A child of war comes of age in America

"If she wants to get something done, she'll get it done," says Nicholas. "She won't let anything limit her."

During graduate school, as she learned to help others deal with their patchwork pasts, she began searching for her own identity.

In her freshman year, she was contacted by a Washington State family she stayed with during her first two weeks in the US. The Seattle Post- Intelligencer ran a story about their meeting, and that piece caught the attention of a retired doctor from Hong Kong, who was writing his memoirs about Operation Babylift. He remembered Thompson because of the scarring on her eyes.

The two met, and Thompson gained an important link to the past. But the graphic details he shared - about children of GIs being abandoned or burned, and sick babies being transported in cardboard boxes - fueled the nightmares she had about wandering the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, desperately searching for loved ones.

Those dreams have lessened in recent months, she says, especially since Thompson contacted the Vietnamese Adoption Network (VAN), which promises to put her in touch with other adoptees. "I find answers and comfort from others," she says. "I need to talk to people who understand what I have experienced. It will help me to gain peace with my own story."

Thompson hopes to travel to Vietnam with other VAN members in the near future, but there will always be unanswered questions. Does she have siblings in Vietnam? Was she the daughter of an American soldier?

All she knows for certain is that she must find a way to form a whole cloth from the few tattered remnants she has. "When you don't have a foundation, in some ways it's hard to get started, but you get to start wherever you want. I had a blank slate. I could have been a poor victim, or I could make something out of my life."

Thompson and her husband hope to start a family, which would add a new piece to the tapestry. "I'm Kimberly the therapist, and soon I'll be Kimberly the mom," she says. Yet she's quick to add that "Those are all parts of me, but they don't identify who I am."

What does distinguish her is the desire to help others with their struggles. Thompson works at a school for developmentally and socially challenged youths, many of whom live with foster parents. "Some know they will never be back with their birth families. They can be victims or they can move forward."

Her task is to patiently assist them, she says, never pushing too hard. She describes one child who has recently progressed from using a marker to a pencil. Another pupil recently overcame a fear of eating in front of others. "These tiny strides remind you how big the world is and how little we are."

Before her May graduation, several journalists approached Thompson, wanting to write about her journey. "I think it really surprises her to be the focus of all this attention," says Nicholas. "Her life doesn't seem that extraordinary to her."

She describes it simply as good."I have a house, a wonderful husband, friends, an education, and a good job," she says. "I may never know my true identity, but God has replaced that missing link by blessing me with a beautiful life. That helps me keep perspective, it helps me to move forward."

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