It's not every day that students at Vineyard Elementary School see their principal, Mrs. Sylvia Allan, weep.

But on Monday they watched their principal shed tears of joy, gratitude and pride during an assembly that featured her son, Air Force Airman 1st Class Kelly Long, who returned from service in Iraq two weeks ago.

After Long presented the school with a folded American flag that he flew in Iraq and Kuwait and brief slide show of photos during his six-month deployment with the 424th Medium Truck Detachment "Centurions," Vineyard students, with their hands over their hearts, joined in singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

"It makes me cry, not because I'm sad, but because I'm really, really glad to have my son come home safe," Allan told students and teachers at the assembly. "It makes me really, really proud to have a flag flown by a soldier in Iraq."

Long, nearly two years into his military career, bought a U.S. flag to fly from his military truck in between his unit's convoy deliveries of supplies to American forces. He said U.S. forces were only allowed to fly the flag at American bases and installations out of respect to the Iraqis. His aim was to bring the flag home at the end of his tour of duty to present to his mother and the students at Vineyard Elementary.

"I hope [students] have a sense of pride and that war is not going as bad as it looks," he said.

In contrast, Long said being boots on the ground in Iraq opened his eyes to all the positive and constructive things happening to rebuild the country and extend freedom and education to generations of the Iraqi people.

"I hope they see the good and not just the bad," he said.

Long, who was teasingly dubbed with the call sign "Superstar" by his unit in Iraq after he volunteered to represent the Air Force in an impromptu military training video, said his convoy job was dangerous because his unit was the potential target of insurgents and road-side bombs. Though he couldn't talk about specific incidents, he described life on the road as "nerve-wracking, sometimes, and scary sometimes." His unit drove an average of 3,000 miles per month.

Through the long, hot hours of work, Long said he and his fellow soldiers appreciated the words of support and prayers they got from family, friends and even strangers back home. He also learned patience, leadership skills and to highly value the freedom many Americans take for granted.

Long said his personal creed was "I'm going to get this done, life or death," he said, which Allan said is very similar to the family's slogan, "Whatever it takes to get it done."

Allan is proud of her son, who like her own father, served the country in uniform.

"I'm thrilled to have him home yet very proud to have him over there," she said. "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Raised in Mexico, Allan saw the lack of opportunities children and adults had there for education and prosperity. She hopes her son's experiences in Iraq and Kuwait remind her students and the community about the many people in the world who don't have the quality of life Americans enjoy. She said it's important for her students to know that there are people like her son willing to fight for freedom and to sacrifice to make their lives better.

"So they learn to work hard, too, and create a good life for themselves," Allan said. "They need to take control of their learning and maximize their time here."