Florida Vietnam veteran meets long-lost son for the first time thanks to Ancestry.com

East Milton man Jim Langdon got his Thailand girlfriend pregnant in 1972 while serving in the Vietnam War. However, he was forced to head back to the U.S. before his son was born.
READ: weartv.com/new...
#news #florida #vietnam #veteran #thailand #son #meet #meetup
----------------
READ MORE STORIES: weartv.com/
----------------
Stay up to date with our social media:
WEAR on Facebook: / weartv
WEAR on Twitter: / weartv
WEAR on Instagram: / weartv
WEAR on TikTok: tiktok.com/weartv
Subscribe to WEAR on KZbin: www.youtube.co....
For all today’s trending local and national news, visit: weartv.com/
WATCH newscasts live and other live video, visit: weartv.com/watch
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: [e-mail]
Call the Newsroom: 850.455.4599
WEAR is the local ABC affiliate for the Florida Panhandle. We provide the latest breaking news, weather, sports and community coverage in the Florida Panhandle.

[@deborahbaker4770]

HE LOOK’S JUST LIKE HIM👍🏻

[@vickycameron-x8l]

i thought so tooo :))))))

[@annarcher5198]

SAME, wow

[@rasempress9724]

Yep

[@LilyGazou]

I tip my hat to the man who married this single mother and helped raise the boy.

[@AhJodie]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@ReiRei992]

Respect to the man who raised this man.

[@oldgloryhillfarmturtlewoma9132]

They look incredibly alike! No mistaking they’re father and son. So special finding each other.

[@jenningj1105]

Can see the deep sadness in the son's eyes, most understandably so. Beyond sad that the father, it seems from his own words, did not even attempt to locate him over the years - had the girlfriend's full name.

[@Hey_Blinkin]

Times were different but I agree with the sentiment.

[@ThisGuy76]

​@@Hey_Blinkin, was going to say, things then weren't like they are now.

[@mrsTraveller64]

he might have had many reasons not to try and find his son; he might have thoyght what if the mom remarried and the son don't know his past, what if the son rejects him, what if his effort to find his son would only mess up his son's and the mom's life...better to let the son search for him IF he wants to find him!

[@rocket5557]

I feel bad for the son and his mom. They didn’t deserve that. Harsh and sad realization the son came to that his biological dad never tried to look for. I hope he appreciates his stepdad.

[@i_am_fatima]

Sweet story 🥰 happy they finally was able to find each other 🙏💕

[@Sadiyyah314]

Beautiful that they were reunited. But i hope the son asks him the tough questions, and i hope the dad has an answer

[@Flyingtaco82]

Beautiful! My birth father died before I could meet him. 😢

[@Surviver-e2o]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[@mgtowski395]

His soul lives in your heart.

[@jmurry6695]

Beautiful son. God is good.

[@liberty-matrix]

Now that's a dead-beat dad.

[@moniquekyle8354]

I'm so happy for them!

[@jscho8674]

How divine. I hope they're all doing great. Wonderful story. ❤

[@KoniB.]

These stories always make me bawl like a baby. I guess it is a Vietnam war thing. We grew up everyday with it in our living rooms, so it makes it "personal". Happy they have found each other.

[@MsBhappy]

Healing for both of them

[@celetaduncan8241]

So happy yall our together.

[@janeetter7193]

So Cool! This gave me a big smile! Thank you and Blessings to ALL

[@Wul-Lop]

🙏🎉🎉🎉 congratulations... May you all be happy...

[@kiranwingelaar7009]

Wow, you look so much alike.

[@SMcCaskill]

Just looking at the two of them standing together you can tell they are father and son.

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

Forced to leave? Why could he not go back later?

