It was a surprise heart warming welcome for a Marine just home from war.

Sergeant Andrew Valora arrived to a hero's welcome at an Arizona elementary school.

He was paying a surprise visit to a third grade class to thank them for writing him while he was deployed.

Little did he know, he was the one that was getting the surprise.

"I thought I was just going to come home and just see the kids in the class. I didn't think it was going to be a huge production, but it's very nice to see how much they think I meant to them, I hope I can convey how much they mean to me."

Sergeant Valora said the students sent him a DVD of them singing 'God Bless the USA' while he was in Afghanistan.

He said when he played it for his men, there wasn't a dry eye in the tent.