'Amazing' reunion: Marine Corps dad surprises daughters at their East Setauket elementary school

Two little girls in East Setauket were brought to tears as they hugged their father for the first time since he was deployed to Somalia last fall — a moment their teachers say the sisters will never forget.

William Schumacher, a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps, has been stationed in the Horn of Africa since September.

He returned to Long Island on Thursday and surprised his two daughters — Mia, a third grader, and Madison, a kindergartener — when he showed up at Minnesauke Elementary School. 

"It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing," Schumacher said. "I got to see them a few times on FaceTime and video chats, but seeing them in person is just amazing."

Schumacher has been working in "human intelligence" in Somalia, a country the U.S. Department of State rates as a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" destination because of risks that range from kidnappings to bombings.

The girls’ teachers, Allison Babb and Tamryn Rosener, coordinated last minute when they learned Schumacher was coming to the school. They got the two girls into the lobby to meet their father after his monthslong deployment.

"Ms. Babb told me that Maddy’s tummy was hurting," Mia told Newsday. "Then, when they were blocking the door, I thought it was going to be Uncle Mikey. I didn’t know it was going to be him."

Third grade teacher Babb told Newsday Mia had been "waiting for this moment the entire year. She’s been talking about the day her dad is going to come home all year long. It was an amazing experience for everybody."

Kindergarten teacher Rosener said the moment was "a big surprise" and described Schumacher’s youngest daughter as "the most sunshiny, giggly, happy child there ever was. She’s just a ray of sunshine in the room at all times."

Minnesauke Principal Nancy Pickford said the reunion was a last-minute setup that would be a "special memory that they always will have."

"Dad gave us a call and said he had returned home and he would like to come in and surprise the girls," she said. "We are so glad and honored to be a part of that. ... We’re just so happy for them."

Schumacher has spent 21 years in the Marines and done two other deployments — both to Iraq in the aughts.

"I don’t know what the cards have in store for me. Maybe one more [deployment]. Maybe not," he said. His daughters told Newsday they hope he stays home.

"The older they get, it gets harder and harder because they start to realize you’re not there and you’re missing all of these special moments," Schumacher said. "It gets rougher as they get older."

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.