A soldier home from Afghanistan surprised his 10-year-old daughter with a sweet Valentine’s Day gift she'll never forget.

Alexus London thought she had been chosen to lead gym class for a video being made at William Rall Elementary School in Lindenhurst. What she didn’t know was that her dad, Staff Sgt. Daniel London, was home early from his third deployment to Afghanistan and waiting down the hall.

“I deployed the first time when my daughter was 2 years old,” Daniel London told News 12. “My second one was when she was 5, I missed her fifth birthday, and I also missed her 10th birthday.”

While leading the class doing pushups, Alexus was told to look to her left for a special guest. She ran to him as applause filled the room.

 “I haven't seen him in eight months, and this is the biggest deal for me right now, and I love him, he's my everything,” said Alexus.

The last time Alexus saw her father was in June of 2019 at her elementary school for a father-daughter dance. Daniel London kept a photo from that night in his wallet during his deployment.

The surprise was organized by Alexus’ mom and the William Rall teachers.

“I'm very happy for her,” said Rosemary London. “It means a lot cause I know she misses her father, that's all she talks about.”

Alexus summed it all up saying she couldn’t describe how much she missed her dad.

“I missed him so much, there's not words to explain how much I missed him,” she said.