LUNENBURG, Mass. >> A random encounter on a beach in Hawaii has united two brothers from Massachusetts who had never met.

Rick Hill of Lunenburg was walking on Waikiki Beach earlier this month while on vacation with his wife and children when Joe Parker, who works at a local hotel, offered to take a picture of the family.

Parker recognized the Massachusetts accent and said he used to live in Leominster, right next to Lunenburg.

They started seeing if they knew anyone in common. Parker asked Hill if he knew the late Dickie Halligan.

Hill says he felt chills. Halligan was his father. Parker said Halligan was his father too. The men were half-brothers.

Parker called the encounter “mind blowing.”

Both men knew they had a brother, but never expected to meet.