This is going to probably be very difficult to do considering how many Korean War veterans have now passed away and the ones still alive are quite elderly. I wish all the adoptees good luck with this project:
Estelle Cooke-Sampson, a radiologist at Howard University Hospital, was a Korean War orphan and is now seeking her birth parents.(Photo: Erin Raftery, USA TODAY)
Cooke-Sampson said that her next step is to do a DNA test to help find the identity of her biological father, who she assumes is either an Ethiopian or American soldier based on her skin color, but she is concerned about the age of Korean War veterans.
“I would love to, but considering that person probably would be perhaps in their late 80s or even 90s, they might not even remember me,” Cooke-Sampson said.
In their effort to now help Korean adoptees find their birth fathers, Hiatt said the organization is asking Korean War veterans who fathered a child in Korea to submit their DNA to a biological tracking ancestry service called 23andMe. Hiatt said that there are 672 members in a Facebook group for Korean adoptees who submitted their DNA to 23andMe, but she believes more adoptees have submitted their DNA.
Thomas Park Clement, president/CEO/Founder of Mectra Labs Inc., and a Korean adoptee, is providing $1 million for free DNA test kits that American Korean adoptees and war veterans can submit to 23andMe.
“I think it’s super important because it’s a daunting task for an adoptee, especially for an overseas adoptee to try to locate birth parents or other siblings and this is a surefire, scientific, straightforward way to do it,” Clement said. [USA Today]
I remember when they came to take DNA samples from everyone in the Navy. We filled out these cards, and they took cheek swabs from all of us. There was some resistance from some folks who wanted to make sure that the only use of the DNA was for identifying remains. The Navy refused to say that the DNA samples would only be used for prevending any Unknown Soldiers.
Hmm… I’ve never gotten a letter from anyone in the Phillipines. Let’s hope it stays that way. 😯
Liz
9 years ago
I was at CVS a couple of days ago and saw a DNA paternity test on the shelf, available over-the-counter.
Think it was about 90 bucks, same cost as the Ancestry.com send out DNA test (we did that one, tracks one’s lineage it is pretty cool).
Technology sure has advanced!
(now I just have to find that mailman responsible for that last kid…)
JoeC
9 years ago
Even if the Korean War vet has passed away, if any of their siblings or other biological children choose to participate in the program, familial matches could also answer some questions.
ChickenHead
9 years ago
Liz, in the DNA test, what was your midi-chlorian count?
…and don’t feed me some hocus-pocus line like, “You don’t need to see my midi-chlorian count.”
ChickenHead
9 years ago
I checked out the website.
It is pretty easy to identify the father from their posted pictures.
“Group Trying to Use DNA Tests to Reunite Korean War Adoptees with Fathers”
Who would have thought a DNA sample could resolve an issue caused by a DNA sample?
So now it’s Maury Povitch?
I remember when they came to take DNA samples from everyone in the Navy. We filled out these cards, and they took cheek swabs from all of us. There was some resistance from some folks who wanted to make sure that the only use of the DNA was for identifying remains. The Navy refused to say that the DNA samples would only be used for prevending any Unknown Soldiers.
Hmm… I’ve never gotten a letter from anyone in the Phillipines. Let’s hope it stays that way. 😯
I was at CVS a couple of days ago and saw a DNA paternity test on the shelf, available over-the-counter.
Think it was about 90 bucks, same cost as the Ancestry.com send out DNA test (we did that one, tracks one’s lineage it is pretty cool).
Technology sure has advanced!
(now I just have to find that mailman responsible for that last kid…)
Even if the Korean War vet has passed away, if any of their siblings or other biological children choose to participate in the program, familial matches could also answer some questions.
Liz, in the DNA test, what was your midi-chlorian count?
…and don’t feed me some hocus-pocus line like, “You don’t need to see my midi-chlorian count.”
I checked out the website.
It is pretty easy to identify the father from their posted pictures.
http://i1.wp.com/www.koreabang.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Looking-for-Kopinos-Dad-Post-Went-Public.jpg?resize=500%2C500
I’m pretty sure I recognize one guy. I think his English name is Steve.
http://www.freelargeimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Minecraft_steve-5.png