Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane have been friends since sixth grade. Over time, their bond as best friends grew stronger, and they eventually came to see each other as family. They spent days, weeks, months, and years together, building a deep and lasting friendship.
It’s safe to say that their friendship will last for the rest of their lives.
But they were also more.
Prior to discovering that they were half-brothers, they were raised in separate families that lived in close proximity to one another.
Robinson was adopted at birth.
Macfarlane was raised by his grandmother and did not have the opportunity to meet or learn about his biological father. The two best friends attended Punahou School, where they were classmates and played football together.
“When we played for Punahou, we were both first string,” Macfarlane told KITV 4. “We’re brothers, playing side by side.”
A genuine and enduring companionship meant to endure eternity. They were also teammates on the Aloha Airlines softball team and sailed together on Robinson’s boat.
Certainly, Macfarlane attended his closest companion’s wedding.
They remained present for each other through many significant events in their lives and were thrilled with the depth of their friendship. After six decades of companionship, Macfarlane developed a fascination with his ancestry and utilized DNA-matching websites to uncover his lineage.
During an appearance on Steve TV Show, Macfarlane shared that his older daughter Cindy was eager to search for his father and urged them to “Let’s get it done.” As a gift, the children subscribed him to Ancestry.com.
Macfarlane’s daughter, Cindy Macfarlane-Flores, revealed to CBS News that they began exploring the matches he received, coincidentally, Robinson was also using the website to discover more about his ancestry. After over 60 years of friendship, they found out that they were biologically related.
“When we got the results back it was discovered that Alan wasn’t only my best friend, he was my brother,” Macfarlane said.
Despite the passage of many years, they remained oblivious to the fact that they had the same mother.
The revelation came as “a shock.”
“I had a younger brother that I lost when he was 19, so I never had nieces or nephews. I thought I’ll never know my birth mother, I’ll never have any nieces or nephews,” Robinson said.
Both Robinson and Macfarlane hail from Oahu, Hawaii.
They were born 15 months apart.
Despite already behaving like genuine siblings for the last six decades, discovering that they are actually half-brothers is an even more heartwarming realization.
“This guy was like an older brother all along,” Robinson said. “We’d go skin diving; I’d be making noise in the water, splashing around, he’d be teaching me how to do it right. He always came out of the water with a bigger string of fish. And I had the smallest.”
By simply observing them, one can easily mistake them for being siblings due to their striking resemblance. Their physical structure, facial characteristics, and even their fashion choices are identical, making it difficult to differentiate them without knowing their actual background.
Observe the heartwarming development of this beautiful bond of friendship and brotherhood by watching the video below!