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.
“When I saw her this morning,” he later told reporters on the ship, “I just couldn’t hold back the tears, I was so happy that she was here. It’s been a very long time.”
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, family members of the U.S. navy officer Michael "Vannak Khem" Misiewicz boarding the USS Mustine at Cambodian coastal international see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him alive, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
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 see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him alive, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, U.S. navy officer Michael "Vannak Khem" Misiewicz smiles as he delivers his welcome speech on the deck of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin at Cambodian coastal international see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him alive, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, U.S. navy officer Michael "Vannak Khem" Misiewicz emblaces his aunt Samrith Sokha, 72, at Cambodian coastal international see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him again, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, U.S. navy officer Michael "Vannak Khem" Misiewicz embraces his aunt Samrith Sokha, 72, at Cambodian coastal international see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him alive, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, U.S. navy officer Michael "Vannak Khem" Misiewicz becomes emotional as he embraces his aunt Samrith Sokha, 72, at Cambodian coastal international see port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Misiewicz finally returned home Friday as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, reuniting with the relatives who wondered whether they would ever see him alive, and the aunt who helped arrange his adoption. His ship departs Monday.
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