We had written to the author of the book, Da Nang to Memphis" when we heard about her frantic search for the baby of a woman who was supposed to be with his brother, and start a family in the US during the Vietnam era.
The mother of the baby could not get to hold her baby again after she left it with another lady in Da nang to help care for her as at the time, she was not rich to care for her new baby. Please read the details of the story below, and send us an email if anything comes up.. Lets help search for this baby.
The Story
My name is Linda Moreau. This is a picture of my beautiful sister-in-law, Hong Thi Chau. Hong married my brother in Vietnam in 1972. My brother, Mickey Wilson was a helicopter pilot stationed in Da Nang and he also worked in Chu Lai where Hong worked on the American Base.
When Mickey met Hong in 1972 she was pregnant and she had a 3 year old son. Both have American fathers. Mickey was not the father but, he loved Hong, her son and her unborn child.
Hong Thi Chau
Mickey, Hong and her son were coming to the United States in February 1973. Mickeys tour of duty in Vietnam was over and he was coming home with his new family.
One night in December 1972 Hong and Mickey were out on the town and they were tired. Mickey snuck Hong onto the base in Da Nang and into his room for the night.
Hong unexpectedly went into labor. An American doctor came in and delivered a baby girl. There was a Vietnamese woman who worked on the base who helped. Hong and daughter were then taken to a Vietnamese hospital. Mickey and the Vietnamese woman went with them.
Hong's family is from Chu Lai. Hong had just moved to Da Nang in an apartment near the base in Da Nang. Mickey wanted her near so they could prepare for their departure to the United States.
Hong had to go to Saigon soon to get a physical and other documents. She needed someone to care for her baby. The Vietnamese woman from the base in Da Nang offered to care for her. She agreed to care for her after Mickey and Hong left because there was not enough time to do the paperwork for the baby. Hong said she would come back and get her when they got settled and had the money.
Hong left for Saigon. Her son was with her parents in Chu Lai and her daughter was in the care of this wonderful woman. The Vietnamese woman had a young daughter who brought food to Hong while she was in the Vietnamese hospital.
While Hong was in Saigon, my brother's helicopter was shot down in Quang Tri. He has been Missing in Action since January 8, 1973!
When Hong returned to Da Nang, she was told her husband was dead. She was told to go home to her family in Chu Lai.
Hong had no money, no husband, no future. She knew her daughter was well cared for. She went to Chu Lai and never saw her baby girl again.
I found Hong in 1997 during my 2nd trip to Vietnam. Mickey loved her and he sent the attached picture home. I took the picture and put it on TV in Da Nang and one of her brothers called our hotel and said she was in Memphis, Tennessee.
Her son had an American father and she came to the United States in 1991 via the Orderly Departure Program.
I left Vietnam and went to Memphis to meet my wonderful sister-in-law. I love her and her family very much.
I want to find her daughter. She is my niece. Not biologically, but Mickey was going to adopt Hong's children. They are my family.
Hong does not remember the Vietnamese woman's name or her young daughter. Hong has never stopped thinking about her daughter that she only saw briefly. She said she had brown curly hair when she was born.
I have been to Vietnam 10 times. I have taken doctors and dentists to Da Nang to help the children. While they worked I looked for my brother's remains.
I will be back again. I want to find Hong's daughter. If anyone knows of this special baby that was born on the American base in Da Nang in December 1972 or the wonderful Vietnamese woman who cared for her please let me know. She is loved more than she knows.
Hong's daughter could be in the United States because her father was American. She could still be in Vietnam. She could be deceased, but I hope not. We have a lot of love to give her.
I need to find Mickey too. I have some ideas about where to find his remains. He talks to me in my dreams. He is telling me to look in Khe Sanh in a yard behind someone's house. There should be five bodies there.
Thank you to everyone who reads this. Please tell my story to everyone you know. We can find Hong's daughter.
Sincerely,
Linda Moreau