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.
By Tom McTague,
Daily Mirror 6/12/2010
EMOTION etched in his face, a US Navy skipper finds his aunt in Cambodia – 37 years after his family gave him up for adoption to save his life.
Michael Misiewicz, 43, was six when his family begged US Army secretary Maryna Lee Misiewicz to take him back to America with her as the Khmer Rouge began their bloodbath.
The genocide killed his dad, two sisters, most of his mum’s family and 1.7 million Cambodians. The Destroyer captain, born Vannak Khem, was handed to Maryna in April 1973 by her cleaner – his aunt Samrith Sokha, 72.
He returned on USS Mustin as America seeks closer ties and sobbed in Cambodian: “Greetings, Auntie.” He added: “I’m looking for closure…going back to where my family suffered.” Maryna, of, Illinois, said: “We had no idea how long it would be before they saw each other again.”
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