News from Viet Nam...

Hello all...

I just received an email from my friend who just got back from Viet Nam. I was very excited by the news she had for me and so I wanted to pass along what she said. Please read below and you will see her full content.

Dear Richard,

I came back from Vietnam last Wednesday. Congratulations for your 'blog'!!! I would like to ask you who has told you that you were born in Saigon and placed in Vinh Long? There has never been any 'La Providence' congregation orphanage in Vinh Long. I went to visit Sister Sainte-Croix who was happy to see me again. Sister Sainte-Croix has only arrived at the orphanage after the fall of Saigon. I send you first some of the photos of the orphanage during the war, as well as your photo from the register book of the Sadec Hoa-Khanh orphanage. Unfortunately in the register, your parents' name is unknown. In the register, it is noted that you are born in Sadec and I think that it is true. You are born on April 25, 1972 and the sisters are the ones who have recognized you and given you a name. If we examine carefully your papers, the birth certificate was done on April 27, 1972, 2 days after your birth. It is unlikely that you are born in Saigon, knowing that today a taxi takes 3 hours minimum if there is nobody on the road and around 5 hours by bus...So try to imagine during the war, and in 1972 with the shelling attacks!!! There is a Sister named Juillel who takes care of me at a small age,it is possible that she still remembers you. I will try to contact her and ask her. There is also Sister Sainte-Eugène who has retired and who is at Cu Lao Gieng.She has almost lost her vision and becomes blind.She did not particularly care for the children. I am sorry that I cannot get more information for you. With all my friendship.

Your Friend.

Friends for a lifetime...

In life, there are those who you know you can count on for anything at anytime; through good and the bad, you know that they will always be by your side. Who would have thought that perfect strangers would cross paths and become lifelong friends?

It’s rare that when you meet someone for the very first time you instantly hit it off. Well in this situation this was the case and to this day I am blessed to call these folks my friends. It all began back in October 2001 while I was at the Vietnamese Adoption conference with VAN. My wife and I had met another couple from Fargo, North Dakota. Chris, who also was an adoptee and his wife Krista were just as eager as we were to have interaction with other adoptees. We met at the first event and during the weekend slowly grew together. By the end of the weekend we were doing all we could to hang out with each other. After the conference we went down to Pike Street Market and spent the rest of the day together.

Before we parted ways we each vowed to stay in touch and arrange times when we can meet up and see each other. To this day we have held true to our promise. We have since been together at future VAN events, heritage camps, and other activities.

Chris has truly been a life line for me because anytime I needed someone to chat with he’s always been available. We think a lot a like and we have so much in common; almost like brothers. Which is why we call ourselves the Asian brothers from another mother. You see, we may not come from the same blood family, but we do share the same heritage.

Chris and Krista are truly a part of my extended family. Through the years we have experienced some rough times together and shared a lot of heart felt moments. I owe a lot of my hurdle crossings to Chris and Krista. You two are truly a set of amazing people and I love you guys to death. Thank you for being a part of my life.

World Airways - "Operation Homeward Bound"

My life, I find, is a jigsaw puzzle of many different pieces. Some of those pieces fit nicely in its place; other pieces take some adjusting and turning before fitting in. On one occasion, I found that this particualr piece in my life fell in place like a glove. I didn't have to do any tweaking, use any leverage, or refer to a picture...this piece was meant for its particular spot.

January 2005, I got in touch with a lady in Colorado, her name was Shirley Peck-Barnes. In my eyes, Shirley was a phenominal lady and I owe a lot of my most recent adoption experiences to her; she truly was a dear friend to me. After a 45 minute phone with Shirley, I had learned that she was working closely with Randy Martinez, CEO of World Airways to help coordinate a trip back to Viet Nam; to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Operation Babylift".

In the beginning of April of 1975, "Operation Babylift" was a mass evacuation of orphans out of Viet Nam, which was instated by President Gerald Ford. When President Ford saw the first batch of orphans come home on the World Airways flight he immediately saw the importants of getting other babies and children out of Sai gon. It was the heroic efforts of Ed Daley and his staff that help launch "Operation Babylift". Because World Airways was the first airline to bring children to their new families in 1975, 30 years later, they wanted to give some adoptees the opportunities to return to their motherland.

I had the privilege to be a part of that trip and for the first time see my country. The opportunity was overwhelming and until the day that I left, I thought it was just a dream. Opportunities like this just don't come knocking on your doorstep everyday. I was humbled by the fact that I was even considered to be an honored guest. Just like all the other adoptees who were being considered, I had to submit a letter of request, a bio page, and my reason for why I should be accepted to go on the trip.

Now keep in mind...it was January that I had the phone conversation, I could not say ANYTHING to anyone for two months until April approached. The adoptees who had been selected were requested to keep silent because World Airways wanted to be the first to announce the trip. Once the press release went out and the trip was made public, only then were we able to tell our friends and family. Oh my gosh though, it was tough keeping the news silent. But it was well worth it, because days after the announcement, I received my letter of acceptance in the mail...I AM GOING TO VIET NAM!!!

