A Maine woman and her biological mother in Vietnam reunited last month, 44 years after the then-3-year-old was put up for adoption.Leigh Small, 47, of Scarborough, learned in September that her biological mother had been searching for her daughter for decades. Last month, she and her family took a trip to Vietnam to reconnect with the childhood she had forgotten.Lost & found: Maine mother finds out she is Vietnamese woman's long-lost childWhile Small always knew she was half-Vietnamese, she never knew her biological mother, Nguyen Thi Dep, now 70, regretted the day she put her daughter up for adoption in April 1975.The backstorySmall was one of more than 3,000 children evacuated as part of Operation Babylift. The monthlong removal of children from Vietnam to Western countries came before the Fall of Saigon.Nguyen had dropped Small off at an orphanage for fear communists would kill her child. Small's biological father was an American soldier who met Nguyen on a military base.Small did not know either of their names, but a DNA test through Ancestry.com connected Small to a half-sister she never knew she had.A man working with Nguyen in Vietnam had found that half-sister through Small's biological father's obituary. Small and the sister share the same father, whom Leigh never met.Within 24 hours of that initial message -- and after cross-checking names, birthdays and the date of arrival -- Small and Nguyen spoke on the phone and soon after, Small planned a trip to meet Nguyen in person.It was a reunion 44 years in the making.The last time, it was 'goodbye'"I thought that just a hug would say everything," Small said about the moment she embraced Nguyen.The pair met surrounded by family in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City."As much as you think you know this person and that here is going to be a connection, it's still a stranger to you in some way," Small said.The last time they hugged, Small's biological mother was saying "goodbye," dropping her off at that Vietnamese orphanage."It filled in a lot for me," Small said. "I was never one of those people who had a hole in their life from my adoption, but when that hole was fulfilled and found out my history -- I don't think I realized how much I needed that."Serenaded with music and food, Small, her husband and their three children went searching for their roots. Her dozens and dozens of relatives meeting them all for the first time."Finally, I came home, to them," Small said.Nguyen took Small to places where they shared their three years together -- like the zoo and Nguyen's home -- trying to stir up memories, but none came back to her, Small said."I think she wanted to prove to me that when I was there she loved me and she wanted to make sure that I knew those three years she had me she gave me everything she could," Small said.Nguyen told WMTW News 8's David Charns she had returned to the orphanage the day after she put her daughter up for adoption -- but it was too late. She said she desperately wanted to make sure her daughter was living a good life."I felt like it was for her and I wanted to give her that moment that she had in her mind for so long," Small said, "I had only had two months to build it up, so I felt like I owed her that moment."Moving forwardThe trip lasted just a few days, and soon it was time to go their separate ways, again."I hugged her and I said, 'That was so wonderful' and I wanted to make a promise that we'll be back," Small said, adding at some point she will return to Vietnam, but for now, she is working to foster that relationship so familiar to Nguyen, but so new to her.Small also brought over a smartphone for Nguyen so they can communicate via Facebook.In the time since September, Nguyen also took a DNA test through Ancestry.com, which confirmed -- though neither woman had any doubt -- she is Small's biological mother.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — A Maine woman and her biological mother in Vietnam reunited last month, 44 years after the then-3-year-old was put up for adoption.
Leigh Small, 47, of Scarborough, learned in September that her biological mother had been searching for her daughter for decades. Last month, she and her family took a trip to Vietnam to reconnect with the childhood she had forgotten.
Lost & found: Maine mother finds out she is Vietnamese woman's long-lost child
While Small always knew she was half-Vietnamese, she never knew her biological mother, Nguyen Thi Dep, now 70, regretted the day she put her daughter up for adoption in April 1975.
The backstory
Small was one of more than 3,000 children evacuated as part of Operation Babylift. The monthlong removal of children from Vietnam to Western countries came before the Fall of Saigon.
Nguyen had dropped Small off at an orphanage for fear communists would kill her child. Small's biological father was an American soldier who met Nguyen on a military base.
Small did not know either of their names, but a DNA test through Ancestry.com connected Small to a half-sister she never knew she had.
WMTW
While Small knew she was Vietnamese, she never knew her biological mother, Nguyen Thi Dep, was looking for her. She did not even know her name.
A man working with Nguyen in Vietnam had found that half-sister through Small's biological father's obituary. Small and the sister share the same father, whom Leigh never met.
"I think she wanted to prove to me that when I was there she loved me and she wanted to make sure that I knew those three years she had me she gave me everything she could." -Leigh Small
Within 24 hours of that initial message -- and after cross-checking names, birthdays and the date of arrival -- Small and Nguyen spoke on the phone and soon after, Small planned a trip to meet Nguyen in person.
It was a reunion 44 years in the making.
The last time, it was 'goodbye'
"I thought that just a hug would say everything," Small said about the moment she embraced Nguyen.
The pair met surrounded by family in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City.
"As much as you think you know this person and that here is going to be a connection, it's still a stranger to you in some way," Small said.
The last time they hugged, Small's biological mother was saying "goodbye," dropping her off at that Vietnamese orphanage.
"It filled in a lot for me," Small said. "I was never one of those people who had a hole in their life from my adoption, but when that hole was fulfilled and found out my history -- I don't think I realized how much I needed that."
Serenaded with music and food, Small, her husband and their three children went searching for their roots. Her dozens and dozens of relatives meeting them all for the first time.
"Finally, I came home, to them," Small said.
Nguyen took Small to places where they shared their three years together -- like the zoo and Nguyen's home -- trying to stir up memories, but none came back to her, Small said.
"I think she wanted to prove to me that when I was there she loved me and she wanted to make sure that I knew those three years she had me she gave me everything she could," Small said.
Nguyen told WMTW News 8's David Charns she had returned to the orphanage the day after she put her daughter up for adoption -- but it was too late. She said she desperately wanted to make sure her daughter was living a good life.
"I felt like it was for her and I wanted to give her that moment that she had in her mind for so long," Small said, "I had only had two months to build it up, so I felt like I owed her that moment."
Moving forward
The trip lasted just a few days, and soon it was time to go their separate ways, again.
"I hugged her and I said, 'That was so wonderful' and I wanted to make a promise that we'll be back," Small said, adding at some point she will return to Vietnam, but for now, she is working to foster that relationship so familiar to Nguyen, but so new to her.
Small also brought over a smartphone for Nguyen so they can communicate via Facebook.
In the time since September, Nguyen also took a DNA test through Ancestry.com, which confirmed -- though neither woman had any doubt -- she is Small's biological mother.