Son of deceased Army staff sergeant hugs his gravestone in touching photo

"He said, 'Wait, I have to go back and give Daddy a hug.'"

ByABC News
December 5, 2017, 12:43 PM

— -- When young brothers Mason and Mylan Brazel visited their father’s grave to see his headstone for the very first time at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 20, they curled up to take a nap with him.

“We brought a blanket. Mylan said he felt like he could feel his daddy, and he wanted to take a nap with him,” the boys’ mom, Kait Brazel of Colorado Springs, told ABC News.

PHOTO: "Mylan said he felt like he could feel his daddy, and he wanted to take a nap with him," the boys' mom, Kait Brazel of Colorado Springs, told ABC News.
"Mylan said he felt like he could feel his daddy, and he wanted to take a nap with him," the boys' mom, Kait Brazel of Colorado Springs, told ABC News.

“He is laying there taking a nap with his dad and Mason is beside him praying," she added. "They took time together with each other and I just stood back.”

PHOTO: "He is laying there taking a nap with his dad and Mason is beside him praying," said Kait Brazel.
"He is laying there taking a nap with his dad and Mason is beside him praying," said Kait Brazel.

She said her boys, ages 8 and 5, have “not once cried” about their father’s passing because, as a family, they are viewing it “much differently than people who get a devastating blow.”

“I tell them, ‘We are here as tools for God. God knew that Daddy was a really strong person, and there were some people God couldn’t reach unless he used Daddy as a tool,’” Brazel, 29, explained. “That’s how we went with it and how we justified it. That’s what we believe.”

PHOTO: Her husband, Staff Sgt. Fred Brazel, died on July 31 from stage IV rectal cancer, which had metastasized to the liver.
Her husband, Staff Sgt. Fred Brazel, died on July 31 from stage IV rectal cancer, which had metastasized to the liver.

After a grim diagnosis on Feb. 10, her husband, Staff Sgt. Alfred “Fred” Brazel, died on July 31 from stage IV rectal cancer, which had metastasized to the liver. He was only 37 years old.

“Fred’s mission in life was to reach people and bring them to God and just smile,” said Brazel. “There was nothing he didn’t fulfill in life because he lived his life to the fullest every single day. He fulfilled everything he needed to here on this earth. We’re just really proud of him in how he fought.”

PHOTO: "I'm positive that they're going to remember him forever," said the proud mom.
"I'm positive that they're going to remember him forever," said the proud mom.

As the boys visited their daddy’s new gravestone, they were excited to share their recent accomplishments with him just as they would if he were still alive.

“Mylan shared with him how he had earned his uniform and belt in his fight class, and how he went to a Halloween party and won a cake,” Brazel recalled of the emotional day. “Mason told him how he got a trophy for his breaststroke in his swim competition. They updated him on their lives.”

PHOTO: Mason and Mylan Brazel visited their father's grave to see his headstone for the first time last month at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mason and Mylan Brazel visited their father's grave to see his headstone for the first time last month at Arlington National Cemetery.

Brazel said she cried the entire 24-hour drive to Arlington in anticipation of seeing her husband’s gravestone because until that moment, “It felt like he could still come home.”

“As a military family, we’ve spent so much time apart that a part of me felt like he would still come home from this deployment,” she said. “But I felt better leaving because now we know what to expect. I have spoken to a bunch of other Gold Star families and they say these visits don’t get easier, but they’ll be different each time.”

PHOTO: "I have spoken to a bunch of other Gold Star families and they say these visits don't get easier, but they'll be different each time," said Kait Brazel.
"I have spoken to a bunch of other Gold Star families and they say these visits don't get easier, but they'll be different each time," said Kait Brazel.

As Brazel and her two boys were leaving from their visit to get back into their truck, her youngest, Mylan, stopped in his tracks to surprise her with one last kind and powerful gesture.

“He said, ‘Wait, I have to go back and give Daddy a hug,’” she said.

PHOTO: As they were leaving, Mylan said, 'Wait, I have to go back and give Daddy a hug.'"
As they were leaving, Mylan said, 'Wait, I have to go back and give Daddy a hug.'"

And that’s just what he did, wrapping his arms around his father’s newly placed gravestone.

“I’m positive that they’re going to remember him forever,” said a proud Brazel.

PHOTO: "Mason has stepped in and filled that big brother role, but it's all inspired by his father," said Kait Brazel.
"Mason has stepped in and filled that big brother role, but it's all inspired by his father," said Kait Brazel.

“Mason remembers a lot about his dad and how he raised him to be confident and very goal-oriented. He’s been teaching Mylan the same, saying to him, ‘This is how Daddy would do it,'" she said. "He’s giving him that support that Fred offered to Mason. Mason has stepped in and filled that big brother role, but it’s all inspired by his father.”

PHOTO: "There were some people God couldn't reach unless he used Daddy as a tool," Brazel said she told her sons.
"There were some people God couldn't reach unless he used Daddy as a tool," Brazel said she told her sons.