It took 37 years, but the long wait was worth it in the end when brothers Raul and Louis Sierra finally reunited.
The reunion took place this month when Army Command Sgt. Maj. Raul Sierra returned from his nine-month deployment in Kuwait. His brother, Army Sgt. Louis Sierra, was waiting for him, and got a kick out of meeting his brother as an adult. "We're like grown men now," Louis told ABC News. "You're meeting a grown man, but that's also your blood brother."
The pair, along with another brother and a sister, last saw each other in Brooklyn in the 1970s. They were taken from their parents, who abused drugs and alcohol according to Louis, and all fell out of touch. Eventually, Raul began to find relatives, but no one ever knew what happened to Louis until around 2008, when Raul found him on Myspace. They made plans to meet, but deployments always got in the way until now.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After being away from each other for so long, they were surprised by how natural it felt to chat. "It was like talking to another Army buddy that I know that I hadn't seen in a long time," Raul said. "He's not just my brother in uniform. He's my brother-brother." Louis and Raul both hope to have a similar reunion with their other brother and sister, but won't focus on the negatives. "Regardless of what happened to us as kids, there's no on to blame here," Raul said. "I would trust him with anything now like I trust any of my brothers and sisters in service."
-
The six-seven meme that has taken over the worldIn the Spotlight With roots in rap and basketball, the phrase has young people obsessed, and it could be here to stay
-
Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
-
A journey through Trinidad’s wild heartThe Week Recommends Experience the island’s natural wonders, from watching baby turtles hatch to visiting an ancient bat cave
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
