A mom who thought she was on phone to her sailor son who could not be home for the holidays was surprised when he walked through the front door.
Brandon Liberato, 21, a seaman with the United States Navy, had previously spent every major holiday with his family, so his mom, Susana, from Queen Creek, Arizona, was sad at the prospect of seeing this tradition broken.
For the past year, Brandon had talked about his dream of joining the military – and in June 2025, he enlisted with the United States Navy.
It was difficult for the family as they have always been extremely close, but all they could do was support him from afar, as he was sent to bootcamp.
The months-long separation was also the first time Brandon had been away from his family, and coming up to holiday season, Susana was faced with the prospect of Brandon not being able to come home.
But on November 25, Brandon called his brother-in-law to ask for a ride from his family’s local airport.
Having returned home, Brandon called his mom on November 27, with Susana and Vanessa, who was standing next to her while on the call, believing Brandon was with his buddies on the other side of the country.
But then, the 21-year-old walked through the door.
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A stunned Susana and Vanessa’s jaws then dropped, before the pair then headed over to give Brandon an emotional reunion hug.
The emotional moment was captured on video by Brandon’s older sister, Viridiana, and Vanessa later shared the clip on social media.
She said: “As I was finishing up getting ready, I received a text from my oldest sister confirming the turkey was ready and to hurry before it got cold.
“A couple minutes later, my mom, my youngest brother, my husband and I arrived at her home.
“As we were setting down and getting the table ready to eat, my mom received a phone call from Brandon.
“She called us up to gather around to wish him a happy Thanksgiving, and suddenly he appeared.
“I was overjoyed and couldn’t believe he was home.”
