Two men in Hawaii grew up as best friends for decades before finding out they're actually brothers and surprised their families with the news over the holidays.
Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane have known each other for 60 years ever since being born in Hawaii 15 months apart. The two best friends met in the sixth grade and played football together at the Honolulu prep school they attended.
Macfarlane says he never knew his father and has always wondered about his ancestry. Robinson was adopted and has also sought answers about where he comes from. Now the pair can rest a little easier after finding out the special news.
Macfarlane started by turning to family history websites but had little luck. It wasn't until they used a DNA-matching website that turned up a top match for someone with identical X chromosomes and had the username Robi737.
Cindy Macfarlane-Flores, Walter's daughter, said, "So then we started digging into all the matches he started getting."
Robinson's nickname was Robi and he flew 737's for Aloha Airlines. It turned out that Robinson had used the same website to find out who is family is and that is how they later learned they shared the same birth mother.
It was a shock," Macfarlane said. The two shared their newfound ancestry with friends and family during a party on Saturday night. "It was an overwhelming experience, it's still overwhelming," Robinson explained.
"I don't know how long it's going to take for me to get over this feeling," he said. "This is the best Christmas present I could ever imagine having."
The two best friends are planning on traveling during their retirement together.
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Awww, kind of heartwarming. I also love the look on the guys' faces. You can tell they're doing their best to keep a straight face, but the emotion shines through.