See our exclusive video as family expected her to head to South Korea for a year before the surprise visit to Wellsville for Christmas
Video and story by JOHN ANDERSON, main photo by CHRIS BROOKS
The Spicer family of Wellsville was preparing for a Christmas without a daughter and sister, as United States Army obligations were keeping 2022 Wellsville High School graduate Madilynne “Maddie” Spicer away from home.
And it’s been a tough year each time the phone rang.
First, there was the call she was leaving college to join the Army, something her mother, Gypsy Spicer, never expected.
“She always had her heart set on one thing, she always wanted to be a vet tech,” mom said. “And then one day she came home and said, ‘I’m going into the Army.’ I did not expect that.”
She went to Fort Gregg-Adams in Virginia for basic training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), learning different military occupational specialties.
In high school, she was an above-average athlete, hitting .538 on a Section V championship softball team. It didn’t come as a surprise she wanted advanced combat training and to learn to jump out of planes.
She took basic combat training at Fort Jackson, in South Carolina and then off to “jump school” as she started her career as a parachute rigger.
Another phone call.
While at Fort Moore, Georgia, home of the U.S. Army Airborne School, she had to make three successful jumps. She was injured on her third jump. It’s either pass or fail. She had to re-take her Military Occupational Specialty, known as MOS once again.
She passed, but before her deployment to South Korea, Spicer and others in her paratrooper platoon had to take a series of five to eight shots. The military would not release them until the side effects of the shots wore off.
Another phone call home.
“We got the call that there would not be a trip home for Christmas before her year-long deployment to (U.S. Army Garrison) Camp Humphreys, South Korea,” her mom said.
As the weeks went on, Maddie Spicer’s results came back and she was cleared to make a trip home to Wellsville for Christmas.
Finally, a good phone call.
“I knew she would be gone to South Korea for a year and then she said she was coming home,” her mom said. “But she told me I couldn’t tell anyone. I knew she was coming in, no one else knew. It was the hardest secret in the world to keep.”
Her brother, Jensen Spicer, had his home-opener wrestling meet on Dec. 18 against Canisteo-Greenwood. Wellsville coaches Josh Outman and Bill Kurtz and Canisteo-Greenwood coach Geoff Havens were the only other ones who knew what was happening. A note was passed to the P.A. announcer.
The surprise was on.
Mekha Dorrough picked up Maddie Spicer from the airport and they arrived just before the introductions of each weight class prior to the dual meet.
However, because no one knew, this was not a regular “soldier surprise.” No one was holding up cell phones for pre-match introductions and there were no obvious video cameras. By luck, Chris Brooks of Wellsvillesports.com as well as the Wellsville Sun were in attendance.
As Jensen Spicer went out, he shook hands with his opponent, Dylan Depew-Cappadonia, and was on his way to the bench when he was asked to wait.
It was announced to the crowd this would be a tough holiday for the Spicer family as Maddie was going to be deployed and not home for the holidays.
Wellsville has a gym dedicated just for wrestling and volleyball. Jensen was asked to face the bleachers and his family and the crowd heard the announcement and gave a round of applause to the family.
Moments later, Maddie Spicer entered the gym from a doorway behind Jensen where only the crowd could see her. Before Jensen noticed his sister, someone else started crying in the stands: Her father, Shane Spicer.
“Shane cried, my mom cried … Jensen was sweating and he cried!” said Gypsy Spicer.
A stunned Jensen just stared at his sister in disbelief and then hugged her.
Photo by John Anderson
Maddie Spicer looked up to see her grandmother, Sherry Lafferty crying and her sisters, Hayden and Morgan Spicer.
Story continues after this video by John Anderson:
After Christmas, Maddie Spicer is off to the western coast of South Korea within the seaport city of Pyeongtaek, which is 40 miles from Seoul. Camp Humphreys is the headquarters for the Eighth U.S. Army, the Second Infantry Division, the Army’s most active airfield in the Pacific, and the hub of U.S. Forces Korea.
There are several U. S. Army tactical- and direct-support units located on Camp Humphreys, according to the U.S. Army.
Which makes this trip even more special.
“Thank God I have two weeks with her,” her mom added.
