Seeing old boys who haven’t seen each other since their youth is an emotional thing, especially when they served in the forces together.
Now in their 80s, Roger and his Navy Commander met in Kansas City after not seeing each other for over 50 years, but they didn’t forget how to pay their respects to one another.
The joy and connection they still hold is clear from the emotive photo Roger’s grandson, Wade, took of the pair saluting each other upon meeting.
Roger is on the right…
Speaking to UNILAD about how the reunion happened, Wade said:
My dad had found out that my grandpa’s old Navy Commander lived about an hour away from him, so he arranged a meeting for them to reunite.
I think it had been around 50 years since they’ve seen each other. The photo really captured their reactions quite well.
Wade described his ‘unique’ grandpa:
My grandpa Roger is quite the unique man. Very funny and blunt. Whenever the grandkids go to see him, we take quotes down of funny things he says.
He’s always saying random quotes from some point in time that makes everyone confused but also laugh.
He’s around 80 years old, but still gets up every day to go work outside, whether that’s setting bear traps, cutting down trees or working on his log cabin that he built by himself.
The reason Wade said he loves the photo so much is because it ‘captures a side of him a lot of my family hasn’t seen’.
Speaking about the photo, Wade said:
He’s always giggling and trolling people, but in that photo you can see pure happiness in his expression. I’m quite fond of it.
Wade originally posted the photo of his grandpa and his Navy Commander last year and after seeing it, the Commander’s grandson happened to see it, recognise his grandpa, and became friends with Wade.
The beautiful reunion tugged on Reddit’s heartstrings, with commenters thanking them both for their service.
One commenter said:
Such joy and respect what a great moment you captured here! Thanks to BOTH of them for their service!
It’s crazy to think the last time the two of them saw each other, they were about 35 years old.
Not sure where you start with a 50-year catch-up.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk. To license this article contact licensing@unilad.co.uk
