SAN DIEGO – After decades of wondering, 10News was there Friday for a reunion of a local Navy nurse and the brother she was separated from for decades.
With a quick salute and a long hug, Cmdr. Cindy Murray and Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Robert Williamson closed the gap on more than 30 years.
“It’s the greatest thing. I looked for him for the longest time and now here he is and it’s just great,” said Murray, a senior nursing officer at Naval Medical Center San Diego.
“Never in a million years did I think I would be standing here in this situation,” added Williamson, who is stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
Murray and Williamson are from Denver, and the last time they saw each other was in the late 1970s when Williamson was only six years old.
“We share different mothers. My dad went a different way from my mother and we just lost touch,” said Murray.
As adults, the two never stopped looking for each other.
“I tried looking on Facebook, but there are a million Robert Williamsons, and I wouldn’t have known what he looked like anyway,” Murray said.
Murray finally reached out to her father, who told her that Williamson was also in the Navy. Murray’s chief petty officer located Williamson and called him within minutes.
“He said, ‘I’m pretty sure my boss is your sister. Do you have a sister named Cindy?’ And I just went silent,” Williamson said.
Since that call two months ago, the siblings have been talking on the phone and emailing, but there is still a lot of catching up to do.
“It’s the little things you forget to ask when you are talking on the phone because there are so many things you want to ask,” said Williamson.
“He’s never left my mind, ever. I’ve always wanted to find him and now I have,” Murray said.
Since reconnecting, the siblings have discovered they like some of the same foods and enjoy the same TV shows.
10News learned the brother and sister plan to spend this weekend getting to know each other and each other’s families.
