A 5-year-old boy sent his favorite dinosaur stuffed toy to Iraq to keep his father company while he serves.
Waylon Holmes mailed his lime-green T-Rex plushy, aptly named Dino, to his father David, who has been overseas in a warzone for almost a year.
According to the boy’s mother, Taylor, Waylon has had the toy since he was born and sleeps with it nightly, but wanted to keep his dad protected during his deployment and ensure his safe return.
When David, 33, a sergeant first class, received the parcel in May, he was delighted to have a piece of home with him.
Taylor said that David was “definitely happy and excited,” when it came in the mail two weeks after it was sent, with Waylon’s letter asking for proof of receipt.
The US Army sergeant went above and beyond the request, and meticulously documenting the T-Rex’s adventures abroad.
He sent back pictures of Dino on the dashboard of a Humvee, hanging out in his body armor, on a gym bench press, and photobombing a group shot of soldiers.
“We’d show the pictures to Waylon as his dad would send them, and he’d see different things Dino was doing with his daddy while he was gone,” Taylor noted.
The photos of Dino and David unexpectedly went viral after Taylor created a slideshow of their adventures.
The post, which has received nearly 800,000 likes, included a video of David Facetiming with Waylon, who giggled manically as his Dad puppeteered the green dinosaur.
The slideshow concluded with a photo of David and Dino’s trip home, and a photos of father and son joyfully reuniting at an airport.
In the final image, which was simply captioned “Home,” Waylon and Dino are fast asleep together in his bed.
Commenters on the post were moved by Waylon’s selflessness and David’s willingness to comfort his son with the photos.
“I know this made him feel so much closer to you guys,” somebody commented.
“A stunning example of what a great dad should look like,” another remarked.
“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen I am sobbing,” one person replied.
“Great… crying at 10am violently hungover isn’t what was on my agenda but here we are,” someone jokingly complained.
In another viral post, Taylor shared a video of herself and the couple’s two boys running towards David as he walks towards them down the airport hallway.
Taylor leaps into his arms and their two children chase after her with “Welcome Home Daddy” signs, and join them in a group hug.
