Soldier brothers reunite with mom in ‘Homecoming’ premiere - Entertainment, TV, Television - Navy Times

Soldier brothers reunite with mom in ‘Homecoming’ premiere

Like most mothers with sons in Iraq, Kathy Kerins worries a lot.

Recently, her son, Army Spc. Kyle Dite, told her he’d been moved to Kuwait.

“He said, ‘Mom, don’t worry anymore, I’m relatively safe,’” Kerins recalled. “But you know overseas, sometimes it’s just a really bad place.”

In fact, Dite was not in Kuwait. He was back in the U.S.

Kerins finally learned the truth as she was being taped for what she thought was a safety training video at work.

“As far as I knew, we were shooting a safety video,” Kerins said. “I thought, ‘Geez, this is awfully big,’ but Bemis is a big company. Then all of a sudden my HR guy turned around and said, ‘Kathy, we have a surprise for you.’Ÿ”

Dite and his brother, Army Sgt. Aaron Seabert, took part in the TLC show “Surprise Homecoming,” a new series hosted by country star Billy Ray Cyrus that reunites military men and women with their families after serving time overseas.

Dite was approached to be on the show by his sergeant while serving in Iraq because both he and Seabert were deployed at the same time. After submitting a video and being selected, they just had to wait — and lie.

“It was hard to lie to my mom, but it was something I knew I had to do,” Dite said.

“How they kept this secret I don’t know,” Kerins said. “Any time they’ve got something — good, bad — they have to tell me.”

Even after her boys showed up with flowers in the middle of a workday, Kerins still could not process what was happening.

“I was just so focused on these boys getting back home, just like any other mother that wants their children home, and I had both of mine, my only two children,” Kerins said, her voice quivering.

“This was just beyond my wildest dreams. I just could have never imagined this happening to me.”

While technology like Skype and cellphones makes their time apart easier, nothing compares with being face to face, she said.

“This was a great opportunity to do something for her,” Dite said.

“Surprise Homecoming” premieres at 10 p.m. Eastern time July 11. Dite, Seabert and their mother will be featured in that episode.