Thousands of children
were fathered by American servicemen during the Vietnam war. Now in
their 60s and 70s, some veterans are desperate to find the sons and
daughters they have never known.
A tall, thin American wearing a straw hat wanders through the
narrow streets of Ho Chi Minh City, clutching a photo album. At his
side is a Vietnamese interpreter and fixer, Hung Phan, who has helped
dozens of former American soldiers locate their long-lost children over
the last 20 years. His latest client, the American under the straw hat,
is Jerry Quinn. He has come to Vietnam to find his son.
"I know we lived at number 40," says Quinn, looking down the
street for the house he used to share with his Vietnamese girlfriend.
But there is no number 40.
A small crowd gathers. An elderly man, emerging from his
house, explains that when the Vietcong entered Saigon in 1975, they
didn't stop at changing the name of the city to Ho Chi Minh City - they
also changed all the street names, and even the numbers.
Jerry Quinn is one of two
million American soldiers sent to support the South Vietnamese army in
the war against the North. During that conflict, it's thought about
100,000 children were born from relationships between local women and
American soldiers. Those soldiers are now getting old, and some are
guilt-ridden, or just curious to find out what happened to their
children.