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What is usually an event of tears and hugs of pride and gratitude got a playful twist from one family from Bowie, Maryland. Two sisters, about to pin a U.S. Army patch on their brother’s sleeve as he graduated from basic training, had a little fun with their eldest sibling. The video they filmed of him trying not to break into laughter has now gone viral.
Michael Angu was graduating from Army basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Aug. 21. The son of a retired Army major did not expect what came next while he was at parade rest, having to stare straight ahead.
“They’re laughing, and they’re actually singing,” Michael said.
The videos were posted by his sisters and have now gone viral and been seen millions of times.
“We wanted to hug him, but we just decided not to. We have a very joking and, honestly, really goofy dynamic between us siblings,” said Julienne Angu, one of his sisters.
They decided instead to “play in his face a little bit,” she said, emphasizing they are a fun-loving family full of jokesters.
The song you hear Julienne singing is called Captain Jack, a traditional and long-standing U.S. military cadence. It’s one she picked up from drill sergeants because she, too, just graduated from basic training just weeks before her brother.
“The way that the drill sergeants usually sing it, they have, like, an elevated pitch. So, I was more so just imitating,” she told WTOP.
Brittney Angu, the youngest of the siblings, thinks the reason their videos went viral was because tap-out videos are usually much more emotional.
“They’re so sad, and they’re filled with people crying and seeing their loved ones. But for us, it was just a huge joke,” Brittney Angu said.
All three siblings’ mother, Lilian Angu, said, “We joke a lot about everything. We turn everything into jokes, so that that way we don’t feel so stressed about the difficult times that we go through.”
Michael, who’s in the video trying not to break his straight face and upright attention stature, told WTOP, “I was really happy to see my sisters. It was a mix of being really happy and actually being sad because I missed my family, and that’s why I made that expression. I was like, ‘Dang, do I cry? Do I laugh? I don’t know!’”
Ultimately, his mother placed the U.S. Army patch on his arm before giving him a big hug.
Military life is nothing new for the Angu family. The patriarch of the family, Linus, served for 29 years in the U.S. Army.
“I’ve been deployed all over the world, deployed three times in Africa, to Iraq, so the kids never saw me,” said Linus Angu, crediting his wife for taking care of the kids.
He expressed pride that two of his children followed in his footsteps, joining the Army. Brittney, too, has expressed a desire to join the Air Force, slightly bucking the trend.
The summer proved to be an eventful time for the family, with both Julienne and Michael in basic training at the same time.
They said that, even though they were at separate bases, the experience had created a unique bond.
“The first time I talked to her … the biggest thing that we learned is that, like when we were civilians, we just need to complain about little things that weren’t ever that serious,” Michael said. “And I feel like this basic training experience made us more mentally tough and physically strong.”
Julienne agreed, adding, “I would most definitely say basic has drawn me closer to my brother.”
As for their futures, Julienne is now in an ROTC program at Georgia State University and Michael is now at a base in Virginia continuing specialized training.
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