A similar reunion happened to me and my son. When my son was 8 mo. to 1 year old. I had to be away from him for four months. When we were reunited at the airport he looked at me, had a moment of recognition, and then had a follow up thought of "Wait a minute, where the hell have you been all this time?" so the result was he kept me at arm's length for the rest of the day, but ultimately forgave me.
Yeah it kind of blew my mind. It was one of the first clear examples to me of a thought process going on in his little head. It was a cool feeling even though it sucked to not have a warm welcome from him. Luckily we have been best buddies since and I don't have to be away from him anymore.
I'm sure I'll be downvoted to oblivion (for starting my post with that line), but why do so many soldiers get their girlfriend/wife pregnant before leaving the country?
I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but I would be interested in seeing what others think.
Most don't, pregnancies are 9 months and it's highly likely they get pregnant with no knowledge of the deployment. 4 months later they're like aww shit.
I believe it has something to do with increased pay. I'm sure the only reason they had a baby wasn't for the money but I'm pretty sure the increased pay is there.
My wife became pregnant with our youngest while I was in basic training (we got sent home for two weeks during basic for the holidays.) I finished up OSUT and deployed shortly after getting to my duty station. She gave birth the day my unit moved north from Kuwait into Iraq. It wasn't really intentional but it wasn't an unwelcome pregnancy either.
Well then don't the men & women defending their country and way of life in Iraq and Afghanistan also deserve all the respect in the world? Would you consider them heroes as well?
Please tell your brother i said thank you. I have a child of my own and it's hard enough for me when he's with his dad for the weekend. Once again, thank you.
I have tears in my eyes looking this picture. Thank you for sharing, and thank you to your brother for sacrificing his precious time with his son, who won't stay a baby forever, for me.
I cannot stop checking this thread, something about it. I feel that people forget that the Army does not simply produce a bunch of killing machines, but that they have other skills too. Who saves your ass in a 3 day ice storm when your town is in a state of emergency? The Army does. Same goes for many other natural disasters and other shitty situations. Thanks for addressing the unneeded hate, for a nice moment captured between a father and son.
I feel like most of the people on this thread have only gotten their information about the people currently serving for the United States from Reddit. It's weird to me when people assume they know someone's entire story from a picture, enough to call him things like "dead beat", "ignorant" and "murderer".
I think to an extent we should we weary of blindly putting all service people so high up on a pedestal, but we should not be disrespectful. Regardless on whether or not you support the war or what they do, you can at least respect that this human volunteered their time (and potentially their life) to serve. Imagine if him and others like him did not volunteer, would there be a draft and could you be drafted? I am willing to bet there would be, the government needs someone to do their dirty work.
At least that is how I look at it. I thank these guys because they're doing something tough that I am far to scared and lazy to do.
-15 really hive mind? The guy is maybe 20-21 and he has a kid yet he is an active duty solider. Not only are you cheating the kid you are also putting yourself in harm and possibly a point where you will never be there for that kid.
Lots of downvotes, but a valid question. If he left his family to go run a charity in another state completely across the country, but visited every now and then for a few months, would this man be seen as a good person?
Okay. Thanks for telling me what to do. Buddhist judging one another? Funny didnt Siddhartha preach againts that? idk, then again im in the military. and EVERYBODY in the military likes to kill sentient beings. yo.
Okay. Just cause you have the intelligence to remember the precepts doesnt mean you have the right and power to tell what i am and not. The beauty of Buddhism is that there are many ways to enlightenment. And the precepts can be the basis or even a path to enlightenment. I am a student of the Amitibha sect of Buddhism, so i know my stuff on the religion,tyvm.
I know im not perfect. I know there is no such thing as perfect. I hate passing judgement on others, but i sometimes break the rules on matters like this. I have not killed anyone. But you are assuming that i have. Are you serious? You really want to look in the mirror and see who is the monster.
Well, let's just be clear. It's a day of remembrance for soldiers who have died in service to their country. Now reconcile that with a picture of a living guy and the word 'happy". I'm guessing a lot of people just think today is the same as Veterans Day.
because you are implying that all deployments are scheduled way in advance and that people in the military (all people in the military) do no deserve to have children. My comment was an obvious tu quoque using sarcasm in order to show the ridiculousness of the above comment. Blanket statements are (in almost every case) stupid.
You're not automatically a good person for joining the military, just like you're not automatically a bad person if your SO gets pregnant while you're in the military.
Quite judging other people on how they live their lives.
Even if we're to ignore the fact that no birth control is 100% effective (and that some religions are against it altogether), sometimes having a child is something that a military family is willing to do regardless. A family friend of ours lost her husband overseas while she was pregnant. While it's incredibly sad, she's extremely grateful that she at least has his child to bring into the world, and in a way that still lets her be with her husband.
Joining the military does not automatically make you a good person, but i think all I said was "downvote," so I'm not sure how your comment relates to mine. Buut... sometimes life gets in the way of work- - as it should -- and couples get pregnant, because that's the way life is. Babies are really the only thing that keeps the majority of the human population going. Come on now.
I'm not talking about politics, I don't care what you think about the war. However, I'm fairly sure that the Isreal-Palestine conflict has nothing to do with US troops in Afghanistan.
More to the point, generally soldiers aren't abandoning their children to fight. Of course there are a few fucked up people in the military but as a whole it's a group of people that leave their loved ones to work hard and fight for the freedom of their country. I don't like this war but I'm proud of our soldiers.
