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49ers Stage Surprise Military Homecoming For Bay Area Family

SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- The family of an Bay Area airman received a big shock when the San Francisco 49ers hosted them on a tour of Levi's Stadium Tuesday: a surprise reunion with husband and dad.

The team staged the military homecoming for the family of Air Force Tech Sergeant Rob Thomas, who had secretly returned to the Bay Area following a six-month deployment.

Thomas was picked up at San Francisco International Airport by 49ers linebacker Dekoda Watson, who appeared on a video posted by the team describing his excitement.

"I never did one of these things before, but you see on the football games when you have a soldier come back and surprise their family on the football field, that's what we're about to do today," Watson said.

 

Watson brought Thomas to the team's stadium and training facility in Santa Clara, where his family would arrive to take a tour.

As Thomas' wife and children entered the team's weight room, Watson and other 49ers players orchestrated the big reveal: the man on the weight bench with a towel hiding his identity and being cheered on by the players popped to surprise his family.

Following tearful embraces, Thomas said the surprise was mainly to recognize his wife and the hardships she's dealt with during the deployment. "It wasn't for me. It was for me to get you recognized, the sacrifice that you made," Thomas said.

The 49ers Community Relations Department worked with the USO to orchestrate the surprise.

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