MILITARY: Marine sergeant meets his half-brother for first time in Kuwait

By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Thursday, May 22, 2008 4:53 PM PDT ∞

Editor's note: Staff Writer Mark Walker is traveling with Camp Pendleton's Marine Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland as he visits with troops in the Mideast. Helland is commander of Camp Pendleton’s I Marine Expeditionary Force.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait ---- It wasn't until 2002 that Camp Pendleton's Sgt. Christopher Shelby discovered that he had a half brother.

The surprising revelation came out of nowhere one day when his father handed him a phone.

"He said, 'Here, talk to your brother,' " Shelby said.

This week, Shelby, a communications aide for Camp Pendleton's Marine Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, met his sibling for the first time, coming together thousands of miles away from each other’s homes.

Their first face-to-face meeting came on a hot, windy night outside a dining hall at Camp Arifjan near Kuwait City.

Helland, head of Marine Corps Forces throughout the Middle East and commander of Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force, is visiting the base as part of a tour to see his troops.

"Oh wow," said 30-year-old Gary Pasley when he first saw Shelby. "I always knew this day would come. It’s great to see you."

Shelby had a similar reaction as the two grinned, hugged and immediately began talking about how each had longed for this day since learning they shared the same father.

"It's great to see you too, man," Shelby said as the stoutly built brothers smiled and took stock of each other.

That their first meeting took place so far from where each had imagined it would wasn’t lost on either of them.

Shelby, 28, resides at Camp Pendleton. Pasley, a U.S. Army veteran, lives in Killeen, Texas. He's in Kuwait as a private contractor working as a vehicle quality control specialist.

Within minutes of their meeting, Pasley produced two cigars for the brothers to smoke.

They began talking about their relatives back home, their words punctuated by frequent bursts of laughter and milewide smiles.

A cell phone soon appeared and they called their sister in New York to share the news that they were sitting together for the first time.

"I always wanted to meet my other brother and sister once I was back in the 'Real World,' " Pasley said. “I never thought it would happen out here."

Shelby knew Pasley was at this U.S. Army base that includes a contingent of Marines. What he didn’t know until just hours earlier was that the general’s trip would bring him here. When he learned that it had did, he called Pasley to arrange the meeting.

The men share a third brother, and now aim for the day when all four siblings can be together.

For this night, though, just the two brothers sharing stories of their lives was enough.

"It’ll be really cool if we can spend all day together tomorrow," Pasley said. "I've been waiting for this so long."

Pasley, a married father of two, said that after he and Shelby began talking six years ago, they soon reached a pact. Shelby, too, is married and has three children.

"We said we’re never going to let this happen to our kids," he said.

Shelby, still grinning ear to ear, shook his head in agreement.

At that, the two were left alone to spend what was left of the evening together.

"We’ve got a lot of catching up to do," Pasley said.

"We sure do," Shelby agreed.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

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