Soldier Mom Breaks Rank to Hug Her Adorable Son

Kathryn Waldvogel was waiting to be dismissed after a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan when her son came running

By Jenna Mullins Sep 19, 2014 6:49 PMTags

If you want to turn us into an instant puddle of emotional goo on the ground, show us videos of families welcoming soldiers home. And if you want to turn us into an instant puddle of emotional goo even faster, add dogs welcoming their owners home from war, too.

In this video, there is no pet but just an adorable 3-year-old boy named Cooper who was so excited to see his mom return from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan, he threw military protocol right out the window. He probably didn't know what the military protocol was, but still. It's still so sweet to watch.

Kathryn Waldvogel, 25, from Little Falls, Minn., and her fellow National Guard soldiers were told by their officers before heading into their welcome home celebration to stay in formation and wait to be dismissed before greeting their families. But when her son came running to his mom before she was dismissed, Kathryn couldn't help but break ranks and scoop him up for a big hug.

"I was longing to hold him. That's all that I thought about," she told KARE 11 news.

If you need us, we'll be over here watching the reunion for the ninth time and weeping with joy.

(H/T Buzzfeed)