James Mitchell with Sister Angela Nguyen and the baby, Tran Thi Ngoc
Bich (Precious Pearl). Mitchell adopted the infant and brought her to
the States in 1972. Photo Kimberly Mitchell. Photo: Kimberly Mitchell
May 7, 2014 - 10:05PM
Anh Do
...It was wartime in Vietnam, (click here) 1972, and 22-year-old Bao Tran had been trying
to focus on just one thing: igniting the My Chanh Bridge. But now he
stood frozen, staring at the pale, thin child in stained cotton.
When he asked his commanding officer what to do, the reply was straightforward: "You take care of her."
So
Tran set off for a nunnery 60 kilometres away. He walked, he rode a
bus. When the child began to whimper, he poured drops of water from his
thermos, letting her lick it from his finger.
At the Sacred Heart orphanage in the coastal town of Da Nang, the head sister greeted him at the front door.
"You
must fulfill your responsibility," Sister Angela Nguyen told Tran. "You
must give her something of yourself. What would you like to call her?"
He gave her his last name, then added: Ngoc Bich.
Precious Pearl....
