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Korean Air Force veteran meets half-sister for first time

Half-siblings connected by the Korean War met for the first time in 65 years in Olympia.
Tim Thornton and Michele Bennet.

At the secretary of state's office in Olympia, along the walls are the stories of people in Washington state who have been impacted by the Korean War. It’s part of an exhibit called Legacy Washington.

In celebration of Memorial Day weekend, Tim Thornton of Olympia took Michele Bennet Friday. They are half-siblings who met for the first time. They too are connected by the Korean War. It was nearly 65 years ago when their father, Robert Bennet met Tim's mother.

"I'm sure she was one of the entertainers around the bases who basically got pregnant and we're pretty sure father never knew about me,” said Thornton.

Tim would end up in at a Korean orphanage and was eventually adopted by an American family in Walla Walla, Washington.

"I kind of gave up, saying there's no hope. I'll never find my parents. So I always told myself it didn’t matter because my parents who adopted me, they're my parents and gave me my values,” said Thornton.

A couple of years ago, he decided to find his roots through an organization called 325 Kamra, an organization that looks to reunite Korean adoptees with biological families through DNA.

"I was really so thrilled I was like, Oh my gosh. I'm so happy to have a brother," said Bennett.

As new siblings, they get to feel and see all of the “newness.”

"I see dad in Tim. I see his same mannerisms and the same heart that dad had.”

They're also filling in the blanks.

"It’s really strange to hear you look just like dad because I didn’t have any of that before. So to have something where you didn’t know where you had a particular trait from or this particular facial feature.”

They both are in the process of adding new pages to their story - a story impacted by war, by love, and by a determination to know.

"Life is too short to not give love, and life is too short to hold back and give it all that you have while you have it."

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