Carter County’s Brody McInturff, 5, wanted a military-themed birthday.

And he got just that and more.

During Brody’s birthday last week, which featured armed-forces style decorations, the 5-year-old got quite the surprise when three members of the United States military showed up dressed in uniform. Chief Warrant Officer Robert Storen with the United States Army, Staff Sergeant Patrick Callahan with the Army National Guard, and Senior Master Sergeant Robert Mikulski with the United States Air Force all showed up and greeted Brody.

Visibly surprised as the three military men walked up and shook his hand, Brody did something that made his father, Daniel McInturff, and his mother, Lauren McInturff, proud.

He saluted each of the men in uniform.

“The thing that got me was when Brody saluted the military guys,” said Daniel McInturff. “That isn’t something that we told him to do. He saluted all three of them which I thought that was pretty cool.”

Along with his deep interest in the Army and the military, Brody, who is diagnosed with Spina Bifida, is a huge fan of the Nashville Predators hockey team, and the outgoing youngster plays hockey himself.

“He plays with a little hockey team out of Nashville,” said Daniel. “He practices with them in Knoxville. He really loves that. He is playing hockey and doing what most 5-year-olds enjoy to do.”

During Brody’s birthday this past week, the McInturffs, sticking with the military theme, had a Wall of Honor featuring the name of local veterans and servicemen. Over the past year and a half, Brody has developed a passion for the military, said Daniel.

Daniel also went on to say that he is really thankful for what those three military men did for his son.

“We can learn so much from what Brody did when he showed respect to those men who showed up,” said McInturff. “For those men to show up to a 5-year-old’s birthday party when they have a family to attend to, that just proves the type of people we have in our military. They are willing to go above and beyond, not only overseas, but also at a 5-year-old’s birthday party.”