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On Monday, students at Pope John Paul II Catholic High School in Slidell helped surprise ninth grader Molly Gallaspy, of Bogalusa, with her father’s return home from deployment in Kuwait.

Col. Whit Gallaspy is part of the Louisiana National Guard 225th Engineer Brigade. The students welcomed Col. Gallaspy back to Louisiana and also expressed their thanks for his service.

This is Col. Gallaspy’s fourth deployment. Although he is home from the Middle East, he may have to serve some additional orders stateside before fully returning to civilian life.

For more photos from this event, see the Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, edition of The Daily News.