East Brookfield, MA — While students were cramming to prepare for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test on Tuesday afternoon at East Brookfield Elementary School, the Torres siblings celebrated the surprise homecoming of their father, who has been serving overseas since September.
“My kids are pretty much my life, and my wife,” Torres said.
Sgt. Joshua R. Torres and his wife, Bryonny, wanted to surprise their couple’s three children — James, 11; Jeffrey, 10; and Lola, 5 — which wasn’t an easy feat, to say the least.
“We’re relieved that he’s home and safe,” Bryonny Torres said.
Following the footsteps of his late dad, Vietnam War U.S. Air Force veteran John R. Torres, Joshua Torres of the Air National Guard has been deployed in Jordan and Syria since September and came home late Monday night.
When it came to the elaborate nature of keeping the children in the dark, it was like a special operations mission.
When the inquisitive Lola noticed her mom’s car pulling into the school’s parking lot earlier than usual, physical education teacher Jon Leroux told the girl that her mom was coming to dismiss them because one of her brothers was sick.
While this was happening, Kelly Smith and Brett M. Smith, the school’s secretary and adjustment counselor, respectively (they’re not married), had the two brothers in the office, signing paperwork for their dismissal.
When the two boys questioned why they had to sign paperwork that a parent usually signs, Smith and Smith explained that their mom felt sick and they wanted them to initial the paperwork to save her some trouble.
“Then dad appeared, and they ran over,” Kelly Smith said.
As soon as his three children realized that their father was in fact home and in their school, they raced to smother him with hugs (first singular, then as a group), kisses, and, in some cases, a flood of happy tears.
Jeffrey was the first to see and tackle his dad, followed by Lola and lastly by James, who was sporting a St. John’s sweatshirt, where he’s attending next year.
During the group hug, James snuck his father’s military cap off his head but quickly returned it before his father realized it was gone.
During the barrage of hugs, Joshua Torres made loving eye contact with his children as he asked, “Are you surprised? Are you happy?”
Yes, on all counts.
When asked how it felt to see his three kids again, he gave an elongated “Good. It’s been a long time.”
While he was gone since the middle of September, Joshua Torres talked to his children via video chat as much as possible.
“All the kids play club sports, so the scheduling and the schooling and not being able to be there has been tough,” he said. “And watching how she’s (Bryonny) handled it has been amazing.”
Joshua Torres, who is stationed at Barnes Air Force Base in Westfield when he’s stateside, said it’s good to be reunited with his family again.
“Family is everything to me. Everything else is secondary. I was really missing these guys and being here for them,” he said. “Hockey is big for me and my oldest son (James), so it’s usually a one-on-one; baseball for my middle son (Jeffrey); and everything else for my princess (Lola).”
Although he loves his children equally and wholeheartedly, he talked about the special bond he has with his 5-year-old daughter, who was born while he was deployed overseas and he didn’t get to meet her until she was almost 1.
On this day, Lola wasn’t going to let go of her father anytime soon.
As for his wife, Joshua Torres said, “She is much stronger and more of a hero than I am, for sure.”
The Torres children admitted that they had no idea that their father was coming home and were totally taken by surprise by him popping up at their school.
When asked how it feels to have their father home, Lola said, “Good,” while Jeffrey said, “Awesome!"
Joshua Torres has made a 20-year commitment with the National Guard, with 12 more years left. He has a month of "R & R" and leave planned before he has to go back.
As for his “big plans” for his homecoming night, he said, “I want to stay away from the world...We’ll have some dinner and some ice cream and snugglefest and watch a movie.”
*Published in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025! The video and article can be viewed at: https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/2025/04/08/national-guard-soldier-josh-torres-surprises-children-in-e-brookfield/82979333007/.