FORT BRAGG, N.C. - It was a scene from a fairy tale. Dozens of Soldiers in their dress blues, Class A uniforms and civilian suits, escorted their daughters garbed in gowns and dresses into the Fort Bragg Club for an evening of fun, food and dancing at the Father Daughter Ball Saturday.
Sergeant 1st Class Rolando Walters, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, knew he was taking his daughter Jarissa, 10, as soon as he saw a flyer for the event. "I've always been deployed so this is the first one I've taken her to."
Major David Bresser, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Battalion, decided to take his daughter, Emma, 11 to the ball after reading about the ball in the Paraglide. "She got a brand new dress," said Bresser.
Fathers and daughters had their portraits taken by a photographer from Pro Image, Inc. of Fort Bragg. Inside the Lafayette Room, the site of the ball, Families put together frames with colored paper, glitter glue and stickers to house their portrait.
That was what Katelyn Webb said was her favorite part of the event so far. Her father, Capt. Aaron Webb, United States Army Student Detachment, Fort Jackson, S.C., helped Katelyn, 4, and her sister Haley, 6, complete the frames. Webb was previously in the 16th Military Police Brigade.
After craft time, the guests were treated to a "kid-friendly" and adult buffet dinner and dancing with DJs.
"It's exciting for the girls," said Dennis Duck, the food and beverage director for Fort Bragg's Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation. "They get to dress up and go out with dad."
The event was sold out with 305 tickets sold, said Kathleen Eckard, Fort Bragg Club business manager. She had planned similar events at Parris Island, S.C., the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
"I had disappointed fathers who were trying to get tickets at the last minute yesterday," she said. There are already plans for a Spring Father Daughter Ball.
There will also be a mother son event soon, added Eckard. "We're definitely going to do something for mothers and sons, we just don't know what yet."
Staff Sgt. Gabriel Perez, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, enjoyed the time with his daughter, Gloria, 4, by twirling her around on the dance floor.
"This is a birthday present," he said. Perez recently arrived home from Korea and saw the event posted on the FMWR website.
Even Gloria's doll was dressed for the occasion. "It's my first ball," she said.
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