They first met in elementary school and became best friends — 60 years later, they discover they are biological brothers
Many of us might feel a special sort of connection with some people we meet in our lives. But once in a while, we find out that the connection runs deeper than what we know. Two men who had been friends for over 60 years found out that they were actually biological brothers after one of them tried to find his biological father. Walter Macfarlane, 74, and Alan Robinson, 72, met in elementary school and remained friends ever since, as per CNN. They were both born in Honolulu, Hawaii and forged a friendship while playing high school football.
But even after years of friendship, knowing each other's families and vacationing together, the duo only made the unexpected discovery after Macfarlane began taking DNA tests to find his biological father. "How did we go for 60 years without knowing we were related? It took those DNA tests and some really good sleuthing by our families to put it all together," Robinson commented. Macfarlane was born in 1943, in Honolulu that was still dealing with the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. His mother was about to give him up for adoption but when her family came to know about it, they decided to "hanai" him. It is a practice where a family in Hawaii can adopt a child formally or informally within their family.
When Alan Robinson was born to Macfarlene's mother, she gave him up for adoption. "It was great for me. I was raised by the best people you can imagine. But when I had my own two children, I did wonder about family history, because I can never answer any health questions on official forms." Talking about Macfarlane's mom, his daughter Cindy said, "It was a crazy time and we have no idea what must have led to her decisions. We still hold her in the highest regard and understand that the actions and decisions she had to make back then were for the best." Because the families that had adopted the two boys lived close by, they often visited each other even as kids after becoming friends in school. Their families knew each other quite well too.
"Walter was at my wedding. We got a sailboat and went sailing together," Robinson revealed on Steve TV Show. They lived 10 miles apart from each other for most of their lives. They felt that the news about being biological brothers was actually great. Cindy really wanted her dad to find his father through the ancestry test but they found out that Robinson was his brother instead. The man's kids had gotten him a test kit from Ancestry.com and Robinson turned out to be a high DNA match. As the two men looked quite similar to each other, many people had asked them if they were brothers or were related in some way, but they never took it seriously.
"I always thought we looked alike because we are both part Hawaiian," Robinson expressed. When the DNA results came out, the family first thought that they had the same father but actually the duo shared the same mother. The friends shared that they were really excited after finding out that they were brothers. Talking about their family's reactions, Macfarlane shared, "They were really excited. They wanted to tell the world."