AUBURN – When his father woke him early Monday morning, 9-year-old Austin Boucher thought it was a dream.

For the last year, Tech. Sgt. Michael Boucher had been stationed overseas. With no one to care for him in his Arkansas hometown, Austin had moved in with his aunt and uncle in Maine. The father and son kept their relationship alive through letters and e-mails, weekly phone calls and the occasional package of gifts. The last year was difficult, they said, but with help from relatives and Austin’s new school, the small family made it through.

This week, Austin’s father walked through the front door, safe and sound, a dream come true.

On Wednesday, father and son thanked the Maine school that had been like a second family. They presented Auburn’s Sherwood Heights Elementary School with a flag that had flown over American bases in Iraq.

The short, schoolwide assembly was punctuated by cheers and applause, both for the gift and for the homecoming.

“I thought it was a nice way of saying thank you,” Boucher said. “And it’s a remembrance of what’s going on over there.”

Surprise

Boucher was a single father, a reservist in the Air Force, when he learned he was being deployed. In January, Boucher sent Austin to live with his aunt and uncle.

For a year, Austin made a life in Maine. He was welcomed by Sherwood Heights, where his aunt works as a kindergarten teacher. He made friends, discovered snow and graduated from the second grade to third.

Boucher spent his year loading and unloading supplies from aircraft in Pakistan and Kuwait. As his deployment drew to a close, he thought he might be home in time for Christmas. But he didn’t dare plan.

“You just never know,” Boucher said.

In the middle of the night Sunday, Boucher’s yearlong absence ended when his plane landed in Portland. By 3 a.m., he was standing in his son’s bedroom.

The reunion was, at first, subdued. Austin heard his father’s voice and felt a kiss, but thought it was a dream. He went back to sleep.

The next morning, Austin wandered into the living room to tell his aunt about the dream. He didn’t notice Boucher sitting on the couch.

“I said I had the best dream’ and my dad said What if it wasn’t a dream?'” Austin recalled. “I said I’m pretty sure it was.’ Then I looked over.”

For days, father and son celebrated their reunion. Boucher thanked his brother and sister-in-law for caring for his son. On Wednesday, he thanked Sherwood Heights for its hospitality by presenting it with a gift.

The flag had flown over American bases in Baghdad, Balad, Kirkuk and Mosul, where at least 22 soldiers were killed during a bombing this week. It was accompanied by a framed certificate that officially gave ownership to Sherwood Heights.

Austin called the flag “pretty cool.”

School Principal Katy Grondin called it “a very, very special surprise.”

“It makes a connection. It kind of brings them (the soldiers) into our community,” said Grondin.

The new flag will replace the school’s aging flag. It will be raised for the first time when classes resume from winter break.

After the ceremony, the father and son talked a little about their plans for the future. There will be Christmas in Maine first. Then Boucher will briefly return to Arkansas to finish his processing.

He plans to return to Maine to go to school or to look for a job. His son is happy here, he said, so they will stay.

Boucher gave his son a flag similar to the one presented to Sherwood Heights. For now it’s in a box. Now that he’s back, Boucher hopes soon to have it flying.

“Maybe now we can get a house and a flagpole of our own,” he said.