When Lance Cpl. Taj Misner walked through the doors of Mission BBQ on Saturday afternoon, he thought he was the one delivering the surprise.
It had been 273 days since he left for Marine Corps boot camp, since he had last set foot in Berks County.
Misner thought that his coming home for the holidays was going to be a big reveal for his family and friends who had gathered inside the Wyomissing restaurant. Turns out, another plan was afoot.
As the 21-year-old Marine milled about and chatted, he was approached by a woman who asked him to come stand by the door. Misner complied.
A few minutes later, a man walked in wearing a dress police uniform and approached him.
Ever stoic, Misner hardly reacted. A slight tilt of his head was the only evidence he recognized the person slowly moving towards him.
But he certainly did know him.
It was Matthew L. Bartal, the criminal justice program director and lead instructor at Berks Technical Institute. Misner had spent a lot of time with Bartal in the past, having completed the criminal justice program at BTI about a year ago.
The thing is, Misner had to head off for boot camp before BTI’s graduation ceremony in March. He hadn’t gotten a chance to take part in the time-honored tradition of walking across a stage and grasping a hard-earned diploma.
Bartal was there to fix that.
In a booming voice, Bartal announced to the restaurant that Misner has successfully completed the criminal justice program. Then, he reached out and handed the Marine his diploma.
A faint smile could just barely be detected on Misner’s face.
After the impromptu ceremony, Misner admitted that stony demeanor masked what he was really feeling inside.
He said he got a wonderful education at BTI, that he put in a lot of hard work while there. And he credited Bartal and his other instructors for helping to mold him into a “mentally developed person.”
“Not being able to have that ceremony with them, it does leave you a little empty inside,” he said. “But this more than makes up for it.”
Bartal said that when Misner’s mother, Summer Hernandez, reached out to him to ask if he wanted to be a part of his homecoming celebration, he saw it as a chance to do something special.
“I thought it was necessary to at least give him this opportunity,” he said.
Bartal spoke about Misner with pride and admiration, lauding his determination and character.
“Tenacious, absolutely tenacious,” he said. “This is just a man that won’t lay down for anything. He will do whatever is necessary to meet a goal.”
That tenacity, that drive to succeed needed to be recognized, Bartal said.
Misner’s mother said she loved the idea of presenting her son with his diploma Saturday. After watching the ceremony, she was visibly emotional.
“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “I think he was kind of surprised.”
But as mothers often are, Hernandez seemed more excited about simply having her son home. Even after an early morning pickup at the airport — about 12:50 a.m. — she had the energy to buzz excitedly about Misner being around for the holidays.
“Oh my God, it’s amazing,” she said. “I don’t want to let him go.”
Misner will, unfortunately for his mother, eventually have to leave again. His leave is for two weeks, after which he will return to his new job as an avionics technician.
Source: Berkshire mont
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