Grandparents can play such a vital role in a child’s life. They have a different type of love to offer children. It’s big and open — most likely because it doesn’t come with the responsibility of having to raise that child full time. It’s a special relationship and children who are lucky to have good grandparents cherish these bonds for a lifetime.
One Oklahoma baby is even more fortunate. She not only has grandparents, she has a great-great-grandfather as well, and was able to meet him shortly after being born. The moment, which the family captured on camera, was too precious, and melted many hearts after it was posted on TikTok.
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The video has been seen over 6 million times.
Dewey Muirhead, a 101-year-old World War II veteran, recently met his great-great-granddaughter for the first time. The moment meant a lot to the Fowler family, in Oklahoma. But it also struck a chord with millions of people on the internet. The video of the heart-tugging moment has been viewed 6 million times on TikTok.
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Fowler's photographer suggested they include Muirhead in a photo shoot.
“To me, he is the definition of a true American hero,” Muirhead’s great-granddaughter Lexie Fowler told Fox News. “Just to be able to watch your great-grandfather hold your own child is something I’ll never forget. A lot of people don’t get to have that opportunity and we are very fortunate for it,” she said.
The moment came together when Fowler and her husband Hunter scheduled a newborn photo shoot with their photographer, who quickly suggested they include Muirhead in the shots.
“Our photographer takes pictures of veterans free of charge,” Fowler explained. “And my great-grandfather is very near and dear to her. When I told her that I was having a baby, she immediately jumped on it and said, ‘We have to get photos with your great-grandpa because this makes five generations.'”
'Look at her,' Muirhead said with tears in his eyes.
Lexie and her husband began the photo shoot with her great-grandfather blindfolded so they could get his full reaction when she brought her infant daughter Millie close to him. Muirhead’s reaction was perfect. He looked over at Millie and calls out, “Sweetie,” before reaching over to give the baby a kiss.
Then he asks, “What in the world are you doing? … Oh isn’t she pretty? Look at her.” When Fowler placed Millie in Muirhead’s arms, he wiped away tears.
'It was honestly the coolest experience,' Fowler said.
Fowler was touched by the moment as well. “It was honestly the coolest experience,” she said. “Watching my great-grandfather cradle her in his arms — and she was just soothed. It’s almost like that’s what he has long held on for, for so long.”
Muirhead served from 1942 to 1945 and was stationed in Germany, Belgium, and France, Fox News reported. He married his wife Inez before he left to serve. They were married for 79 years before she died in 2021.
Fowler encourages others to 'cherish those moments with your family.'
“He’s been through more than I can imagine,” Fowler said. “I’m sure when he went to war, he didn’t even know if he would make it back home to his wife, let alone meet his great-great-grandchild … There’s a photograph where he’s holding her and you can just see the look in his eyes and he’s got tears.”
Fowler, who shared the video online and with a local news station, wasn’t expecting this family moment to have such an impact. “The reason we recorded it was so we can show it to Millie one day.”
But since the moment has directed a few eyes her way, Fowler does want to take the opportunity to spread one message: “Cherish those moments with your family and that God is very good for allowing us to give this opportunity to him and our family and be able to spread it across the whole world.”
