BÀI ĐĂNG MỚI NHẤT
From 22:00 on September 12, a woman wearing a blue ao dai watched the notice board landing at Tan Son Nhat airport (HCMC). One of her guides shouted "he's here" from a great distance.
Waiting but still surprised with this moment, she put her hands to her face, crying and tears kept flowing. The 73-year-old white-haired man approached Mrs. Thuy Lan (real name Vu Thi Vinh), 67 years old.
They met in 1968, when Mr. Ken Reesing was 22 years old and Mrs. Thuy Lan was 16 years old. He worked at the US military's data closing service center at Long Binh base, Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), while she worked in the bar of the EM Club (Enlisted Men's Club) in the business representative. camp profession.
They dated and fell in love until Ken had to return to the US in September 1969.
Once asked Lan if she wanted to leave Vietnam but she shook her head, Mr. Ken did not ask again.
Years later, he always thinks that your life will be different if she says yes or he proposes at that time. But 50 years ago, they were both too young and didn't think it would take too long to see each other again.
Before the last appointment in Bien Hoa, at the end, the phone sent 50 envelopes, numbered from 1 to 50, and gave it to Lan with the promise: when sending leaves, I will become you.
Ken couldn't believe Lan would write to him every day. 50 letters were sent out when the spring of 1970 had not yet arrived and Lan continued to write, to inquire about Ken's work and answer the question "Do you miss me?".
The two lost contact not long after American troops withdrew from South Vietnam. When peace was restored, the Lan family chose to remove all material links to the old regime, all personally commemorating.
Ken was always the day before because he couldn't fulfill his word. He continuously searched for information about Lan but to no avail because he did not know her real name and year of birth.
In an online communication group with veterans in the US, a person who fought in Vietnam in 1968 shared that he once loved a Vietnamese girl, but when he returned after the war, he discovered she died. I'm too late.
Ken's story is incredibly moving because it is so similar to his situation. He replied to the veteran: "I never went back to Vietnam, I don't even know if she is still alive."
From here, Mr. Ken received contact from a Robert, a mixed-race living in Ho Chi Minh City. Robert asked Ken to provide more information to help find Lan. After an exchange of time and trusting Robert, Mr. Ken tells Robert his story.
Reunion after 50 years: Together, then old friend - Photo 2.
A moment of emotional reunion between Mr. Ken Reesing and Ms. Thuy Lan at Tan Son Nhat airport on the evening of September 12 - Photo: QUANG DINH
See each other thanks to... Facebook
Robert then advertised the search for Ms. Lan on the Dong Nai people's Facebook page in 2019. Information from the community quickly pointed to Ms. Lan associated with points in this historical period.
On June 9, Mr. Ken and Mrs. Lan had their first conversation via Facebook messenger thanks to Robert's connection.
With great care, Mr. Ken and Robert prepared some pictures and general questions in the hope that if answered correctly, she was the woman he had been looking for for many years.
Ken sent Robert a photo of the barracks area, Robert asked Mrs. Lan to help where is the EM Club, where is the military base. Mr.Robert also inquired about the included correspondence. However, Ms. Lan did not answer any of the questions correctly.
Sharing with Tuoi Tre, Mr. Ken said: "At that time I thought, oh my God, it might not be her. How terrible is this."
As for Ms. Lan, the conversation also made her nervous. Years passed, all the memorabilia was lost, her life alone made her not think about the past.
She asked Ken to send a photo of the present, but looking at the photo, she replied: "I don't know this guy. Watch out for the total loss z(v)".
As the years passed, she suggested, if possible, show her pictures of her youth. Importantly, instead of sending just one picture of himself, Mr. Ken sent 4-5 photos, including two of himself, one in a blue military uniform and the other in casual clothes.
At this point, Mr. Ken burst into tears. He turned and sang Mrs. Lan's disbelieving face full of tears.
"She was just right. She pointed at my picture" - recounting something, he was still very nervous as if reliving the moment of June 9. "That's her," designed Ken.
But Robert couldn't help but say: "Why didn't she accept the uniform?" This is the military certainly with Ken because his default is never in the picture when he meets her.
"That's enough," installed Mr. Ken.
Keep for private your own
They looked at each other, cried, laughed and talked for a long time right at Tan Son Nhat airport on the night of September 12. We were curious to know what Ken first said to her after years of separation, but he wanted to keep it to himself.
