MESQUITE, Texas — He sat in an elementary school clinic, pulling the animal print fur suit over his fatigues. And as he dressed, Sgt. Caesar Martinez admitted he was anxious.
“Yeah, the anticipation is killing me right now!” he said.
Martinez was going undercover, donning a jaguar school mascot uniform to camouflage his identity for a surprise that was six months in the making.
“It’s been 195 days to be exact,” he said. “I’m about to see them, after so long. They’re my – like literally – they’re my best friends, so it’s been hard to not see them.”
After the suit was on, including fur mittens and covers over his military boots, the mascot helmet was the final touch.
“How do I look?” he said with a laugh, leaving the school clinic and walking toward the cafeteria at Joey Pirrung Elementary School in Mesquite.
That’s where students, including Sgt. Martinez’s sons Gabriel and Gavin, were gathering for a Spirit Day assembly.
When Jazzy the Jaguar walked into the assembly, neither 11-year-old Gabriel or 8-year-old Gavin knew that a very special person was inside that suit.
One of the school administrators told the students how important it is to honor families who serve, inviting the Martinez boys to the front to be recognized.
Then Jazzy the Jaguar took off his mask, and the tears and squeals began.
“Papi!” the boys yelled.
“Oh my gosh, guys, look at you!" Sgt. Martinez said through tears. "I missed you so much!”
The hug lasted a long time as he covered them in kisses.
Martinez had just completed his fourth deployment to the Middle East. First was Iraq. Then came Afghanistan and Kuwait. He hopes Qatar was his final tour.
He’s realized the time away gets harder as Gabriel and Gavin get older, because they can now understand the danger their daddy faces.
“I was worried about him,” Gabriel said, relaying a story about the brutal heat his father faced in Qatar.
“He said he almost got a heatstroke and there’s no water, so after that, I prayed that he wouldn’t get a heatstroke or run out of water. And I kept praying every night that he’d come home safely and return to his family.”
“Here I am,” Caesar said, hugging Gabriel. “See how those prayers get answered?”
“Thank you for serving our country, Papi,” Gabriel said.
“Thank you, son,” Caesar answered, with another kiss to Gabriel’s forehead.