‘My real family’: Vietnamese woman who long suspected American parentage finds relatives through Spokane Amerasian group

Hoa Tran knew nothing about her parents for most of her life, only that she looked different from other Vietnamese people.

Her biological mother disappeared after leaving Tran as a baby with a woman who wasn’t a relative. That caretaker became “grandmom.”

Growing up in Vietnam, Tran suspected she was Amerasian – the daughter of a Vietnamese woman and an American man in the military during the Vietnam War.

Thousands of such children were left behind after the U.S. withdrew in 1975. Many of the infants went to orphanages or were abandoned by mothers who feared Communist government retribution. Often, these children endured poverty and discrimination.

“When I grew up and I feel different, I didn’t know anything about my real family,” said Tran, 57. “I think maybe I’m not real Vietnamese, so I began looking.”

Tran first learned about a DNA match to her father on March 23, 2023, through free test kits from the Spokane nonprofit Amerasians Without Borders. Founder Jimmy Miller lives in Spokane, and since 2015, the group has given DNA kits to Vietnam-based people whose fathers were American servicemen during the war.

After decades, four failed DNA tests and two days of flights, Tran received her first embrace in Spokane from one of the closest relatives of her father, Ronald “Ronny” Hodnett, who died in 1994. His sister, Linda Hodnett, flew in from North Carolina to be here Feb. 29 for Tran’s arrival to her new U.S. home.

Linda Hodnett brought flowers and a large photo of her brother in uniform to the Spokane airport. The flowers accidently dropped to the floor when Linda Hodnett saw Tran and ran to her. A year before, the two women began talking, including online video chats.

“I had a picture of Ronny, and I had it blown up so I could hold it up for her to see us,” Linda Hodnett said. “I wanted her dad to be there, too.

“To be unknown by us for so long and to be unknown as far as Ronny knew, I felt it was important for her to receive a family welcome. It’s a long time, 56 years.”

Ronald Hodnett had eight siblings and grew up in North Carolina. An Air Force veteran, he did different tours in Vietnam between 1966 and 1970, his sister said. He moved to Florida, married later in life and had two stepsons.

“Ronny never had any children that we knew of; it was a surprise, a wonderful surprise.”

Her brother was 52 when he died. He’d retired from a long military career.

“He didn’t get to experience a lot of wonderful retirement years,” she said. “He had lung cancer and was exposed to Agent Orange.

Tran plans to live in Spokane for at least a year and find work, with support from Amerasians Without Borders, World Relief other Amerasian residents.

For her arrival, two cousins also flew to Spokane – Nona Hodnett and Edith Hill. They joined Tran in New York after she arrived from Vietnam and helped with the long journey. The women and their aunt, along with Linda Hodnett’s husband, stayed a few days to visit with Tran.

Hill felt a special connection with Tran. She was adopted and did DNA testing in 2018 to discover she and Nona Hodnett have the same father, Robert Hodnett, a deceased brother of Ronald.

Hill, 61, said it was a trip of a lifetime to share acceptance.

“I know how excited I was to be connected with a family that’s been so accepting and so loving,” Hill said. “To be on the other side and be accepting of Hoa, the tears start.”

Ronald Hodnett loved family and children, his sister said. Although five Hodnett siblings have died, Linda Hodnett, along with another aunt and two uncles on the East Coast, hope Tran can visit.

With a genealogy hobby, Linda Hodnett and family did earlier DNA testing. A year ago while on the Ancestry website, a niece messaged her, “Have you seen the new match?”

“I knew right away it was a large match, a niece or nephew. That was March 23, 2023.”

Meeting Tran was better.

“She looked more like my brother than I had realized when I saw her in person. From our side, it’s just heartwarming for the family to bring Ronny to the forefront again in our hearts in talking about him through his daughter. She’s just delightful.”

Before Tran’s adoptive grandmother died, she urged Tran to find her roots. She felt loved growing up, but money was tight. Tran said that as a child, she sold items like gum on the street for income. Eventually, she went to school and was determined to learn English, much of it self-taught.

Tran wanted to be a teacher but couldn’t get that job. So she instead became a school office worker. For more than 20 years, Tran tried to research Vietnam Amerasians without success. She still doesn’t know anything about her mother.

It wasn’t until 2020 that Tran learned about Amerasians Without Borders, on the cusp of Miller phasing out the nonprofit’s DNA program.

“After COVID, I had some time and I looked on the internet on Amerasians,” Tran said. “Finally, I find a story about Jimmy Miller, and I research again. Oh my God, maybe he’ll help me, and DNA program is the key. Four times DNA tests, and finally fifth time a success. I don’t know why.

“After the DNA tests, I feel very disappointed. I email Jimmy, ‘Help me again.’ Each time, he said, ‘OK, I will help you.’ ”

Miller said that’s happened before, when a saliva collection isn’t a good sample. He first heard from Tran in April 2020, two days after he announced a stop to DNA testing.

“She said, ‘Please give me a chance.’ ”

He arranged for a volunteer in Vietnam to get remaining kits to Tran.

“Finally, the fifth time, we got a good result to come back. Every time, we have to wait for someone to hand-carry it back to the U.S., because you can’t mail them from Vietnam.”

Miller said the group has helped about 200 Amerasians to find U.S. family, and sometimes the fathers are still alive. The group helps Amerasians resettle in the U.S.

The nonprofit’s DNA program will formally end in April 2025 – 50 years after the war’s end, Miller said. Other programs offer the service, and he still has about 100 pending cases to support as a volunteer.

No longer waiting, Tran smiles about connections with her Hodnett family.

“When I came to Spokane, that was the best part of my life,” she said. “That’s the first time I met my real family.”