Vet surprises sister with homecoming at middle school

Navy specialist surprises sister at Kromrey Middle School on Veterans Day

MIDDLETON, Wis. — For many families, Veterans Day can be a bittersweet holiday with their loved ones away from home as they serve overseas, but one Middleton family received a special Veterans Day surprise Tuesday.

Kassondra Wieser has spent the last eight months stationed in the Pacific on a Navy deployment.

During that time, she hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to keep in touch with her family, and she hasn’t seen her 14-year-old sister, Jennali, since January.

Jennali was planning on a visit from her older sister sometime next spring at the earliest, until she received a special surprise at school Tuesday.

After months of service in the Pacific, Wieser said she isn’t quite used to the weather here in Wisconsin.

“It’s been really hot everywhere we’ve been, so it’s still a shock to come home because I’ve been in hot weather for the past eight or nine months now,” Wieser said.

The bigger shock though, is coming for her little sister Jennali, who hasn’t seen Kassondra since she first left for deployment nearly a year ago.

“I just miss her so much, she’s like the one main person I’m extremely excited to see,” Wieser said. “She inspires me in so many ways, just to be a better person, makes me want to be a role model for her.”

Jennali took part in a voice recognition exercise in class Tuesday with no idea what was about to come next.

“You never really know what home is until you don’t get to actually go home for a long time, so it’s nice to finally just be able to be home,” Wieser said.

Wieser is only home for a week, and she said she will be spending most of that time with Jennali by her side.