Miller Place Marine Returns From Deployment, Surprises Little Brother At School

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was a sweet reunion in Suffolk County on Tuesday.

After an overseas deployment, a Miller Place Marine paid a surprise visit to his much younger brother in elementary school.

As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, it's a story of true brotherly love.

It was not just another assembly day for youngsters inside the Andrew Muller Primary School, especially for 7-year-old Chance Lutz. The second grader had no idea the surprise visit he was about to enjoy.

Chance leaped up to greet his 24-year-old brother Tim, a Marine who had been away on a deployment for months. His classmates quickly added their excited approval.

"I'm surprised" Chance said.

So surprised that young Chance could barely speak. The youngster worships his older brother a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps, but the admiration runs both ways.

"He's always the first person I want to see when I come home," LCpl Lutz said.

The surprise visit was orchestrated by Chance's mom, who said it was all she could do to keep it secret.

"Last night we were on our way home, and he was talking about Timmy, how much he misses him. So that was real sweet," Renee Lutz said.

Amazingly, the two share a common bond when it comes to Chance's second grade teacher. Barbara Thomson first taught Tim at the same school 10 years ago and said she did a double take when she met Chance.

"In the beginning of the school year I did a couple of times call him Timmy accidentally," Thomson said.

Now that they're reunited the beloved brothers have big plans for their time together.

"He's going to meet me off the bus when we both get home. I'm going to give him his Christmas gift," Chance said.

"Just spending time with him, just love like going in the backyard, playing any kind of sports, just watching Sponge Bob because I like those shows as much as he does.

LCpl Lutz will have a week to do all of that with Chance before heading back to duty.

LCpl Lutz said he joined the Marine Corps to protect his country and his community.