Orange Marine surprises mom at family reunion after 2 years apart

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- An Orange County Marine surprised his mother at a family reunion after the pair hadn't seen each other in two years.

Nekel Moore ran away, screamed, jumped up and down and then burst into tears as she hugged her 21-year-old son Naim Tauheed in a video that captured the sweet reunion.

"I had no idea when I'm asking him, 'Are you going to be able to come? Are you going to be able to come?' He's like, 'No. I'm going to have to go back to Japan. I probably won't be there until 2018,'" she said. "I just basically gave up. I said, 'OK. He's just not going to come.' When he walked through the door, I was floored."

Naim is stationed in Japan, and while he does get to talk to his mom via Skype, there is nothing like being home. He said he was nervous about the reunion.

"I was nervous. I was anxious. I was happy, excited. I really can't explain the feeling. All I know is that I wanted to see my family. That's really it," Naim said.

The video has become a big hit on social media. The mother and son are convinced it's because of his mother's reaction.

"It was crazy. I don't know why I ran, but I guess because I was so shocked. It literally blew me off my feet. So that was my reaction, at least to run the opposite way," Nekel said.

Nekel said once she got over the shock, she could not take her arms off her son. While he was home for 30 days, she said she already misses her boy who she watched grow up.

"My son left for the military at 18 years old, so when he comes back and he's been gone for a couple years and he's much bigger. He's a lot more stoic. He's a man now, and I've actually accepted that," she said.