Children of Reunion: Vietnamese Adoptions and the Politics of Family Migrations

223 Pages·2017·9.18 MB·English

by  Allison Varzally

Children of Reunion
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Children of Reunion
Viet­name­ se­Adoptions­and­the­
Politics­of­­Family­Migrations
ALLISON VARZALLY
The­University­of­North­Carolina­Press Chapel­Hill
© 2017 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Set in Charis by Westchester Publishing Ser vices
Manufactured in the United States of Amer i ca
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the
Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Varzally, Allison, 1972– author.
Title: Children of reunion : Viet nam ese adoptions and the politics of
family migrations / Allison Varzally.
Description: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016021188 | ISBN 9781469630908 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781469630915 (pbk) | ISBN 9781469630922 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Intercountry adoption— Vietnam. | Intercountry
adoption— United States. | Vietnam War, 1961–1975—C hildren. |
Vietnam War, 1961–1975— Evacuation of civilians. | Adopted children—
United States. | Amerasians. | Vietnamese— United States.
Classification: LCC HV875.5 .V37 2016 | DDC 362.734089/95922073— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2016021188
Cover illustration: Merrie Li and Tung Joe sitting in a play airplane at
a park in Vietnam. Courtesy of Merrie Li Camp.
Portions of chapter 1 were previously published as “Viet nam ese
Adoptions and the Politics of Atonement,” Adoption and Culture
(December 2009): 158–99. Used here with permission.
For John and Zeke
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Contents
Acknowl edgments, xi
List of Abbreviations, xiii
Introduction, 1
­ 1 Viet nam ese Adoptions in the Early War Years, 13
­2 After the Airlifts, 48
­3 Amerasians’ Families and Hopes of Homecoming, 77
­4 Living Legacies, 117
Conclusion, 154
Notes, 161
Bibliography, 187
Index, 195
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Illustrations
Nguyen Thi Thu (Trista Goldberg), Nguyen Hong Bich, and foster s ister
in Vietnam, 2
Trista Goldberg, adoptive brothers Trever and Troy, and sister, Tracee Jo,
with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, 3
Trista Goldberg’s family standing in a field, 4
Tom and Nhu Miller, just married, 40
Ri and Ken Armstrong at field hospital in Vietnam, 1969, 43
President Gerald R. Ford carries a Viet nam ese baby from Clipper 1742,
one of the planes that transported South Viet nam ese children from
Saigon, April 5, 1975, 50
Julie Andrews interacting with two Viet nam ese children, 80
Merrie Li holding baby sister, Marie; brother Brandon; Tony; Tung and
their mother, Lieu, 101
Jimmy Miller; his father, James; son; and father-in-law,
Charlie, 108
Angelina Memon and her father, 109
Vikki and her parents, Henri and Dolores Sloviter, on Thanksgiving,
1975, 119
A group of children, including Stephen Lester Ngo Duling, sitting on a
stoop in Vietnam, 1973, 122
Duling family (Stephen, his sister Teddie Anne, Henry, and Gretchen)
and new kitten, 1973, 122
Ri and Ken Armstrong, 2015, 123
Jared Rehberg with his first guitar, 133
Tuyet Cam, “Misplaced Baggage,” photo taken by Anh Dào, 135
Mike Ryan, “Misplaced Baggage,” photo taken by Anh Dào, 136