SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – “I’m getting nervous. Like roller coaster nervous.”
Sgt. Angela Myers’ life is about to change forever. Myers, an ammunition sergeant with the 311th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), based in West Los Angeles, has been waiting for this moment for all her life – 28 long years to be exact.
Myers was raised an orphan almost her entire childhood life, bouncing from one foster care home to another.
“I was under guardianship from five until 18 years old,” said Myers.
And even before then she hadn’t been with her parents for years. From age 6 weeks to 5 years old she thought the man and woman she lived with were her parents, but sadly that wasn’t the case.
“My dad was abusive because of his drug use and my mother feared for her life so she left California for Vegas and left me with my dad.”
The young Myers witnessed the abuse as a toddler up until her mother decided she’d had enough and took off, but without her infant daughter. Myers was left with her abusive father who would soon leave her with a friend and his wife. With both biological parents gone and her nine other siblings under foster care, Myers would find herself without any real family and in a state of turmoil and confusion tough for anyone to handle, let alone a child.
She also had to use an alias for her first name for protection. Myers bounced from her father’s friend’s home to another home that reminded her of the abuse she’d witnessed her entire young life. But this time the abuse was toward her, verbally.
“She (foster mother) would call me a dog. Said I was nothing. I felt like an animal, like a dog because that’s what I was called and made to feel like.”
Myers would eventually land in a loving home in Acton, California, where she learned to ride horses, flourished at writing poetry and learned about discipline.
“My foster dad was a former Marine so everything had to be dress right dress which I liked.”
The family cared for her until she was 18-years-old. But something was still missing. Myers felt a huge void not knowing her biological parents or any other biological family for that matter.
“I searched for my real parents from five to 18-years-old. I also found out my mother left me to protect me because of my abusive father and she wanted a better life for me.”
Fast forward nine years later and the curiosity and desire to find her parents still burned in Myers’ heart. During her search she would learn that both her parents had passed but she still learned so much.
“My dad rode horses, loved to ride. My real mother journaled everything and wrote poetry. I found out she was a published poet. She also had all my information.”
Still wanting to find some biological family she searched and searched, using search engines, social media and anything she could think of.
And then it happened.
She finally came across a name she had been looking for on Facebook and sent a desperate message through Messenger.
Days passed.
And then the person answered.
This was a week and half ago as Myers was starting annual training for CSTX at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, California. Fast forward once more. This time to Friday, July 21, 2017. It’s the moment Myers has been waiting for.
“I started crying 10 minutes out. It’s a once in a lifetime moment” revealed the person she’s about to meet, driving up to see Myers who is now at annual training at Camp San Luis Obispo.
Myers is anxiously waiting and noticeably nervous as she tries to concentrate on her job inside the tactical operations center. Minutes later a voice yells out “Where is she?” And then a figure standing 6-foot-5 inches tall reveals himself.
It’s her biological uncle – Her Uncle Corey Rose.
The two dart toward each other and give a big, emotional and lasting hug. And then the tears of joy begin to flow from Myers as her Uncle Corey refuses to let go of his embrace.
“I always wanted a daughter and now I have a niece,” said Rose. “I always wondered where she was.”
The two share laughs. Myers shows her uncle where she sleeps in a tent for CSTX. Her uncle also shares pictures with her that she’s never seen. One in which her biological father looks just like her 2-year-old son, Zander. Her uncle, who’s the assistant chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department, also pulls out a pair of riding boots her father once wore that are the exact same size as Myers.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” is her reaction. Which brings a continuous smile to both of their faces.
”I felt guilty over the years but family takes care of family,” said Rose.
All throughout the ups and downs Myers remained positive. "I want people to know to never give up. If you want something to go for it, never give up."
The two spend the rest of the day together and part of the next day unable to contain their new found joy.
“We have a lot of catching up to do,” said Rose.