Sgt. Robert Bialkowski gets a kiss after popping the question to his girlfriend of eight years, Heather Greene. (Charlsie Agro/CBC News)

A soldier returning from duty in Afghanistan proposed to his longtime girlfriend at a Windsor, Ont., airport on Monday.

Sgt. Robert Bialkowski went to great lengths to ask his girlfriend of eight years to marry him in front of a cheering crowd of friends and family.

Bialkowski was on his way back from a tour of duty with the Windsor Support Company. He may have let friends and family in on the surprise but even he had not seen the ring he custom designed until Sunday.

Bialkowski picked up the ring during a stopover in Ottawa.

"A buddy of mine drove it up to Ottawa for me and gave it to me there," said Bialkowski. "I was actually seeing it for the first time there."

Bialkowski hadn't seen the engagement ring he designed until the day before he proposed. (Charlsie Agro/CBC News)

For seven months Heather Green has been waiting to hear if her boyfriend was safe. She first said goodbye to Bialkowski, her high-school sweetheart, back in 2003 when he was deployed to Bosnia. Greene welcomed him home from his second tour of duty Monday.

"It's great to see him again. It's almost surreal," said Greene. "It's been so long."

After a hello kiss, Bialkowski handed Greene an apple and got down on one knee. Her response: "Of course!"

Friends and family shouted "It's about time!"

Bialkowski said he had tried to pop the question a few times before but "the planning didn't work out."

The 26-year-old soldier said the apple was a gift in the tradition of an ancient Greek wedding proposal.

Despite the surprise proposal, the couple had already set a wedding date of June 3, 2011 — the nine-year anniversary of when they first met.

Greene and Bialkowski were high school sweethearts. (Charlsie Agro/CBC News)

"We knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it today. So that's awesome," said Greene.

The couple will be married at St. Anne's Church in Tecumseh, Ont., the same church they attended together as children.

After years of waiting, the mothers of the bride and groom are looking forward to the nuptials and having Bialkowski back home for good. This is his final tour of duty.

"It was very emotional," said Wendy Greene, the bride's mother. "It's an exciting day and we've been waiting a long time for this to happen."

Debbie Bialkowski expressed relief and gratitude that her son was back home. The proud mother choked up a little when she talked about her plans "just to reconnect with him, plan a wedding."

Nine Windsor reservists were in Afghanistan on the most recent rotation. Two returned Monday, including Bialkowski and Cpl. Dave Marshall. Another two soldiers are expected to return on Dec. 21 — just in time for Christmas.