Orphan of Vietnam War Meets Widow of Veteran

Man who was orphaned during Vietnam War meets widow of Vietnam veteran
North West Florida Daily News
By KELLY HUMPHREY
Jul 2, 2016

“I try to express my gratitude to Vietnam vets whenever I have an opportunity. But a lot of people forget about the spouses and everything you went through. I wanted to thank you, too.”
Jason Robertson

Michael Snyder Daily News

Jason Robertson, who was orphaned during the Vietnam War and later adopted by an American family, is seen with veterans rights advocate Karen Biddle in Niceville. At the rear is Robertson's family; wife Debbie, daughter Melanie, son Nathan and daughters Meredith and Naomi.

NICEVILLE — In a fast food restaurant in a town nearly 10,000 miles from where he was born, Jason Robertson sat across the table from a woman he’d never met before.

The Georgia resident was in the area to celebrate the Fourth of July with his in-laws. A few weeks earlier, he and his wife and four children had been in town for Father’s Day. During that visit, Robertson saw something in the Daily News that touched him deeply.

“As I was getting ready to go home, I happened to see the Sunday paper,” Robertson said. “There was a story that had a word that always catches my attention: Vietnam.

The article told the story of Karen Biddle, a Crestview woman whose husband was a Vietnam veteran. After years of struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, William “Grunt” Biddle committed suicide.

“When I picked up the paper and read the whole article, I was just like, ‘Wow.’ ” Robertson said.

“It really touched me because I’m an orphan from the war. I wanted to contact Karen and thank her for her husband’s service. It was men like him who fought for my freedom. I owe them so much.”
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