Do you see a similarity between the two friends pictured above? That is because they are not only friends, but also brothers.
Walter Macfarlane, 74, and Alan Robinson, 72, grew up together and have been friends for more than 60 years. Recently, they found out through DNA samples that they have the same mother and are actually biological brothers.
Both men, who were born in Honolulu, were adopted – Macfarlane by his grandparents and Robinson by a new family – and they met in sixth grade. They played high school football together and their friendship blossomed into adulthood. The two Hawaiians sent their children to the same school and vacationed together.
Macfarlane and Robinson were understandably overwhelmed when they learned of their kinship, and they shared this truly remarkable story with their friends and family. Their loved ones were overjoyed when they heard the news.
“I called him Uncle Alan from a very young age,” Cindy Macfarlane-Flores, Walter’s daughter, told CNN. “Uncle Alan was my brother’s idol growing up because he was a great pilot. I have some pictures of us on his sailboat when we were 9 and 10 years old, and his daughter Tara was about 4. When my brother Aldon and I were kids, we did a lot of stuff together.”
Robinson admitted he could barely contain his emotions when the discovery was made.
“I do not usually cry that easily, but I broke down in front of everyone,” he told the website. “The emotions were so strong. It was such an overwhelming experience. The family was so warm, caring and accepting.”
Now Macfarlane and Robinson are officially family members, planning outings with friends and family and eating lunch together almost every day.
“If you could pick a family, I think he would have picked the Macfarlanes for family,” Eva Robinson, Alan’s wife, told CNN. “That’s how much we liked them. Our kids are all Facebook friends and it’s so nice to see the relationships grow. You can tell the families are intertwined now.”
Their next mission? Finding their biological fathers. But in the meantime, they’ll continue to enjoy each other’s company and appreciate this newfound gift.