Foreign Property News | Posted by Si Thu Aung
William Bruce’s memories of the 1970s are filled with the strain and trauma of being an army doctor at the height of the U.S.-Vietnam war. But amid those memories is a wistful sweetness for a dark-haired woman he met during a brief break in Chiang Mai.
The wartime army physician, now retired in California, is now looking to find the long-lost love that he nearly married 51 years ago during the Summer of Love before, at least until duty pulled him away. To rekindle an old flame? Bruce says he’s been happily married 30 years and just wants to “find out what happened to her” and offer any help, if needed. “She was a beautiful and gracious lady and had a great influence in my life in spite of our short relationship,” Bruce said in a message.
“I love the country of Thailand and will return there once this pandemic has been brought under control.”Bruce, 79, doesn’t have a lot to go on. A nickname: Mai, and photographs of her grinning brightly from behind long bangs in the height of 1969 fashion. He sent what he had to a private investigator and, after some weeks passed without any luck, decided to make the search public in case Mai, her friends, children or anyone recognizes her.
“She does speak English and is likely to be in her 70s now if alive,” Bruce said, saying the turmoil that followed the war left him with no chance of finding her back then. “I want to make contact with this Thai lady and find out what happened to her and I am in a position to help her should she need that help.”
Bruce was a 28-year-old army physician assigned to Camp Friendship, where the Korat airbase stands today. On Dec. 5, 1969, he took a short weekend trip to Chiang Mai and met Mai at the hotel where she worked as a tour guide. He said they visited the city’s “beautiful temples” and took an elephant ride.
He was enchanted by her beauty and gracious personality and filled his camera with her image.
Unhappy with its poor facilities, she stayed at the Siriwattana Hotel. They had a fun time together, with him driving her around the city and to many nearby places.
But a day before Christmas, after just two weeks together, the war separated them. Bruce got urgent orders to report to a border medical facility in Laos where a number of personnel had just been killed. He wanted to marry Mai, but his peers told him it was a bad idea.
“My commanding officer and fellow physicians advised against the marriage … due to cultural differences but I had fallen in love with her,” he said. “The last time I saw her was in Korat.”
Anyone with information can contact Bangkok Investigators at 082-542-7064. A 79-year-old U.S. army vet searching for the Thai woman he loved and lost five decades ago may be in for a Christmas surprise.
Though William Bruce had little beyond the nickname Mai and photos to go on, a woman contacted Coconuts Bangkok today to say she recognized her aunt in our story about his search.
“I saw a full-body photo, and remembered I saw it when I was a kid at my grandma’s house in Thailand,” Chaigit “Tarnia” Wilke said.
All American wants for Christmas is his long-lost Thai love But her nickname wasn’t Mai, and her aunt lives neither in Chiang Mai – where Bruce met her – nor Korat – where they had a brief, whirlwind romance – but somewhere much closer to his home in California. “I called my aunt in Florida and she asked where her photo came from,” Tarnia said.
Her aunt said it was indeed her in the photo. Mai was the nickname she used working as a tour guide when she met Bruce – a name easier for farang. Her real name?Pacharee “Tim” Kaewsorn. She was a teacher in Chiang Mai.
Patcharee could remember Bruce, referring to him as Dr. William, and confirmed his version of events. She said they lost contact when he was suddenly called away from Korat on urgent orders, according to Chaigit.
Like Bruce, she was also happily married – she married an American airman about 40 years ago, but he has since passed away.
Coconuts Bangkok could not immediately reach Bruce or Pacharee for comment.
The next step is for them to speak, which Chaigit is working to facilitate.
Ref: Coconuts
