A 79-year-old U.S. army vet searching for the Thai woman he loved and lost five decades ago may be in for a Christmas surprise.
Though William Bruce had little beyond the nickname Mai and photos to go on, a woman contacted Coconuts Bangkok today to say she recognized her aunt in our story about his search.
“I saw a full-body photo, and remembered I saw it when I was a kid at my grandma’s house in Thailand,” Chaigit “Tarnia” Wilke said.
All American wants for Christmas is his long-lost Thai love
But her nickname wasn’t Mai, and her aunt lives neither in Chiang Mai – where Bruce met her – nor Korat – where they had a brief, whirlwind romance – but somewhere much closer to his home in California.
“I called my aunt in Florida and she asked where her photo came from,” Tarnia said.
Her aunt said it was indeed her in the photo. Mai was the…