June came fast and before I knew it my wife and I were flying down to San Francisco to meet up with the other honored guest who were all a part of the trip. The trip was only a week long and so it was a whirlwind adventure, but overall very-very fun! I have deep memories of my time there and that part of my life has been stamped forever. I owe so much gratitude to World Airways and the folks there who helped put the trip together. Please feel free and see what World Airways is doing these days, just follow their link: http://www.worldairholdings.com/

Life is a puzzle and you will never know what pieces will be handed to you...

Vietnamese Adoptee Network

You know, I've gotta give credit where credit is due. My efforts to begin my search could not have been done without the influence of Vietnamese Adoptee Network (VAN). I always believe that things happen for a reason and my time with VAN came at the right time during my life. VAN allowed me to establish a foundation and a cornerstone to lean on for this endeavor of my biological family search.

My association with other adoptees and families has caused me to learn from their experience. I have done many parent panels where the most common question asked is, "When should I take my child back to Viet Nam?" I generally reply with this simple feedback, "When your child expresses interest and has the desire to want to know more." And I can't help but think that this time is now ready for me...I believe I am ready to learn more about my past.

VAN has sort of been my intervention, if you will, in preparing me for this journey. VAN has allowed me to deal with various issues dealing with adoption and the whole package. I have met a lot of wonderful people through VAN and have established some great relationships along the way.

I highly recommend that you check out VAN and see what things they are doing now. You can follow the link and go directly to their site: www.van-online.org

Thanks for letting me share...
Ag47

Mr. Ross

Mr. Ross is truly an amazing guy; not only that, he is a very-very good friend of mine.

The encounter with Ross wasn't just a casual introduction or misshap; no, I know our meeting each other was deliberate and much needed.

Let me explain...

Back in October of 2001, I attended a Vietnamese conference in Seattle, sponsored by an organization called VAN - Vietnamese Adoptee Network. It was a chance for me to interact with other adoptees of my own age and from the same country that I came from. Never have been around a great number of adoptees at one time I didn't know what to think or what to expect.

My wife and I got to the venue and we were introduced to a couple of the leaders of the event. Kelly, who was one of the board members learned that I was adopted from FCVN and stated that one of the presenters for the conference used to work for FCVN. I thought this was great because I can finally meet someone who worked for the same organization that I was adopted through.

We had joined up with a couple of other people at a table and started to visit when Kelly had me meet someone. So I stood up and introduced myself and as we were shaking hands Ross said to me, "You know, something about you looks very familiar to me." I was dumbfound, I mean what could I say?

I told Ross that I had my adoption papers with me and he was welcome to look at them. As he was thumbing through my documents he was able to identify some of the information he was reading; such as locations and individuals who had left their signatures. He then came upon my passport and it was there when the revelation was revealed. He saw my passport picture and declared, "That's how I know you...I took that picture!" I quized him a couple of times to make sure but he was certain that he took that picture.

The flood gate of questions began to flow and I was probing for whatever answers I could find. Now keep in mind...I had never "officially" met Ross before, and so after 27 years, he was able to recognize me from a baby picture that he took at the FCVN house in Viet Nam; I was 2 1/2 years old back then.

From that single encounter with Ross, I knew that my life had changed forever. The weekend at the conference had brought a lot of closure for me. To this day I still stay in touch with Ross. I get to see him every now and then when we meet up at adoption events.

Mr. Ross will forever be a crucial part of my life!!!

Search of a lifetime...

Growing up I have always had the curiosity of wondering if I still had any biological family in Viet Nam. It wasn't a priority growing up but I had always kept it in the back of my mind. Now that I am older I want to have some of those unanswered questions...well...answered.

As of this year (2007) I have officially launched my search for my biological family. The first step is to see if I can find my mother; that in itself would be a great success. "If" I find my mother, most likely I would learn that I have step siblings, which I think would be just phenominal.

But first things first...

I have a couple of friends who are searching for me and they have personal information that will aid them in the search. One of my friends who is helping me came from the same province and was most likely in the same orphanage too.

The journey continues as this process unravels the mysteries of my life. I will keep you all posted.

And so it begins...

Hello out there!!!

As most of you know I was adopted during the Viet Nam war. That should come to you as no surprise and would explain to you why it is I am so different and crazy. But seriously, I was adopted back in October of 1974 and I grew up in a small town in southern Oregon.

I was born in Sai Gon, where the final days of the war took place. According to the information that has been given to me, days after I was born I was placed on the door steps of an orphanage in Vinh Long in hopes that one of the caregivers would find me and take me in. Indeed, I was found and was brought in where I was given a name and clothed.

I stayed in the orphanage for almost 2 years when a representative from Friend of Children of Vietnam (FCVN) came by and picked me up so they could get me ready to come over to the United States where I would be adopted by my new American family. For about 6 1/2 months the folks at the FCVN home continued care for me and got me ready to meet my new family.

When October 1974 came to pass I was on my way to the U.S. where I would have my first encounter with my family. On Halloween night of 1974, I was the treat when my family picked me up in San Francisco. After picking me up from the airport my family pulled an all nighter and headed back up I-5 towards Oregon. It was a long trip home and I don't remember a single detail about it. But somehow I knew that I would forever be in a family that is full of fostering, care, and unconditional love.

And so it begins...