Goodbyes are never easy, but this is especially true for those heading away to war, waving to loved ones they may not see again for a very long time.
The poignancy of this situation, and the bittersweet nature of a soldier’s goodbye, have come under the spotlight this week – and all because of a photo.
Solider Matthew Smith decided to send a very special photo in to the Facebook page ‘Life of Dad’, and it has touched and broken hearts around the world.
In the photo, Matthew is seen leaning out of the window of a bus to embrace his toddler son, who is being held up by his wife.
"This is a very special picture of my awesome wife holding up my son so that I could get one last kiss before I left for Afghanistan."- Life of Dad user, Matthew Smith
Posted by Life of Dad on Wednesday, March 30, 2016
“This is a very special picture of my awesome wife holding up my son so that I could get one last kiss before I left for Afghanistan,” he wrote.
The photo has really struck a chord among the Life of Dad community, with well over a hundred people sharing their well wishes as well as their own touching stories.
“Matthew, I feel your pain! My son was going on seven months old when I deployed to Afghanistan…Here he is when I returned home in December 2010,” wrote one commenter, sharing a photo of a toddler who is suddenly all grown-up.
We’re not surprised to see just how quickly this post is going viral.
