Since she was a little girl, Human Ecology major Letha Ann Swallows and her dad have joked about how she would decorate her mortarboard for college graduation.

Neither of them dreamed he might miss the big event, but her father, Sgt. First Class David Swallows, was called to Iraq last summer as part of the Tennessee National Guard’s 278th Regimental Combat Team, 3rd Squadron. With commencement approaching on May 7, Letha anticipated her dad would miss graduation just as he had Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Planning to circumvent the wishes of university officials who discourage decorations on caps and gowns, Letha wanted to honor her dad by wearing the 278th service banner on her head. Now, she’s adding a big yellow DAD to the ensemble and thinks he’ll laugh when he sees it because Sgt. Swallows and fellow 278 team member Lt. Col. Bobby Winningham were granted leave to come home and see their daughters graduate.

“My family thought about keeping it a secret, but they knew the surprise would probably be too much for me to handle,” Letha says. “My dad has been a full-time National Guard member all my life, so I was used to seeing him in Army boots everyday, but when he was called up, I thought my whole world had ended.

“My dad’s a big cut-up, and we’ve been plotting and planning for years what I’d put on my cap, so my first day back to class after he left was the most difficult day because my education means so much to him."

Letha and her dad have stayed in touch with daily e-mails and weekly Sunday night phone calls, but she’s not seen him since last Halloween when he was home on leave. She says her friends have helped her through the worst times and thanks her best friend for always distracting her from reality with frequent shopping trips.

“I’ve been bouncing off the wall since they told me he was coming home,” she says.

Kristy Winningham has dealt with her dad’s absence since November, and the death of her grandfather a few weeks later, by concentrating on school and relieving stress through workouts and running, according to her mom, Jennifer Winningham. As a senior Nursing major and a single mother to her 6-year-old son, Kristy doesn’t have a lot of time to sit around and worry.

“She has a very good support system, a lot of faith and a capacity to do what needs to be done,” says her mother. “But she always sought refuge in her dad, and his being here for graduation will mean the world to her.”

Lt. Col. Winningham’s original leave date was set for May 12, too late for the May 7 ceremonies. But he contacted Sgt. Swallows and found a member of the squadron willing to trade dates so that both could be in Cookeville for commencement.

Winningham, who has been in the National Guard more than 25 years and is Monterey High School's assistant principal, earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ed.S. at Tennessee Tech.

When he was deployed in November, the Monterey community honored him by wearing buttons with a photo of him in fatigues and war paint. Kristy will have that photo tucked inside her cap when she walks across the stage.

But she and Letha will both have more than memories on Saturday; they’ll have the comfort of knowing their dads are safely sitting in the audience. It'll be hard to tell who's the most proud: the graduates or their dads.