one,” Alicia Petrilli said. “I’m very grateful that he was able to come here and [that we will] be able to share him for days to come.”
Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Victor Petrilli hugs his daughter, Emily, in Assumption Regional Catholic School, Galloway
“I was just so happy to surprise them,” said Victor Petrilli, adding that it was also meaningful to celebrate his return with the Assumption school community, one he considers “family-oriented.”
Photo and Story by Dave Hernandez