Evacuated from Vietnam as a newborn in 1975, Australian woman finds twin brother 49 years later

Nearly five decades after being evacuated from Vietnam as a newborn, Australian Chantal Doecke has discovered she has a twin brother living just a short flight away, thanks to a commercial DNA test.

Doecke was among the many children evacuated from South Vietnam during Operation Babylift in April 1975, as the war neared its end. She arrived in Adelaide, Australia, carried in a shoebox with her umbilical cord still attached. For most of her life, information about her biological family and origins remained elusive. The confusion surrounding the evacuations made it difficult to ascertain accurate details, including her birth date, which her adoptive parents later realized was likely incorrect.

Growing up in Adelaide, Doecke had a happy childhood but faced challenges during her teenage years, including racial abuse, which led her to distance herself from her Asian heritage. However, the birth of her first daughter, Jade, in 1995, marked a turning point. This experience fostered a deeper connection to her own identity and fueled her determination to uncover her past.

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Jade looks like me, but who did I look like?

Her search for biological family led her to Vietnam in 2004 and to gatherings of Operation Babylift survivors in 2015. While these experiences helped her connect with others who shared similar journeys, they did not yield concrete answers about her immediate family. An early DNA test in 2015 identified biological cousins but did not lead to close relationships or the information she sought.

The most significant breakthrough occurred in 2024 when Doecke revisited a DNA account. A subsequent test revealed a match with Glenn, her twin brother, who resides in Brisbane. This extraordinary discovery, detailed in a first-person account for The Guardian, has finally provided Doecke with a tangible link to her biological roots.

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The biggest breakthrough came almost a decade later.