A proud military grad burst into tears of happiness at her graduation when her soldier sister who inspired her to join the Army returned home from deployment to surprise her and tap her out.
Destiney Raley, 18, from Terre Haute, Indiana, shares an incredibly close bond with sister Cordia, 20, who was the first of the siblings to join the United States Army.
Cordia decided she wanted to serve in the Army when she was 17, calling her brother, Douglas Hanna, 25, her inspiration, after he was diagnosed with glaucoma in both of his eyes, which prevented him from following his dream of joining the military.
Cordia left for basic training straight after high school, and the separation from Destiney was tough.
After Cordia graduated and started serving as a combat engineer, she then left to go to the Middle East on deployment in October 2024.
During this time, Destiney chose to follow in her older sister’s footsteps and sign up for the Army, heading to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for her own basic training.
As the completion of her training drew closer, Destiney wished her older sister could be there to see her graduate.
Secretly, though, that is exactly what Cordia had planned – and having arrived home three days before her sister’s graduation, she made her way to the ceremony on July 30.
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With Destiney’s dad’s camera rolling, Cordia then approached her sister to congratulate her and fulfill the tradition of tapping the new soldier out.
As soon as Destiney felt a tap on her shoulder from behind, she turned around an immediately started sobbing tears of happiness when her sister gave her a huge hug.
With the pair embracing, Cordia reaffirmed to her young sister, “I made it,” in a beautiful moment.
The pair’s mom, also named Cordia, said: “The two girls share a unique bond that grows stronger as they mature.
“It’s the most amazing feeling ever.
“To see the two young women I raised, standing tall in their uniforms together, for the time ever, hugging and surprising her, not seeing each other for almost a year – it was priceless.
“Family and friends were so blessed that I have this video to cherish forever.”
