Returning Soldier Surprises 3 Daughters At Hampton Twp. Schools

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HAMPTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Three girls in the Hampton Township School District had a very memorable first day of school.

Sisters Natalie, Caitlin and Allison all thought their father, Sergeant Josh Pegher, was coming home from Afghanistan next week, but he got home early.

The three girls are all in different schools -- the high school, the middle school and the elementary school -- so Pegher visited each, one by one, to surprise them.

"I missed him a lot, but I was trying to, like, stay strong for my family, so... it was hard," Natalie Pegher, the oldest sister, said.

"Being away from family, it's tough," Sgt. Josh Pegher said. "You kind of have the helpless feeling every once in a while that when someone cries, you can't hold them. When something goes wrong, you can't fix it."

The sisters are in for another surprise; Sgt. Pegher says he's taking his family on a trip to Virginia Beach next week.