Rick Bacmanski

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Saturday Night’s Surprise Reunion between Brittany Daghita and her Husband, Army Specialist Joey Daghita! She didn’t have a clue that he was back home to be a part of this recognition ceremony during the first Intermission of the Elmira Jackals hockey game @ First Arena in Elmira, NY ….

Here’s our PA Announcer Mike Strobel’s script for the night’s big surprise and some information about Joey.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING OUR GUEST OF HONOR TONIGHT, BRITTANY DAGHITA. BRITTANY, A NATIVE OF ITHACA, WAS MARRIED TO HER HUSBAND, ARMY SPECIALIST JOEY DAGHITA OF TRUMANSBURG, IN MAY 2013 JUST MONTHS BEFORE HIS THIRD TOUR OF DUTY TO KUWAIT. BRITTANY AND JOEY GREW UP CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES SPENT A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER. UPON JOEY’S DEPLOYMENT TO KUWAIT IN SEPTEMBER 2013 BRITTANY MOVED FROM FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA TO ITHACA TO BE CLOSER TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

TONIGHT WE HONOR AND RECOGNIZE BRITTANY, AND ON BEHALF OF ALL MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS, FOR HER COMMITMENT TO AND SUPPORT OF THOSE IN OUR ARMED FORCES.

(THIS IS WHERE BRITTANY WILL POSE FOR PHOTOS FROM RICK BACMANSKI AND MUG FOR THE CAMERAS SO THAT WE CAN SNEAK JOEY UP BEHIND HER)

WAIT, WAIT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. I’VE JUST BEEN PASSED A NOTE THAT WE HAVE ADDED A SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOR FOR TONIGHT. BRITTANY, IT TURNS OUT THAT WE NEEDED YOU HERE TO HELP US WELCOME HOME, FROM HIS TOUR OF DUTY IN KUWAIT, OUR SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOR TONIGHT – YOUR HUSBAND, ARMY SPECIALIST JOEY DAGHITA!!!!!!

“Every soldier deserves a hero’s welcome,” says a popular ad on TV.

In that spirit, a soldier just back from the Middle East was saluted at Elmira’s First Arena on Saturday night, and his wife was given the surprise of her life.

Army Spc. Albert “Joey” Daghita, of Trumansburg, and his wife, Brittany, of Ithaca, were reunited in an on-ice ceremony between the first and second period of the Elmira Jackals’ hockey game against the South Carolina Stingrays.

Brittany, who was told she would be recognized for her support of those in the military, said later she was taken completely by surprise when her husband walked up behind her in his camouflage uniform as the crowd — which included about 25 relatives and friends — cheered.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Asked later how he felt before the ceremony, the 22-year-old soldier said, “Very nervous. I didn’t know how she was going to react.” Then he added, “My heart was beating a thousand beats a minute.”

“Mine was too,” said Brittany, who is 23. “Mine was, definitely.”

Although everyone was able to keep the reunion a surprise, the evening didn’t go exactly as planned. Originally, the script called for Brittany to drop the ceremonial first puck before the start of the game and to then be joined by her husband.

But Joey Daghita was delayed getting from Alabama, where he’s based at Fort Rucker, to the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. He said he had to drive to Atlanta, where there was a slight delay, and then had a layover in Philadelphia. After he arrived at Ithaca, he was driven by a state trooper directly to the arena, a trip that he said took about 20 minutes at speeds of over 90 mph.

Joey returned to his unit at Fort Rucker on Feb. 20 after completing his third tour in Kuwait. He was deployed in September, just four months after the couple was married. He said he spent some time in Afghanistan during his deployments.

When he was shipped out this time, Brittany returned to Ithaca to stay with her parents, Debbie and Frank Lupo, and to be close to other relatives and friends.