00:00 I wasn't supposed to be at the wedding.
00:02 I've been in the army almost three years now,
00:11 and I've come home multiple times before,
00:16 but every single time is always different.
00:19 - This time, it'd be right in time
00:21 for his brother's wedding.
00:23 Jacob and William have always been close.
00:26 - We slept in the same room since we were kids.
00:29 We slept on bunk beds,
00:30 and then we ended up getting twin-size beds.
00:32 We were still in the same room,
00:33 playing Uno on the ground at midnight.
00:36 - And their bond has only grown over the years.
00:40 - Being both first responders,
00:42 there's a lot of stuff that happens,
00:45 and making sure we're both okay
00:47 is the best thing we can do for each other,
00:49 especially if we talk to each other every day.
00:51 - So when his brother was getting married,
00:53 all he wanted was to be there for him on his big day.
00:57 - It was very important.
00:58 I knew I had to be there.
01:00 - But military training on the same day
01:03 meant he wouldn't be able to.
01:05 - It would've been terrible for me to miss it.
01:07 You know, it only happens once in a lifetime.
01:09 - But then...
01:10 - I got lucky, and the training got pushed back a few days.
01:14 It was a crazy feeling.
01:15 - Yeah, it was definitely,
01:17 definitely one that was a very, very low chance of happening,
01:20 and it hit right on the mark to be able to happen.
01:23 - And he kept it a secret,
01:25 but he told us it wasn't easy.
01:27 - It was very hard.
01:28 I was playing, I play Xbox with him practically every day
01:31 after work, and I'm constantly talking to him
01:36 about the wedding, trying to find out little details
01:38 to help me with how I'm gonna surprise him and everything.
01:41 - And that day to surprise him finally came.
01:45 - The feeling of being able to be there
01:47 after knowing for like the three months
01:49 that he had it planned for
01:50 that I wasn't gonna be able to go,
01:52 it was like a, it was a gift, honestly.
01:56 My heart was racing.
01:57 I was so excited to be there,
01:59 and for some reason nervous,
02:01 because I knew that people didn't know I was coming,
02:03 I didn't know what people were gonna react like.
02:05 (cheering)
02:07 - What?
02:10 - Oh my God!
02:11 - Wow!
02:16 - Oh, it's so good to see you.
02:20 I'm so glad you're able to make it, man.
02:23 - It was ecstatic.
02:24 I was very, very happy.
02:26 We've been together through life a lot,
02:28 and we've experienced some similar things together,
02:31 and it was very, very happy
02:32 to be able to see him there that day.
02:33 To be able to experience getting married
02:36 with my brother around is definitely something
02:38 that I'm very happy to have happen.
02:39 - Mom sees you now.
02:41 - They even brought him in as one of the groomsmen.
02:44 - Like our family is very close knit.
02:46 We have a very, very close family.
02:48 Everything, at the end of the day, comes down to family.
02:51 That's how it always has been.
02:52 So, I can't come home for holidays.
02:54 I still have people sending me presents in the mail,
02:56 sending me letters, texting me, calling me,
02:59 making sure I'm doing okay, and everything like that.
03:01 You know, coming home and seeing everybody,
03:03 it's just every single time, it's the best feeling ever.
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