[@muniondalenewyurk6777]

I know you are clueless by asking this sorry question! Those times were tough and it was difficult not only for Vietnam Vets to transition to civilian life and many had ptsd. His dad was probably 19 or 20 years old back then! Vietnam vets were spit on and belittled when they returned home! Also that was a war torn country and the civilians moved around a lot! Those were difficult times! Stop judging this father, he stated that he tried to find the mother & his child! Any veteran / military active soldier understands when Uncle Sam makes you move out, you have no choice! He didn’t purposely abandon the mother! There are plenty of children/fathers who never met each other due to the complexities of that horrible war & the Vietnamese women were ostracized for having a “mixed child” and in our country some men deliberately didn’t want to find their Vietnamese children also! That’s called life! When you serve & fight in a war that you were drafted into then you can speak, otherwise sthu!

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

@@muniondalenewyurk6777 he could have gone back in the 1980s or even 90s. And I will NOT sthu!

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@muniondalenewyurk6777never head of condoms ? Or not having sex ?

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@muniondalenewyurk6777that’s called EVIL

[@andrewstewart9991]

Awesome!

[@shannonfergusson978]

He looks a lot like his dad. Hope they can build beautiful memories together ❤❤❤

[@mslady1230]

This is so beautiful 🥹

[@TessT101]

My brother served in Vietnam and has a daughter. We be have no idea who or where she is. I wish my brother could have met her. She's in her 50s if she is still alive.

[@kookaburrakookaburra]

So what happened to his mother? Did she try to find him through the Air Force ?Bit of a back story on this unexplained. Glad they finally met each other.

[@SUL-2000]

The narrator says he had an American stepfather...and the pic shows his younger siblings. I guess his mom had moved on with another man who was willing to take care of her. Either way, good for the son. But I'm not touched by the story.

[@GeorgenneMastro]

What a sweet story They really look alike.

[@Goalsold]

Amazing how he found his father through ancestry

[@ggcatbelladogantics2959]

Same exact head

[@margaritacano5466]

BEAUTIFUL RÉUNION, ❤❤❤ GOD BLESS THEM BOTH

[@IGNANT4LIFE]

I have dreams sometimes like this and it messes with me all day. I can't believe it being someone's reality.

[@hansterone]

Father didnt try hard enough

[@ptiaptia7347]

OMG he looks just like his Dad.

[@Caocao8888]

They were a cute couple!

[@richardmartinez6057]

Amen 🙏 ☝️ all will meet if not on earth up in heaven 😇

[@whateverwhatever5715]

Happy for them ...they look alike

[@Wolf1036]

My Long lost son found me in 2017. It has been a great relationship that I have felt honored to be a part of. Life does play some strange tricks of fate. He will be together with his long lost family in three weeks. My family of 3 kids, my wife and all the grandkids join in the fun. At the young age of 80 I gained a daughter in law, two granddaughters, and my son. I now have Two sons and two daughters along with four granddaughters, and three grandsons. Two son in laws, two daughter in laws and a great family. We have been doing summer get togethers every year since he found me in 2017 except one Covid year we skipped. My wife and I have been married for nearly 58 years and we agree it was a great time that in our case 23 & Me was the method I was found by my long lost son.

[@leeskiller]

First time meeting your son and your having frozen pizza for dinner smh

[@MyYouie]

Beautiful. I met my "father" when i was about 19. All he did was say he never wanted a child and complained about having to pay back some welfare.

[@NINA10117]

@MyYouie Well I'M glad that you are here in this world! And so is your Heavenly Father. He has a purpose, a healing, and an abundant life waiting for you! Check Him out, his earthly name is Jesus Christ. Get to know Him, best dad ever! 🙂

[@johnbell8011]

The son looks like him…a mini him

[@Tullminator]

Where did he lose him? When he went out to get a pack of cigarettes?

[@AizonDeSoteraux-tv1xx]

He looks exactly like his Dad.

[@PappyNet01]

Well there are three sides to the coin: his son represents the edge of the coin! I am happy the man found his "blood" Father, but .... come on man if the blood Dad really wanted to find his son he could have done that a long, long time ago. It was the son who wanted to find his blood Father. My Father served twenty-three years-(23-yrs) in the US Armed Forces: he did three tours in Cambodia, Laos & Thailand as a Combat Engineer he told us that many airman, sailors and soldiers ignored the safety briefings only to pay the price of losing their lives, tainting their character and losing respect. I hope they grow a genuine Father-Son bond with the time they have left together!

