Searching for my son - posted by Kyomin

This is a story about one American veteran who has taken part in Vietnam war. His name is Jerry Quinn and he has come to Vietnam to find his son with Hung Phan who is a Vietnamese assistant and interpreter.

Jerry is one of about two million American soldiers who have sent to support the South Vietnamese army against the North during the war. At that time, he met a Vietnamese girl named Brandy and she was pregnant in 1973. Unfortunately, when the Vietcong entered Saigon which is the old name of Ho Chi Minh City in 1975, he had to leave Vietnam regardless of his will. He says "I tried to keep in touch", "I sent her hundred bucks every month for a year. I never know whether she got it." He could just get three photos from Brandy. What he knows about her is only the house number 40 which he lived with her and her name. Although he went to the house with Hung Phan and try to ask people about Brandy, he couldn't get information about her current state.

Next, he went to Fathers Founded, which is a not-for-profit organisation that puts fathers together with their "Amerasian" children who were born between American and Asian. They said that Amerasian children usually were in the street begging for food and help. Also, the Vietnamese treated Amerasian children cruelly because the Vietnamese thought Amerasian children were the children of the enemy. In addition, they mentioned that some fathers don't want to know their children with the response in the following. "Why are you calling? What do you want? Why are you talking about Vietnam? I don't want to have anything to do with that bastard. He's not my son. She's not my daughter. Stop calling me!" However, when Jerry was sent to work in Taiwan lately, he thought it was a chance to do my duty which God gave me.

Jerry posted the photos of Brandy and his baby to Facebook with comments that he is looking for a 40 year old man called Bui which is Brandy's family name. And then, he could receive calling from Gary Bui who is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jerry went to Albuquerque soon and he wondered that he would accept me as a father. Finally, he found his son and Gary's story emerged that Brandy abandoned her baby because of threats of Vietcong troops. Gary was taken to America as part of a programme for Amerasian children by the US government and brought up by foster parents. Jerry said "I know it is late, but I want to be in your life."

When I read this article, I became to remind Amerasian who are living in Korea. While they grow up in Korea, they might suffer from similar problems with Gary. My personal view is that both Jerry and Gary may be victims of war because they cannot escape from this memory during their whole lifetime to get back their lives. I suppose that there are this kind of many victims around the world who need cares and concerns by the society.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27159697