A Southwestern Illinois College student got the surprise of his life Friday when his twin brother came home from National Guard training two days before their 20th birthdays.

Patrick Byrne, of Belleville, had not seen his brother, Dustin, for nearly six months while he trained to become a Chinook helicopter mechanic at Fort Eustis, Va.

The boys' mother, Krysten Byrne, planned to send Dustin to visit Virginia, but they ran into a snag when they discovered that the twins were not old enough to rent a car. So Krysten arranged for Patrick to travel home for the weekend, but decided not to tell Dustin.

Patrick, dressed head to toe in fatigues, was outside a SWIC classroom Friday afternoon waiting for Dustin's class to be released.

When Dustin came out of class, wearing a "Proud Army brother" sweatshirt, he turned left but the family waiting with balloons was standing to the right.

Then the brothers had an exchange typical of 19-year-old boys:

"Hey, loser," Patrick called out.

Dustin turned and exclaimed, "What the (expletive) are you doing here?"

Then the brothers hugged, as the rest of the family gathered around.

Dustin shed a few tears.

The boys will turn 20 on Sunday, Veterans Day. Dustin thought it would be the first Nov. 11 that he did not celebrate with his twin.

"Most of my family has been in the military," explained Patrick.

He said it was not a difficult decision to join the National Guard, but it was a hard choice to be apart from his brother.

"I miss him a lot," Patrick said of Dustin. "I miss everyone a lot, but I miss him the most. He's my twin. We did everything together."

Patrick will leave town midday Monday; the family will celebrate their birthdays and an early Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.

"I don't know what to think," Dustin said, still surprised by seeing his brother. "I wasn't expecting him to be here.

"I figured we'd celebrate our birthday when he came home," he said. "I'm in shock -- a lot of shock right now."

Great-grandparents Kenneth and Rita Bruss, of Swansea, gathered for the family surprise.

"We never know what's up her sleeve," Rita said of her granddaughter, Krysten.

"I was surprised to see him," said Kenneth, a World War II veteran. "I didn't think he was going to be home that soon."

Krysten contacted SWIC to find out what classroom Dustin would be exiting.

That's when SWIC officials became involved, explained Staci Clayborne, SWIC vice president of Student Development.

"When I heard the story, we really had to make this special for them," she said.

The event was the culmination of a week full of veteran events at the SWIC campus, which included a job fair for veterans and a reading of the names of the fallen.

In addition, the women's and men's basketball games Monday at SWIC will honor veterans. Veterans, as well as anyone who brings three canned goods, will get into the games for free. Before the men's 7:30 p.m. game, military personnel will perform the national anthem and there will be a flag ceremony at halftime; the women's game will begin at 5:30 p.m., Clayborne said.

The family walked into the cafeteria, in front of dozens of students and SWIC staff, who cheered and waved American flags.

SWIC served birthday cake and gave the twins early birthday presents -- gift baskets full of SWIC gear.

Contact reporter Maria Baran at mbaran@bnd.com or 618-239-2460.

Contact reporter Maria Baran at mbaran@bnd.com or 618-239-2460.