On the Search for Army Vet's Long-Lost Twin Kids: Part 2

Pam Slaton tries to track down Allen Thomas' son and daughter, who he last saw in South Korea.

[James-zyvk]

I was stationed in South Korea in 1966-1969. There is no excuse for him to have left the children and abandoned the mother. As a soldier he could have gotten a free "Military Hop" on a US Air Force aircraft at any time to get back to S. Korea, I did this in each direction three times during my stint in the US Army between 1965 and 1972. Each time I went to a local Air Force Base and signed up for a hop on standby and flew into Seoul on leave for thirty days. At the end of my leave I went to Kimpo AFB and hopped back to the states. Don't blame the wife she was young and fearful but brave to send those kids to the states, at that time mixed kids like that were outcasts in Korean society and often mistreated by EVERYONE! They should be thankful that their mother loved them enough to give them up for a better life here!

[mcciaccio]

This is why I couldn’t leave my son overseas to suffer. I spent every dollar I had and jumped through so many hoops to get him a USA passport/citizenship and on a plane to America. Being young at the time it was overwhelming, but I’m so glad I did.

[louisasmiles]

They were the most gorgeous little children. I'm so glad they found each other.

[SK-ixtd]

Sad, that lady waited for her husband n children for years. She at least deserved to meet her kids.
Real strong woman.

[Linny]

To the people saying the mother was a gold-digger, the half-brother explained she was not. She gave her children up for adoption because South Korea was still a developing country that was VERY poor. America, however, was the "land of opportunity" and arguably the best country in the world back then. Furthermore, the half-brother said her mother would constantly cry because she regret her decision of giving them up for adoption. She would also tell her neighbours that if they ever see Korean-American twins to notify her. Finally, she saved all the money that Allen Thomas sent to her from mail and saved all the letters from America.

When she passed away, she said that she still regrests not seeing them again.

This is all explained in Part 5 of the video.

[carolsmart]

Why did he not go back to get her & the kids. He also abandoned her son that he had adopted. I feel so sorry for the mother & all 3 children. Heartbreak all around. Thank goodness the older brother & his wife were good people.They can enjoy being siblings & have more love & family in their lives 🙏🏼💕🤗

[sassiebrat]

Long story short...this guy left his wife and abandoned his kids! Why would Mom have the NEED to ask for money? You should have been sending it VOLUNTARILY!

[h.t.]

A beautiful family with a beautiful and kind parents.
God bless you all.

[VIKINGNY]

Pam Slaton, You are important!!! Thank YOU for what you do!! Good Stuff!

[marianunez]

This story reminds me when in the late 80"s...I used to get my nails done in Santa Ana, Ca. And all the staff there were Vietnamese. Well, ...long story short...I met this one young lady...she must of been 34...she looked to be mixed with caucasian. ..so I one day asked her if one of her parents were caucasian. And she said that her father was. ..., but that she didnt renember him because he had left Vietnam and he was currently back in the U.S. She even told me the State where he lived at. Her mother had gave her that info. So....I asked if she would visit him one day...and she said yes...but she had to first prepare herself more...Meaning she was going to school to better her English. My heart sank when she thought she wasn't good enough. As she also mentioned that she was saving some money to buy better clothing for her to visit her father. She was so pretty...with her short light ash colored hair...and her light green eyes. Till this day I still wonder if she ever got to meet him 😢

[kristenherrera]

I feel so bad for the mother I can only imagine what she wEnt through.

[PO-PANDA]

The mom died and no one really knows her side of the story but the brother in South Korea. I believe the brother over the dad. I hope the twins go back to South Korea to see their half brother.

[marchveris]

The guy made the Korean lady sound like some gold digger that only married him for money but if you look at part 5 she was saving all the bonds he was sending her and kept all of his letters and photos even after giving kids away.

She wished one day her kids would find her because there was no way a single mom would be able to raise 3 kids on her own in S. Korea. If her first child was an American, I'm sure she would have decided to send him for adoption as well. The guy basically went deadbeat and she thought he found a new girl at Vietnam. You have to understand, South Korea after Korean War was one of the poorest nations in the world. It took time for the nation to get to where it is today. She probably thought the kids were better off going to America and get loved and educated by an American family instead of living with her in poverty.

Single mom with 3 kids didn't really have much options in 70's S. Korea.. My grandpa worked at Camp Humphreys and he saw a lot of so called "yang-saekshi"which translates to American wives (Korean women who are girlfriends to an Ameican soldiers).

Don't get me wrong, there are people who raised the kids by themselves and kids turned out well but mixed kids who lacked father figure just had hell. I remember up until late 90's when you were mixed and you didn't have your foreign parent figure around (usually fathers), people viewed you as "oh his dad was a soldier who lied to a Korean girl and just enjoyed her and left her when his time was done." I lived in Itaewon, a town where lot of foreigners lived, when I was a kid and two of my bestfriends are mixed Koreans. It's only from mid 2000's when those stereotypes disappered as you saw someone with mixed background on Television and movies and you stopped hearing about GI going deadbeat.

[louisasmiles]

Both parents tried. Mum saved everything for those kids. I don't believe she was as hard as we're led to believe.

[gra-emed]

Why is the dad being made out to be some victim? He abandoned his kids. He is the reason they had to be adopted because of his actions!

[crystal_snow]

the stigma of being a single mother in S Korea alone is enough to drive a mother to put up her child for adoption much less having multiple children being of mixed race. I really feel for the mother, i hope she was able to find some peace and not be too critical of herself and the decisions she felt she had to make back then.

And i hope the twins can also find peace in themselves and with their mother.

[RallyGal]

There are stories of soldiers who found young love in war, legitimately wanted their foreign families, and tried for decades to re-unite. This is not that story.

[naeemahbadia]

I looked this up and saw an actual video of them all reuniting and the son looks exactly like his father !

[theinkbrain]

He abandoned these kids and their mother and now suddenly he is whining and blaming everyone else for the results ofhis heartless actions? What a hypocrite.

[moniquephillips]

I wish they could see their oldest brother again and get the keepsake box their mother held on to for years. Maybe that could help ease some of their pain towards their mother. 😢