A Navy veteran couldn’t hold back his tears of joy when his daughter surprised him on his birthday with his battle buddy he hadn’t seen in 30 years.
Mark Bertetto, 55, from Illinois, met Carlos DeLeon, 53, when they were serving in the Philippines, with Mark being assigned to Carlos’ command while they were waiting for a ship.
They were supposed to port in the Philippines on their way to the Persian Gulf, but when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, their ship was used to evacuate people from the air force base and their pets.
Mark left the military before Carlos, but the pair didn’t have any contact details for one another during their new lives.
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After the internet had grown in prominence, Mark tried to locate Carlos, but to no avail – until one day, Mark saw a video on Facebook from a school in Texas, where Carlos happened to be mentioned.
Mark asked in the comments if it could, in fact, be the same Carlos DeLeon he had served with, and 20 minutes later he received a call from a Texas number, and the pair were able to reconnect.
Mark’s daughter, Baylee, was later talking to him about his best friend in the Navy, so, with this in mind, she decided to reach out to Carlos and ask if he’d travel from Texas for her dad’s birthday on May 1.
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Carlos immediately said yes, and on the big day itself, Baylee told her father to head out to the driveway, as she had a present waiting for him.
When Mark saw Carlos, he immediately began to well up, walking over to his battle buddy for a tear-filled hug more than three decades in the making.
Baylee said: “I was so emotional that no emotions could come out.
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“Seeing the expression on my dad’s face when he saw Carlos was nothing I had ever experienced before.
“My dad had a really hard year in 2024, so seeing so much joy radiate from him was truly an unbeatable moment.
“The hug they shared was a hug needed for longer than we all knew.
“I hope the video inspires other veterans to reconnect with their battle buddies.”