[@yasminkausar5186]

My goodness look at the resemblance 🧐❤️

[@saidaahmedshapi7783]

He looks alot like his father 🇰🇪

[@michealguillen8496]

Wow I crying 😢 I no children yet

[@chefmami6056]

Twinssssss ❤❤❤❤

[@maddieharr7211]

He looks like his Dad.

[@dip5635]

Idk how you could just abandon your pregnant gf that you had plans to marry?

[@barbaratankersley7117]

He sure looks like his dad

[@malovina]

What am amazing story

[@winnievillanueva2597]

Congratulations. Who did the research

[@katier6925]

So the father abandoned the mother. I'm sure there were no restrictions in going back to Thailand in the 70s.

[@MaineUSA]

Awwwwwww

[@thomasdykstra100]

So sorry the kids have to be the "adults" in these situations... NO sympathy for "sperm donors".

[@kawai99100]

What in the world is the reporter wearing?

[@LuckyLiger-zg7hx]

Right🤔 1973 is not 1873! I would have dropped kicked him! You knew her long enough to get her pregnant; did you not share any info about you or your family or you were just snatched up and place on a plane back to the states? 🙄

[@sandyc.5017]

Definitely his son. Twins.

[@emmacharbonneau3863]

They sure look alike

[@Iamsoul00]

Twins!!!

[@PearlsandRoses]

Well. They have the same head.👨🏻‍🦲❤❤

[@A1234561921]

There was Jesus!!!

[@infinitibottle]

He doesn’t look 51. Must be the Asian genes

[@tiffanyi5645]

🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️

[@johnd4732]

Nice cape newswoman.... lol

[@willyhwang1059]

that nose, yep.

[@jenniferkoster1942]

He’s a spitting image of his father.

[@janetmiller2980]

Son looks like both parents. I'm happy their search for one another had a positive outcome.

[@Obet22]

So happy you’re together now!

[@amarie995]

They look so much alike. What a sweet amazing story.

[@MrSpeedracer510]

Thank you for sharing your story with the world 🌎 and I hope you and your son nothing but the best. God bless you all.

[@jcjackson4446]

My husband's story is much more amazing than this. My husband was an Air Force veteran too back in that time. He was also stationed in Thailand. He also hooked up with a young thai lady who became pregnant. The baby was born right before he was scheduled to leave. They had no plans to marry. But what he did do was ask for his baby. He's a black man, he was 21 at the time.. So he was worried what would become of his baby. So he gave the mother everything that she asked, and he brought his baby back to the states with the help of the military. Once back in the States his mother, father sisters and family helped him raise his son. His son is 51 now, and has given him three beautiful granddaughters. My husband never married until he was 63 and he married me 12yrs ago. I look at him kind of like a hero because of what he did. What I really wish was that his son could have found his mother one day or she could have found him..... To complete the happy ending.

[@mairamaira5589]

❤Much respect to your husband❤

[@rocket5557]

That’s a real man you’ve got right there! Hold on to him! Nothing like the coward in this video.

[@gabriellechunn267]

Ancestry helped me find my sister! Her mom took off to California with her when she was a baby. My dad got to see her for the first time since she was a newborn back in February for his leap day birthday.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

Pardon me for asking this... What's the origin of "Chunn" ?

[@gotrescuedauto3584]

TWINS 🎉❤😊

[@Andbygrace7024]

What a resemblance

[@PaulTrippy-bj8ho]

see more of this. i know many married men back in the mid 2000s that visited thailand and popped a baby and left lmao. i cant imagine the scene now.

[@priscillavelazquezs]

I think in the Afghanistan/Iraq/US war, there might have been some of that, or maybe not due to Islam being so strict…

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

That’s AWFUL!

[@Thaddeus-ml8if]

@@priscillavelazquezs No it was def happening in Iraq/Afghanistsn. They def are not pious. Esp the men and little boys. 😳🤮

[@Knuckledragnation]

DaYuM the bald heads say it all!

[@paolo3815]

Beautiful story

[@a32tl]

I hope they develop a very loving relationship and become great friends.

