Updated

After almost a year spent thousands of miles apart, a Navy officer returned home to surprise his daughter at her fifth-grade graduation ceremony.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kavaurio Harris has been stationed in Japan since July. But on Tuesday, he traveled home to Covington, Georgia, to surprise his daughter, Kavaurianna, on stage at her elementary school graduation.

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“I felt very anxious and excited all in one as I walked on the stage,” Kavaurio told Fox News. “She had no idea I was coming home.”

Kavaurianna told WXIA that her father surprising her on stage was “the best surprise she could ever have.”

Kavaurio will spend the next few weeks at home with his family, before returning to Sasebo, Japan, where he's stationed until 2019.