“My aunt got sick, so some arrangements were made between my adopted mom, my dad and my aunt to find a better life for one of us children, and my adopted mom found a liking toward me,†Misiewicz said.
Michael Vannak Khem has made an emotional return to his birth country in 37 years and met his relatives and an auntie who helped arrange for his adoption in 1973 for the first time his ship. The commander’s face was impassive at first, but it softened as more and more extended family members were helped onto the barge below him. Then he saw his aunt, now 72, who had helped him leave for the US so many years ago. Commander Misiewicz walked slowly down the metal stairs and they embraced, weeping.
While his aunt carried out her cleaning duties, Misiewicz’s future mother would let him watch movies and play games at her home. So in 1973, when she was scheduled to leave Phnom Penh, the only way she could bring the little boy she had grown fond of was to adopt him.
“I went [to the U.S] and I think the initial thought was for me to get a better education, live a better life and eventually return to Cambodia,†Misiewicz said.
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, Samrith Sokha, 72, hugs her nephew and U.S. navy officer Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz at Cambodian coastal international sea port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh , Cambodia.
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