Marine brother surprises sister

Coal City High School graduate Ashley Medina didn’t see her big brother sitting in the stands as she walked into the school’s gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, but then again, she wasn’t looking for him.
Ashley and her family weren’t expecting Alexander Medina to attend the May 20 commencement ceremony. In fact, they thought he was in Japan where he’s stationed with the United States Marine Corps.
Little did they know, Alexander arranged a brief leave to make it back for his sister’s graduation and he kept it a surprise.
Norma Medina, Ashley and Alexander’s mom, said she was standing in the hallway before the ceremony and caught a glimpse of someone walking through the doors that looked like her son, but she thought it a mirage. She wasn’t dreaming, Alexander made it home in time to celebrate the milestone with his family.
“Seeing him I just started crying, he made his sister’s day, he made all of our day,” Norma said.
Even when the school’s principal asked for members of the audience who are or have served in the military to stand, Ashley didn’t see her brother standing proudly in the near-capacity crowd.
When it came time for the graduate to make her way to the stage to accept her high school diploma, Alexander stepped down from the bleachers to greet her.
The shock, surprise and emotion of the gesture overtook Ashley as her brother embraced her for the first time in more than a year.
Medina made it to the stage to collect her diploma, tears streaming down her face.
Norma Medina said the surprise visit could not have come at a better time for her family. The joy of commencement came during a week of sorrow for the Medinas who experienced the loss of a loved one last week.
“It’s all so bittersweet,” she said.
Alexander’s visit was short. He headed back to Japan on Tuesday, but the family is looking forward to his return later this summer.
Alexander Medina joined the USMC shortly after his own graduation from CCHS in 2014.