Dad goes viral after taking 3-month-old son along to his army recruitment exam
- For D'Ante Benton, sitting the Army recruitment exam was the only sure way of achieving his dream of providing for his son Keon
- With his girlfriend on duty and no one to leave the three-month-old with, he carried him to the exam centre
- The story went viral when Army recruiter Joe Creighton shared it on Facebook
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After being a stay at home dad for a while, D'Ante Benton always hoped that he would join the Army and provide for his baby, Keon.
Source: UGC
It happened that the practice military entrance exam was slated on a day his girlfriend was on duty, and there was no one else to leave the baby with.
Having already rescheduled the test earlier because of the baby, Benton was left with no option but to tag the three-month-old along.
Benton Goes Viral
San Antonio Army recruiter Joe Creighton was moved to see the young dad go to such lengths for his exam, which made him take the dad-son photo and post it online.
Creighton reiterated that in all his 13 years of being in the military, he had not experienced nor seen such zeal from a candidate.
"The baby was asleep so Mr Benton stated he wanted to take the test. 20 minutes into it, I checked on him and was completely baffled. I asked 'are you good?' His exact words were, 'I have to do whatever I can to make sure my son has benefits and is taken care of." read part of Creighton's caption.
“It’s going to be something that I definitely want for him. To provide a house. A nice house over his head and his ability to go to school," Benton said in an interview.
Don't Settle in Life
Benton explained that he decided to join the Army Reserve because he was bent on giving Keon a better life than what he had when he was younger.
The one thing that made it possible for the young father to do the exam and babysit at the same time is the fact that Keon is a calm baby who only cries when hungry or needs a diaper change.
"The moral of this story is, don’t settle! Do whatever you have to do for yourself and your family! In the end, it will all pay off," added the Army recruiter.
He also revealed that Benton scored an impressive 54 in the exam.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
Nathaniel Crabbe (Human-Interest editor) Nathaniel Crabbe is a journalist and editor with a degree in Journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, where he graduated in 2015. He earned his master's from UPSA in December 2023. Before becoming an editor/writer of political/entertainment and human interest stories at Asaase Radio, Crabbe was a news reporter at TV3 Ghana. With experience spanning over ten years, he now works at YEN.com.gh as a human interest editor. You can reach him via nathaniel.crabbe@yen.com.gh.
Aba Afful (Copyeditor) Maame Aba serves as a copy editor at YEN.com.gh. She naturally enjoys working with words and has an eye for quality content. She has a keen interest in cyberspace and wants to see YEN.com.gh produce more impactful, thought-provoking, and error-free content. Aba has five years of experience as a content writer, blogger, author, and proofreader. She graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2017. She joined the team in 2021.
