‘Mind-blowing’: Vietnam War baby’s shock DNA discovery about his dad

Kim Catford grew up knowing the name of his birth mother, who surrendered him to an orphanage during the Vietnam War, but his father’s identity was always a mystery.

Kim Catford landing at Adelaide Railway station with his adopted mum. Picture: Supplied

Growing up with his adoptive family in Adelaide’s northeastern suburbs in the 1970s, Kim Catford was always aware of his birth mother’s Vietnamese heritage.

Born during the Vietnam War and surrendered to an orphanage when he was just six months old, he arrived in Adelaide with a birth certificate that listed his mother’s name but had no identity for his father.

“I looked different to the other kids at (Banksia) primary school, I just wanted to be Australian and white like everyone else,” he said.

Kim Catford has discovered that his father was a Danish soldier serving with the US air force during the Vietnam War. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“As I matured in my early 20s, that’s when I wanted to explore my identity and became more curious about my adoption and wanting to know who my mum was,” says the 51-year-old, who has pursued a fruitless search to hunt down his birth mother that has involved six trips to his motherland.

“Going to Vietnam, it was certainly really nice to form a connection with the country and get a little bit of closure, just to see for myself where I was born,” he said.

But the identity of Mr Catford’s father, who was also not listed in the records of the Sancta Maria orphanage in Saigon, had been a baffling mystery that seemed impossible to solve – until a MyHeritage DNA test revealed the “mind-blowing” answer.

Kim Catford as a baby with his adopted family after arriving in Adelaide. Picture: Supplied

It showed that Mr Catford was 43 per cent Scandinavian and linked him to relatives who unmasked his father – a Danish soldier serving in the US air force.

“I would have thought there was more chance of winning the lotto than of finding my father or discovering that he was Scandinavian,” says Mr Catford.

“It was totally unexpected. It’s joyous that I’ve now reconnected after so many years with my Danish family and Danish roots.”

Mr Catford’s birth father, Niels Korsgaard, sadly died in Denmark in 2005. But he was one of 10 siblings and Mr Catford now has 36 cousins living all over the globe and a half-sister in France.

Niels Korsgaard with his parents Kresten and Mariane along with nine siblings. Picture: Supplied

Mr Catford’s birth father had become an American citizen and served as a police officer for the US air force.

He was married twice and had one daughter, Catherine, who is now 61.

“The ironic thing is that he was a police officer in the air force and I had a career in the police force,” says Mr Catford, who served with SA Police before studying to become a social worker with the Department of Human Services.

“I’ve heard that he was the life of the party, which was really nice, and I guess I have seen some photos of him that resemble me. I have his short legs and a bit of a beer gut so we are a little bit the same.”

Mr Catford was six months old when he was handed over to Sancta Monica orphanage. Five months later, he was adopted by Geoff and Jan Catford and became a little brother to three sisters, Jenny, Helen and Chris, in Adelaide.

Kim Catford was adopted by a “loving family”. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Kim is now married to wife Katy and a father to daughter India. Picture: Supplied

“I went to a loving, nurturing family … I had a really privileged upbringing and was very lucky to have access to education and health and those things,” he says.

But Mr Catford says knowing who his birth father was had helped to answer many questions for him and his 17-year-old daughter, India.

“When India used to ask me about where my family comes from, all I could say was that I was born in Vietnam and I don’t know where my dad is from,” he said.

“It’s good to know where we come from.”

Now, Mr Catford is travelling to Denmark in June to meet his new-found family, who have organised a big reunion.

“It’s unbelievable that at 51 I’m going to meet a heap of cousins, all the aunties and uncles that are still alive and a half-sister,” he says.

“I’m looking forward to learning and exploring that Danish side of my identity.”