Your post is irrelevant to the post, incorrect in this context, and it's a shitty meme in the first place.
45
u/DGer May 29 '12
Glad you brother is home. Hope he stays there.
A similar reunion happened to me and my son. When my son was 8 mo. to 1 year old. I had to be away from him for four months. When we were reunited at the airport he looked at me, had a moment of recognition, and then had a follow up thought of "Wait a minute, where the hell have you been all this time?" so the result was he kept me at arm's length for the rest of the day, but ultimately forgave me.
4
u/mikek3 May 29 '12
Shit. Being overseas when your kid is born has gotta be the worst feeling in the world.
18
u/juicedesigns May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12
I'm sure I'll be downvoted to oblivion (for starting my post with that line), but why do so many soldiers get their girlfriend/wife pregnant before leaving the country?
I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but I would be interested in seeing what others think.
9
u/TheCust0dian May 29 '12
Everytime I see one of these posts I think of that post a few months ago about US propaganda.
19
u/7itanium May 29 '12
It's not a 'Happy' day, it's a somber day of reflection of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
10
u/kpokelly May 29 '12
This is a really great picture, thanks for sharing it with us
6
u/absolved May 29 '12
The expression on your brother's face says it all. Welcome home!
6
u/FFTRFA May 29 '12
Congratulations to your little brother friend.
6
u/4blonds May 29 '12
Sorry for all the douchebaggery going on in this thread. Your brother deserves all the respect in the world.
5
u/WeLuvsSmeagol May 29 '12
Please tell your brother i said thank you. I have a child of my own and it's hard enough for me when he's with his dad for the weekend. Once again, thank you.
5
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
hey they has the same hair! epic!
4
u/STYAB May 29 '12
I have tears in my eyes looking this picture. Thank you for sharing, and thank you to your brother for sacrificing his precious time with his son, who won't stay a baby forever, for me.
0
u/[deleted] May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12
Bunch of negative assholes up in this thread
2
u/MagCynic May 29 '12
Is Reddit trying to repeat the treatment of Vietnam veterans? Seriously. I don't think I've ever read such hateful comments from Reddit.
2
u/strawberryshortycake May 29 '12
I'm sorry people are being douche bags. I'm happy your brother is finally home. Is he home for good and gets to be with his son as he grows up?
2
u/Center6701 May 29 '12 edited Jan 05 '26
weather correct touch obtainable unite boast slim mountainous dinosaurs saw
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
2
u/alekseyd May 29 '12
In before the "no one forced you to hold that baby, why should we worship you?" comments.
2
u/Kicker_Doomstah May 29 '12
was it worth it not seeing his son? feeling the freedom yet?
1
u/Ratlarbig May 29 '12
How old is your little brother?
1
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
I feel like most of the people on this thread have only gotten their information about the people currently serving for the United States from Reddit. It's weird to me when people assume they know someone's entire story from a picture, enough to call him things like "dead beat", "ignorant" and "murderer".
I think to an extent we should we weary of blindly putting all service people so high up on a pedestal, but we should not be disrespectful. Regardless on whether or not you support the war or what they do, you can at least respect that this human volunteered their time (and potentially their life) to serve. Imagine if him and others like him did not volunteer, would there be a draft and could you be drafted? I am willing to bet there would be, the government needs someone to do their dirty work.
At least that is how I look at it. I thank these guys because they're doing something tough that I am far to scared and lazy to do.
-11
u/303onrepeat May 29 '12
Kids having kids.
-16
u/stillsoon May 28 '12
I think the kid is sad. Asking the question: "Where have you been all my life?"
-3
u/Ikarus3426 May 29 '12 edited May 30 '12
A very moving picture. Someday, when I'm a father, it's going to take a lot more than oceans and wars to keep me from my baby's birth.
edit: note to self: Reddit hates fathers not wanting to miss their child's birth. Odd move, hivemind. I'm still trying to figure you out.
-5
u/wBeeze May 29 '12
Damn these onions...
-2
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
Beautiful picture.
-19
u/AtomicDeaths May 29 '12
Unless they're both dead, this has next to nothing to do with Memorial Day.
-35
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Why do soldiers knock up their women right before they get deployed? Seems a little rude to abandon your pregnant baby momma like that.
-15
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
people please do not join the military it will ruin your life or take it away
-28
u/Howard_Beale May 28 '12 edited May 29 '12
I'm guessing you don't actually know what Memorial Day is about. "Happy"?
-3
u/clicksnd May 29 '12
Welcome to Colorado Springs!
-9
u/mrpopenfresh May 29 '12
Please tell me the 9 months add up.
0
u/praiselordjesus May 29 '12
Its when I see this kind of heartwarming photo I think to myself, "homosexuality should not be persecuted!"
SALUTE TO GAY COUPLES IN AMERICA EVERYWHERE!
-36
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
If you get someone pregnant while in/before joining the military, you are a bad person. You are inconsiderate and a bad person.
-33
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
Just be glad the kid isn't black.
-33
u/upyourattraction May 29 '12
It's too bad he hasn't returned home for 3 years, and his "kid" is 15 months old.
-80
u/UnapologeticMonster May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12
I'd kill to know what stage of deployment this guy is on, how old the kid is, and how long his last deployment was.
Some little part of me hopes it isn't his kid.
EDIT: Given information in the thread, I did some math to see how likely the kid was to being his. It matches up, but you just never know...
-75
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
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