This is the emotional moment military siblings surprised their family together for the first time in almost a decade – including their little sister who didn’t recognize her brother after so long apart.
Taylor Evans and brother Randy left their hometown of Forest City, North Carolina, aged 18 to pursue a career in military service.
Taylor, a specialist in the U.S. Army for four years, was mostly stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Meanwhile, Randy was often stationed overseas, including tours in South Korea and training in Australia and Japan throughout his eight years of service.
While Taylor had been home to visit, it was 2015 since she and Randy had been home at the same time with parents Clay and Leslie, while little sister Lauren was just six when she last saw Randy.
When Randy moved nearer home, from Washington to Georgia in 2024, beginning a new job as a correctional officer, Taylor immediately started trying to arrange a weekend for them to be together.
Due to his new job, Randy wouldn’t be able to travel right away, but when an opportunity opened up around Memorial Day Weekend, Taylor worked with her grandma to come up with a big surprise.
READ MORE: Military Family Return Home After Three Years to Surprise Grandma With Grandson She Hasn’t Met
The siblings drove home on May 24 to their mom, a cosmetologist, while she was distracted touching up their grandma’s hair. As the pair walked in, she screamed before running in for a tearful hug.
Little sister Lauren walked in and didn’t recognize Randy at first – until she realized it was him, and the tears also started flowing.
The pair then surprised their dad at work, with Randy hiding behind his truck, and when Taylor points to him, Clay can’t believe his eyes and goes in for a long-awaited hug with his son.
Taylor said: “It was 2015 since my brother and I had been home at the same time – travel arrangements can sometimes be difficult given the distance and time overseas.
“I reached out to my grandmother, Diane Price, and asked her to help me come up with a plan to keep my mom busy so we could pull off our first surprise.
“Mom wasn’t expecting anyone, so she thought my little sister was walking through the door, but it was us – some tears were shed, and the surprise was pulled off flawlessly.
“My sister said she saw me walking down and wasn’t expecting me, but she didn’t even see our brother.
“She was only six years old the last time she saw him, so she didn’t recognize him at all, but once she realized it was him, the tears started flowing, and she was so happy to see him again finally.
“Our dad works at the electric department for the town and happened to be monitoring a substation.
“We pulled up, and my brother hid behind my dad’s work truck while I walked out waving as if I was the surprise, and as Dad proceeded to walk up to hug me, I pointed towards my brother – after a manly embrace and lots of smiles, the surprise was successful.
“I had chills the entire time, and seeing my whole family cry was such a sweet moment.
“Being a military family is one of the most difficult trials of life. You miss a lot of life’s milestones, for the family back home and even for the ones in service.
“A lot of FaceTime’s, birthday presents in the mail and tears over phone calls, just wishing for a hug from your momma or daddy.
“It was tough to fight off emotions while at home and when it came time to leave them again.
“My brother and I have made successful independent lives for ourselves, and we couldn’t have done it without the support and love of our family.
“I hope others see the sacrifice military families make. Not just the service members themselves but also their families.
“We easily take for granted the time you have with your families and don’t truly realize that until you can’t see them as often as you’d like.”