Fairchild’s Airman Sierra Burke surprises her children with on-field reunion at Spokane Indians game

Baseball has the power to bring people together, with family and friends gathering to root, root, root for the home team. On Saturday, at Avista Stadium, the Spokane Indians helped take that sentiment to another level entirely.

Airman Sierra Burke is a member of the Air National Guard 141st Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base. Burke, whose civilian job is Campus Supervisor at Ridgeline High School in Liberty Lake, left her family behind in Spokane in April to participate in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio and tech school at Keelser Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Burke, 38, hasn’t seen her two children – Zach, 18, and Caydence, 13 – since she left for basic. She told them she would be home “sometime in August” but didn’t know when. It’s the longest she’s ever been away from her kids.

“Nothing like this,” she said.

“I got married at 18, and had my son at 19, and so I kind of put my life and aspirations on hold,” Burke said. “I just felt like they’re at an age now that they’re self-sufficient and old enough to understand that mom wanted to do something to live out her dream.”

During the eight-week basic training she had no access to a cellphone and only limited opportunity during training. On top of that, she was two hours ahead in Central time.

“It was kind of frustrating,” Burke said. “I had to wait until later at night, I couldn’t call them during the school day.”

Burke graduated last week and was able to catch an early flight back to Spokane on Friday. She spent the night at a motel so she could surprise her kids during Saturday’s home Indians game at Avista Stadium against the Hillsboro Hops.

“I just flew in just yesterday, and they have no idea,” Burke said. “I’m so nervous.”

Zach and Caydence were told that they were selected at random to participate in an on-field promotion because they were siblings. In the middle of the fourth inning, the siblings competed in “Cathy’s Cookies Cookie Toss,” tossing oversized replica cookies into a giant box of milk along the third-base line.

At the conclusion of the promotion, the public address announcer said, “Great job, you just won a bucket of Cathy’s Cookies,” just like every other night at the ballpark, then added, “But we have something even sweeter for you.” Brushing away tears, Airman Burke emerged from the home dugout and raced to embrace her astonished children – in front of a sold-out crowd for the “Bluey at the Ballpark” promotion.

Burke didn’t know if the time apart was harder on her or her kids.

“I think it was more difficult for me to know that my kids could survive without me,” she said. “It was a different perspective. I raised resilient children, and I was looking at it in a selfish way. Like, I want them to be able to rely on me.”

As for the Indians, they were more than happy to fulfill Airman Burke’s request for the on-field reunion.

“She reached out to our team and then we, of course, loved to make this happen,” said Otto Klein, senior vice president of the Spokane Indians. “I contacted Fairchild and got their blessing. This is what we do for our friends in the military and our veterans.”