I've never known my dad...are you reading this?

[Ferney]

Hi Everyone
This is my first post as I've just joined this forum & I've spent all my pocket money on the subscription. I'm a 14 year old girl living happily in London with my mum & half sister. I came here when I was 2 years old from Thailand where I was born.
I know very little about my dad except that he was black (I know that because I'm black). My mum was a bar girl in Pattaya in Thailand, an R&R destination known to many marines. My mum tells me that my dad's name was Bill, that he was tall, very clever & rather shy. (I know-it's not much to go on....but there is little more) Bill seems to have worked as a helicopter mechanic or flight engineer, or something of that kind. He was working at Sattahip Thai Navy base in 1999 & coming back to his hotel in Pattaya when he got to know my mother. After she became pregnant with me, around August/October 1999, Bill had to go back to the US in a hurry for some reason & she never saw him again. Some time later, his friends came to the bar to say that Bill had died in a helicopter crash. I've researched military helicopter crashes around this time & no Bill who is African American is recorded as a victim.
My mum has never been interested in talking about my dad so it's possible that the crash story is just a story-I don't know. Anyway, all the time I was a child I wasn't interested in my birth father as I was adopted by my step-dad & had a happy family life in England.
Now that I'm older, I look at my brown skin and my curly hair and I know that I have family somewhere else but they know nothing about me & I know nothing about them. This seems sad to me. I know nothing of my African American heritage- I'm just an English girl
Now I realise that there is very little to go on here....and I accept that my dad may not want to even acknowledge that I exist....it happened a long time ago on the other side of the world....but here I am and I'd like to at least swop photos with my dad even if we never get to meet.
I don't want to embarrass my dad & I'm happy to keep the secret between him & me, I just want some contact with the man who I came from.
I'm asking anyone here for any help or advice you can give me, or to pass on this request to anyone you know who was in Pattaya, Thailand in 1999 and who enjoyed themselves in the bars there.
My step dad has helped me to write this.

Best wishes from Ferney.

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[Baker1971]

Very touching story young lady and I wish you the best of luck finding your dad.
Marines is spelled with a capitol " M " and you really should fill out your entire,correct profile to get the best of answers.

God Bless.

[29palms]

.......and Marines don't smile. So did you mother mention if he was a MARINE? Was he ARMY? Was he a contractor? Former Army or Marines? Did she know a last name? Which state he came from? Sounds like you could use a lot more information from your primary source. Sounds to me like a contractor. If he in fact did work as a helo mechanic. There hasn't been a U.S. military base in Thailand since Vietnam War.

[29palms]

I see after a little research, Sattahip Thai Navy base belongs to the Royal Navy. Great Britain. Could your father have been with the Royal Navy and not AMERICAN but rather BRITISH of African descend? Maybe from Nigeria or Gabon for instance?

[Ferney]

Thank you for your response, Baker. I will fill in my profile. My dad tells me that here in the UK the Royal Marines are particular about always being referred to as 'Royal' so now that you have told me it is similar in the US, there will be no more small 'm's from me. You Marines have a very proud history & you deserve your capital M.
I would appreciate any advice or guidance you could give me with my search

[Ferney]

Hmm....well my mum tells me that my dad did smile- a lot. He may have been army, not marines, is that possible? Do they operate helicopters too? Is there a similar website for them where I might be able to get some help? He definitely wore a US military uniform so I guess he wasn't a contractor. I'm afraid my mum doesn't welcome questions about my dad and anyway, she was a poor, uneducated country girl who did not know anything about US states or the different arms of the service. I can't rely on help from her-she doesn't approve of my interest in finding my dad. I know that I have only very meagre info, but the US services is a community and I know you will help me if you possibly can.

[Ferney]

Thanks for replying, palms. Yes, he was definitely American. My mum eventually married an Englishman who adopted me; she knew the difference. From what she says, Bill was there for at least a few months in 1999 & was constantly studying at night for his technical exams to do with helicopters. It seems his family back home disapproved of the idea his marrying a Thai girl & told my mum so on the phone.

[29palms]

I'm not a detective per say, however, it does sound rather odd to me that an ARMY man would be stationed on a Thai base in 1999. I lived out in the Pacific at that time, the island of Saipan and I can honestly tell you, I've never heard of that base. I have heard of PATAYA BEACH. But I'm not saying its not possible. Especially if he was on some kind of temporary duty assignment. The Army has a lot of helicopters therefore, plenty of mechanics and pilots. More so than the Marines.
Asian women have an exceptionally strong ability to look at love from within the heart, not the skin. They make some of the best wives and life companions for life for many.

[29palms]

Operation Cobra Gold??? Sounds like he may have been on operation Cobra Gold. Yearly held joint exercises in Thailand. Could have also been a reservist on this joint exercise.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...-gold-1999.htm

[Apache]

Google "bill-- last name"
You will need some idea of state to focus on
Assuming age you can narrow down your search

[Baker1971]

Isn't his name listed on your birth certificate ?

[Ferney]

Good idea, Baker-but no. By the time I was born Bill had been gone for months & to save my mum the shame of having no father's name on my birth certificate, my uncle let his name be put there. He died a couple of years later.

[Baker1971]

Sorry to hear that but your uncle is listed as your father ? is that legal in England ?
Did your step-father adopt you ?

You can do a DNA test you know for a few hundred dollars.
My friend did it with an online company and traced his whole family tree and found a brother still alive.

Google DNA tests. 100% accurate.

Best of luck.

[Apache]

OK---
Google Uncles name-- find his nearest kin--
Contact the family
Get your Dads last name
Google Dad

It can be done----

FYI-- I found my real father this way after MANY years ----

[Ferney]

Hi again, Baker. No, I mean my mother's sister's husband, a local Thai man-and all this happened in Thailand where legality is not so important as face. It was years later that I went to England & was adopted by my step-father who married my mum. It's complicated isn't it?
But I'm starting to think that perhaps my father wasn't a Marine....there doesn't seem to be a regular pattern of Marines staying for months at a time in Pattaya, nor do Marines seem to have an obvious connection with Sattahip naval base.
I wonder, does the US Navy call in there? do they have helicopters? I guess they do, on their carriers.....but aren't their uniforms white? or is that just the officers? My mum couldn't describe the colour of Bill's uniform but she said it wasn't white.
And then there's the US Army....you say that they have helicopters too.....do they regularly find themselves in Pattaya or not? .this is not going to be easy is it?
But thanks for your interest & your ideas, Baker. I'm not giving up yet...