Sometimes life plays out in ways we can never expect and puts people in our path at a moment we'd least expect. That was the case for an 18-year-old man who was training to become a soldier in the US Army. During his training, he ended up in a training unit with an older trainee. There was something about the older man that the younger man recognized, but he would have never expected the connection.
The older man turned out to be his biological father, someone he had only encountered once before in his entire life. The odds of them being in the same training unit were slim, but they were both grateful for the encounter.
More from CafeMom: Baby Taken by Social Services After Home Birth is Reunited With Parents Amid Public Outcry
Neither man had any idea the other was there.
Brayden Sumare entered Fort Leonard Wood to complete his initial entry Army training in July. Sumare noticed there was something "oddly familiar" about his bay leader — an older trainee everyone called "Pops." They shared a few glances, but nothing more.
"The next day, I was laying down in my bunk as the bay leader was walking around getting all the new people’s names for the roster," Sumare told the US Army Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office.
It was in that moment that everything was about to change.
"When he got to me, he asked my last name, and I said 'Sumare.' And then he asked, 'Brayden Hunter Sumare?'" Sumare shared that he was caught off guard by the man's question.
"How did you know that?" he asked, not expecting the man to reply, "I’m William Reeves." Reeves is Sumare's biological father.
"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?"
More from CafeMom: 4-Year-Old Boy Found Safe 22 Hours After Wandering From Family's Campsite
The two had only met once before, which is why they didn't recognize each other.
The two had only met one time before, about four years ago. Both said the other looked different. "When I met him, he had long hair and a full beard. When I saw him at reception, he had a buzzed haircut and was cleanly shaven," Sumare explained.
When Brayden called his mom Amanda Sumare to let her know that he had made it to Fort Leonard Wood, he let her know that Reeves was also there, and that wasn't something she could have ever anticipated.
"I was so very shocked. It is the craziest thing ever," she said.
Reeves explained that his and Amanda Sumare's "lives had gone in different directions" when Brayden was born and she married someone else. "I supported him financially but decided I didn’t want to be too involved and upset Brayden’s solid family unit."
They had some time to get to know each other during their training.
Sumare and Reeves were able to spend several days together at Fort Leonard Wood’s reception battalion before they were sent to their separate training units.
"Over the next few days, as I watched him interact with other people, I saw familiar mannerisms. It was like looking in a mirror," Reeves said. "I got to learn a lot from him, and I think that is really cool."
Reeves shared that Sumare "taught me how to Ranger roll my uniform. And not just me, he showed us all how." He shared that he is "proud of Brayden. He has a bright future." Sumare added, "I got to tell him goodbye, good luck and give him a hug."
"My fingers are crossed I may be able to attend his graduation next month," Reeves said. "I like to joke — I am going to build the Army’s bridges, and he is going to drive his truck over it."
