AUGUSTA, Ga. - One soldier home from Iraq showed up just in time for his most meaningful mission.

It was a close call, but Sgt. Joel Stalcup arrived home just in time to see his wife Lauren give birth to healthy not so little, 9-pound 9-ounce Gabriel Andres.

"I honestly thought that I wasn't going to make it," said Sgt. Stalcup

After being deployed to Iraq and missing the birth of one of his other sons, Sgt. Stalcup vowed he'd never miss another, but not if Uncle Sam had anything to say about it.

"They told us from the get go they weren't going to let him come home for the birth so it kinda sounded too good to be true, but as soon as he said his plane was on the ground in Atlanta, it was a little more believable," said Sgt. Stalcup’s wife, Lauren.

"It's been a while since I've seen a baby being born so there were things I didn't want to see, like blood,” said Sgt. Stalcup. “I saw a lot of that in my last deployment. I didn't prefer it, but it was real beautiful. I'm just glad he's healthy and came out just fine."

Sgt. Stalcup just spent the past 14 months in Iraq away from his wife Lauren and his two little boys. Now that he's back and finally home with his family, he's looking forward to every day ahead.

"It'll be a new adventure, but a lot easier now that daddy's home," said Lauren.

Sgt. Stalcup dedicated the birth of his son to two friends who were killed in Iraq; Sgt. Mark Stone and Sgt. Marcus Mathes.