[@lyndamac1058]

Come on lets see it really for how it is.. Just another GI baby forgotten. it's not up t the kids to find their father, it's the other way around 2 year, 5 and even 10 years after the war.

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

I agree

[@SUL-2000]

Agree

[@BroVll888]

Makes me cry!! PRAISE the Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord for this reunion in Jesus name Amen

[@pakawanmalayavech101]

It’s amazing sweet story. His mother is a Thai lady from Ubon Province in Thailand 🇹🇭.💐🌺❤️

[@fionamoody1432]

Ancestory is really doing great things.👏👏👏👏👏

[@WillpowerAviation]

Forced to leave??? You could have sent for her. Took my wife 2 years which is 3 times as long to be granted a visa. You just didn’t want to take responsibility. Now your old and had to come to Jesus moment since you’re going to meet your maker. If he had not had found you you definitely weren’t going to look for him. Sounded like you didn’t put much of an effort in. Glad your son had the tenacity that you didn’t so he could be complete. You knew before you left she was pregnant. No one could had made me leave. There no war in Thailand. Could have gone back at anytime.

[@bluekite1543]

Exactly!

[@jakebe4915]

He couldn't have looked that much. 50+ years...apart??? Shameful

[@kittycat8222]

“It’s alright now, I’m with you, you’ll pull though this. We’ll pull through. “. - miss Saigon…. still haven’t found my lost aunts and uncles my grandfather left there.

[@tripacer8259]

It's very nice but... Why didn't "dad" look for his son for 50 years? If my son were "gone" I would never stop looking.

[@joshschoenauer9573]

He's definitely a turd. He said I hooked up with a girl. He didn't want the kid or the mom.

[@MsBhappy]

He never said he didn't look. In his seventies I'm not sure he'd know the best way how. Questions of the past are also irrelevant as he was willing and eager to meet his son and have it filmed here.

[@victorblock3421]

Nothing would stop me from looking if I knew I had a child out there. His mother was never given his address in the U.S.??? What did he say when he left Thailand??? "It was fun babe, good luck with the baby"????????

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

@@victorblock3421I agree! I don’t know how people could just NOT buy a ticket later and go find your girlfriend and baby…. unless the soldier was married, which would be awful!

[@victorblock3421]

@@Lily_of_the_Forest My greatest regret in life was settling for less and not having children. Always was a dream to have a child, boy or girl. I'm too old to realistically hope anymore. I'd never leave my kid.

[@danishpinoyfamily]

Photo copy of his dad

[@genedandy]

Congratulations guys! 👍

[@richardmckrell4899]

First dinner with his son and its pizza? I understand why the son looks underwhelmed.

[@eligebrown8998]

Congratulations too the both of you. Spitting image

[@shawneross1067]

He looks like his dad!

[@rocket5557]

How do you know you have a child out there somewhere and you just abandon them and move on with your life like nothing and never look for them for 51 years? He knew for a fact she was pregnant with his child and he just left them and never went back for them. What a piece of shit. The real hero here is the stepdad.

[@KrishnaDraws]

Within an hour of their reunion, they were both on their phones, scrolling. 😅

[@bartinadikgale1832]

He looks like his Dad and looks younger for 51.God is good we are happy with both of you.❤️🙏🇿🇦

[@breathless8075]

I love Our Veterans, I am married to one. WE are celebrating our 30th Anniversary on July 30th. If we make it that far. Pray for the World. Great Story, thanks so much for sharing this 👏👏👏👏

[@donaldteal6315]

Really great all the best too you and your family ✝️ God bless all your days ✝️🕊️🇺🇸

[@tsangdennis1953]

Why most birth mothers didn't have chances to enjoy these happy moments ? It's always the fathers that have the privileges

[@teovu5557]

Half thai and half white with a deep black mans voice.

[@lindasmith3391]

We are all different shades of colors from light to dark, but we are all just one race the human race. I just wished everyone would realize this.

[@lisatelly2418]

Wow you can see the resemblance...so wonderful they are together.

[@dishappywithlife2556]

Wow he looks like his Dad!!