An 18-year-old soldier was reunited with his biological father at a training installment in Missouri, U.S. Army officials said.
Pfc. Brayden Sumare arrived at Fort Leonard Wood in July to complete his initial entry training when he said he noticed something “oddly familiar” about his bay leader whom everyone called “Pops,” according to an Aug. 28 news release from the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office.
Sumare offered only his last name to the bay leader who was filling out a roster of new arrivals, according to officials.
“Brayden Hunter Sumare?” the bay leader responded, according to the release.
“How did you know that?” Sumare asked, “bewildered” that the bay leader knew his full name, according to the release.
“I’m William Reeves,” the bay leader — Sumare’s biological father — responded, officials said.
Army officials said the father and son had met four years prior for the first and only time but looked very different, with Reeves sporting long hair and a full beard instead of his present buzz cut and clean-shaven face.
“It was unbelievable,” Reeves said. “What are the chances we both joined the Army and were at Fort Leonard Wood at the same time for our training?”
“As I watched him interact with other people, I saw familiar mannerisms. It was like looking in a mirror,” Reeves told Army officials. “I got to learn a lot from him, and I think that is really cool.”
Sumare called…
