{"id":1620,"date":"2024-09-02T20:21:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T20:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/?p=1620"},"modified":"2024-09-02T20:21:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T20:21:16","slug":"army-family-takes-on-new-meaning-for-soldier-reunited-with-biological-father-also-training-at-fort-leonard-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/?p=1620","title":{"rendered":"Army Family Takes on New Meaning for Soldier Reunited with Biological Father Also Training at Fort Leonard Wood"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. \u2014 When Pfc. Brayden Sumare\u2019s bus pulled into Fort Leonard Wood, nothing could have prepared him for the twist of fate that awaited him just inside the doors of the 43rd Adjutant General Reception Battalion.<\/p>\n

The 18 year old graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in the summer of 2023, between his junior and senior years of high school. He arrived at Fort Leonard Wood in July, to complete his initial entry training.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sumare, a native of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, said he arrived at Fort Leonard Wood at about 3 a.m., and there was something oddly familiar about his bay leader, a trainee everybody called \u201cPops\u201d \u2014 he exchanged a few lingering glances with him \u2014 but didn\u2019t think much about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next day, I was laying down in my bunk as the bay leader was walking around getting all the new people\u2019s names for the roster,\u201d Sumare said. \u201cWhen he got to me, he asked my last name, and I said \u2018Sumare.\u2019 And then he asked, \u2018Brayden Hunter Sumare?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sumare said he was bewildered and returned the man\u2019s question with another question, \u201cHow did you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Sumare, he was \u201cshocked\u201d at the man\u2019s response of \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m William Reeves\u201d \u2014 his biological father.<\/p>\n

Pfc. William Reeves said he will never forget the moment he realized he was looking into the eyes of his biological son.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cWhat are the chances we both joined the Army and were at Fort Leonard Wood at the same time for our training?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sumare said he thought they didn\u2019t recognize each other because they both looked very different than when they met for the first, and only, time about four years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met him, he had long hair and a full beard. When I saw him at reception, he had a buzzed haircut and was cleanly shaven,\u201d Sumare said.<\/p>\n

To add to the unbelievable happenstance, Reeves said he had been nicknamed \u201cPops\u201d before Sumare even arrived on post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m almost 40; I have life experience. My peers lean on me for that. They started calling me Pops and it stuck,\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n

Amanda Sumare, Brayden\u2019s mother, said when Brayden called her to let her know he made it to Fort Leonard Wood and tell her Reeves was also there, she was awestruck, and it took her a minute to wrap her head around the coincidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so very shocked. It is the craziest thing ever,\u201d Amanda said.<\/p>\n

Reeves, from Poteau, Oklahoma, said he and Brayden\u2019s mother were young when they found out she was pregnant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unexpected. We did a DNA test when he was born, and he was mine. Our lives had gone in different directions and Brayden\u2019s mother was living in Wyoming, engaged to the man who eventually became Brayden\u2019s adopted father,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cI supported him financially but decided I didn\u2019t want to be too involved and upset Brayden\u2019s solid family unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two spent several days together at Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s reception battalion, waiting to go to their separate training units.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the next few days, as I watched him interact with other people, I saw familiar mannerisms. It was like looking in a mirror,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cI got to learn a lot from him, and I think that is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Brayden had already attended BCT and earned the title of Soldier, Reeves said Brayden was able to help the new trainees at the reception battalion prepare for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrayden taught me how to Ranger roll my uniform. And not just me, he showed us all how. He also showed us what to pack before we left for our units and what to buy from the Exchange when we got a chance. I enjoyed watching him lead others. I am proud of Brayden. He has a bright future,\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n

According to Brayden, running into his biological father was, \u201cone of those weird life things,\u201d and he was glad he was there to help Reeves prepare for basic training and wish him well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to tell him goodbye, good luck and give him a hug,\u201d Brayden said. \u201cI think it is awesome that he joined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanda said she is impressed by both of them and their desire to serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Army is a good fit for Brayden because he isn\u2019t one to just sit back and watch the world go by. He wants to be involved. He has a strong love and passion for our military and always has. He has so much potential. I am very proud to be his mama,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cI\u2019m also proud of William for stepping up to serve our country. I wish him the best future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brayden is in the middle of six weeks of advanced individual training, with Company C, 58th Transportation Battalion, learning the military occupational specialty of 88M Motor Transport Operator. Reeves is with Company D, 35th Engineer Battalion, for 14 weeks of one station unit training to become a 12C Bridge Crewmember.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy fingers are crossed I may be able to attend his graduation next month,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cI like to joke \u2014 I am going to build the Army\u2019s bridges, and he is going to drive his truck over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis entry was posted
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ton Monday, September 2nd, 2024 at 20:00\t\t\t\t\t\tand is filed under Army<\/a>, Guest Post<\/a>.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0<\/a> feed.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoth comments and pings are currently closed.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/small>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. \u2014 When Pfc. Brayden Sumare\u2019s bus pulled into Fort Leonard Wood, nothing could have prepared him for the twist of fate that awaited him just inside the doors of the 43rd Adjutant General Reception Battalion. The 18 year old graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-army"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1622,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions\/1622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}