JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local Navy family was reunited with his family just in time for Veterans Day.
Sailor Roy Snyder surprised his children Saturday afternoon at Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza on Atlantic and Hodges Boulevards.
Snyder had been deployed in the Persian Gulf on the USS The Sullivans for several months.
"Today I was sent home early," Snyder said. "I had an opportunity to fly home early and I am going to surprise my kids."
Synder said his family came to Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza weekly to get pizza, and count down the days until he came home.
"It is very special. I have been gone for five months," Snyder said. "That's a lot of pizza they have been eating without me."
Synder's wife and children were surprised. Meagan Synder said it has been a rough five months without her partner.
"This is our third deployment here," Meagan said. "He has been gone a lot since we have been here, so it was rough on them. We had a lot of tears at night and a lot of crying. We came in here every Friday night and had pizza. It was a really nice way to count down till he came home."
Papa Murphy's paid for the family's pizza, and sent the happy family home with a welcome home cake.