None of her family was expecting to see Navy sailor Kermithe Joseph walk through their front door Thanksgiving week.

“I surprised every member in my family,” said Joseph, laughing. “They didn’t expect me to come. I really enjoyed doing it. I can’t even say words; that was so, so good.”

On Sunday, Joseph landed back at Logan Airport in Boston for the first time in 23 months, having been stationed at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan.

The young seaman made it back for the holiday through the Boston-based Miles For Military program, which pays for the flights home for junior enlisted service members who might not otherwise be able to afford them.

“When I came, my cousin called my mom,” Joseph recounted. “He said, ‘I have some stuff for you. Can you come outside to grab it?’ And then when she went outside, she saw me.”

Joseph grew up in Mattapan with a big family, she said, and the surprise set off a wave of questions.

“They started blaming, saying, ‘No, you should have told me. You should’ve told me that,’” she said, laughing through the story. “I’m so, really, really happy.”

The Miles for Military nonprofit was founded in 2024 by Dorchester military mom Maureen Byrne, allowing service members to trade volunteer hours at a charity of their choice for flights. Byrne founded the nonprofit after learning from her son that many of his fellow Marines couldn’t afford to fly home when they got leave, the organization said.

“We recognize, and are deeply grateful for, the sacrifices our active duty military members make, being away from family for months or even years at a time, often unable to visit their loved ones while on leave or for important milestones,” Byrne said. “It is extremely rewarding to be able to help them get home for moments that matter.”

Joseph found out about the program while volunteering at the USO at her base, and after a short application, “everything went really fast,” she said.

“The fact is it’s really expensive, and then even though I told (my family) that I got it, they couldn’t believe it,” said Joseph. “Because like $1,500 from the U.S. to Japan is not easy to get.”

The sailor described how hard it can be living overseas far from your friends and family for the first time, saying she’s already told many members about the Miles for Military opportunity.

“I hope they can keep doing it,” said Joseph. “It’s amazing, because there are kids over there, they are a little bit, I would say, struggling, to be away from the family. If they know there’ll be any time they can come back to see the family, that can help them cope with that distance.”

Miles for Military flew home its 100th military member this year, the organization said, and has “many more flights” scheduled through the holiday season to bring people across the world home.

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Joseph will be home for two an a half weeks, she said Wednesday, but Thanksgiving will be the “big event” and she planned to surprise a few more family members.

The opportunity to see her mom and each member of her family is indescribable, Joseph said.

“Just a really big thank you,” said Joseph. “From what I said before, I don’t have any words to describe how thankful I am for this organization, how happy I am. And I hope a lot of sailors who really need it are going to start using it.”

U.S. Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka is shown in this Navy photo. (Navy.mil photo)