The U.S. Army has almost 500,000 active members.
Incredibly, two brothers who were separated their entire lives reunited for the first time in 50 years and discovered they served in the Army together.
Army Major General Robert Edmonson II knew he was adopted in Germany as an infant by a US-Vietnam veteran and his wife.
He was raised in New Jersey as an only child.
Edmonson joined the military, just like his adoptive father.
He rose the ranks in the army, while raising a family of his own.
All he knew about his adoption was that his biological father’s name was Edward Jackson and he was from Texas.
What he didn’t know was that he had family in a completely different area of the U.S. as well.
Growing up, Brian Jackson and his younger brother Eric knew that they had an older brother who was given up for adoption when their father was on tour in Germany.
They didn’t know much more than that as their father only learned about a former girlfriend putting up a baby for adoption long after it had happened.
Edmonson’s oldest child Robert III took a DNA test which led to a surprising discovery.
They learned that Edmonson II had two younger half-brothers.
One of them was in the army as well, Colonel Eric Jackson.
They had both served as captains in the 82nd Airborne Division.
The similarities didn’t end there.
The brothers were from the same fraternity, their wives were nurses from the same sorority. Their eldest sons also have the same birthday.
They didn’t know about any of this until the three brothers finally met for the first time in 2021.
Maj. Gen. Edmonson met his half-brothers Army Col. Eric Jackson and younger brother Brian at Fort Knox, Kentucky where Eric was currently serving.
The brothers shared how it felt to meet each other for the first time.
“Its hard to put into words, but if I could sum it up in one word, that one word would be love,” Jackson told ABC News.
Edmonson also shared his own feelings.
“A number of emotions came to mind. I was raised as an only child, so I immediately had siblings. I am still learning what that means. I’m learning more about the emotions associated with having siblings,” he said.
Third brother Brian also met him and said that Edmonson immediately reminded him of their late father.
“When I first met Robert, the first thing I can see is his mannerisms, his smile, his eyes,” said Brian. “They all reminded me of my dad.”
Another interesting aspect of the brothers is that Edmonson, currently a commanding general, outranks Jackson.
During their first conversation, he ended each comment with “Yes, sir.”
At the end of the conversation, Edmonson told him, ‘Before we all hang up,’ he said, ‘Please stop calling me sir.'”
Their father Edward also served in Vietnam and passed away in 2007.
ABC News asked them what they thought he would think of this reunion.
“He would be crying tears, just crying, crying, crying. He would be so happy,” shared Barbara Jackson, Brian and Eric’s mother.
The love and bond between the brothers is obvious, even if they had just met each other.
We love happy family reunions and this definitely is one of our favorites!
Watch the video of the three brothers meeting each other for the first time below!
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