FORT LEE, Va. (Nov. 3, 2011) -- Many children follow a parent's footsteps by joining the military, however, all of them share the same branch.
Even fewer can say they stayed in the same barracks, on the same floor, 25 years apart.
Pvt. Shakirah Meadows, a shower/laundry specialist, and Sgt. 1st Class Kelvin Gerald, a former parachute rigger, may be the first to accomplish this coincidental twist of fate. Both were assigned to Charlie Company, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion, 23rd QM Brigade, during their advanced individual training at the Quartermaster School.
Gerald made the trip to Fort Lee last week, surprising Meadows by attending her graduation.
"I was looking down for a second and I hear 'Wake up, Soldier,'" Meadows said. "At first I was confused about the sergeant first class in ACUs at the ceremony. It dawned on me that it was my dad."
Getting to call his daughter a Soldier was a special moment for Gerald, he said.
"I was proud - this is my daughter - and to see her wanting to do something with her life instead of just sitting around is a blessing," Gerald said.
Meadows, who is from Goldsboro, N.C., said she joined the Army because she wanted a job and few were available where she lived.
"In Goldsboro, if you didn't have a job or something to do - you usually found yourself getting into trouble," she said. "I joined the Army because I wanted to go to college, but I wasn't able to put myself through college. I wanted a career."
Gerald was able to give advice to Meadows on one of her first decisions in the Army.
"I had two jobs available to me - shower/laundry specialist and ammunition specialist - and my dad helped me choose the quartermaster specialty," Meadows said.
During Gerald's visit to Fort Lee, he was just as surprised as Meadows that she was in his old company building - Charlie Company.
"The building itself hasn't changed - I think these are the same tiles on this floor that we used to make shine like new pennies that were here when I was here," he said. "The building is the same structure - believe it or not, it has the same scent - the smell of cleaning supplies."
Gerald said he never married Meadows' mom and spent much of her life geographically separated due to his Army career. He's pleased Meadows joined the Army because he said he hopes it will bring them closer.
"It's great - I'm able to give her advice for her career and I can help her do whatever she needs to do," he said. "It's up to her to take my advice, but I'll be here to support her mentally, professionally and as a father."
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