Hailing from Virginia, the Sutton family has made Navy history.
Siblings Ayrion, Andrea, and Adrion Sutton are the first Black triplets to enlist in the U.S. Navy, according to the Navy Recruitment Office. Now, the 20-year-olds are embarking on a journey inspired by their parents, Andre and Tiffany Sutton, who met while serving on the USS Arctic in 1999.
Adrion, the youngest of the bunch, has wanted to join the Navy since he started high school. In an interview with Good Morning America, he shared the significance behind his interest.
“What motivated me to join was hearing my parents talk about how good the Navy was when we was growing up and seeing my dad come home from long months, not being at home and taking care of the family,” Adrion told the news outlet.
The inspiration runs so deep that even the patriarch of the family decided to reenlist so he could serve with his kids.
“A lot of people would not do this,” Andrea said. “So for all three of us and our dad and mom, for all of us to do this, this is like a really big thing.”
Andre, who would previously come home from long months, said he originally joined the Navy to pursue the opportunities that would propel him out of the Allentown, Pennsylvania, projects. He served for 12 years in the Navy before entering the Merchant Marine, and currently works as a bosun for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command.
It was just a week before deployment when Andre caught Tiffany’s eye. “I walked past him, and I thought I saw sunshine,” she recalled, per GMA.
“I even called my mom and told her I found my husband.”
“The rest is history,” Andre said.
Over 20 years later, the family legacy of honor, courage and commitment lives on.
“It feels good to serve my country. It’s an honor to put on this uniform at the end of the day,” Ayrion said.