10/06/2026
WELCOME HOME β¨πΊπΈ
Your loved ones have been anxiously awaiting your return! I am so thankful to have been able to see a few of those reunions in person π₯Ή
After a grueling 10 month deployment, the USS Abraham Lincolnβs CAG 9 has finally returned HOME!!! β€οΈπ€π
This specific deployment also marked a historic Navy record, with a massive stretch of over 250 consecutive days at sea without any port call. That means for 250 days, there were no visits from family. No quick hugs. No coming home for a birthday or milestone. No break from the ship. Just months of separation from the people waiting for them on the other side.
Itβs hard for the average person to imagine spending even a month without seeing your child. Now imagine that month becoming 10 months. Imagine missing the first moments of your babyβs life. Imagine being a spouse, a parent, or a child waiting every day for the person you love to finally walk through those doors.
I was honored to get to follow a family with a baby that was born during this deployment and had not yet met his father. His father was gone for 314 days and needless to say, there were many tear filled eyes watching their meeting! π₯Ήβ€οΈ
If you ever have the privilege of witnessing a military homecoming in person, you would understand just how incredibly special they are. For a Fighter Attack Squadron, the homecoming starts with a flyover with their loved ones below waving the warmest welcome. Once they land they get out of their jets and line up with flowers while everyone itches to greet them.
Then the best partβthe running begins.
Watching families sprint toward one anotherβsome with little arms reaching for their parent, spouses finally hugging one anotherβseeing all those moments of waiting turn into one unforgettable moment. There is truly nothing like it. The waiting is over and they finally come home πΊπΈβ¨
Vivian LaGroue
π Emerald Dawn
πΈ ACH Photography | Central Valley Lifestyle Photographer
lemoore military photographer | military homecoming photographer | deployment homecoming | military family photographer | hanford photographer
