It was an emotional reunion for a war veteran and a woman he met when she was a teenager.
Separated by war and time, it has been almost four decades since Ronald Lewis of Wilmington and Kim Insoon have seen each other.
In 1972, he was 21 year old U.S. Army soldier serving in the Vietnam War, and she was a young girl from a poor village in South Korea where he was stationed.
"I tried to talk to her," said Ronald Lewis. "She was very shy and wouldn't say anything."
Lewis says the 14 year old girl he knew was being treated poorly by others in her village. Her single mother was Korean and her father was African American.
"They pushed her down because of her skin color, and I went through that here in the United States, and to go to another country and see the same thing happening was really hurting," said Lewis.
So he and his fellow soldiers watched after her, bought her clothes and paid for English lessons.
Lewis became friends with her mother, but after he came home the next year, he lost touch.
"I've always have dreams every year about her, maybe two or three dreams a year about her, and always I went to look for her," said Lewis.
But it was Insoon who tracked Lewis down just a few months ago with the help of Facebook.
"This is a miracle," said Kim.
Lewis quickly learned that the poor teenage girl he left behind is now a South Korean celebrity.
Insoon, who now goes by Insooni, is an acclaimed R&B diva, and has recorded almost 20 albums.
"I turned my computer off, and then I turned it back on and I googled her, and I saw her and said, 'Oh my god, it is her!" explained Lewis.
"He never knew I was a success in Korea," said Insooni. "I want to tell him, 'don't worry, I'm a success now."
As the two looked over old pictures, share stories and get to know each other's families, they don't plan to ever lose touch again.
Insooni has an upcoming performance in New Jersey. Lewis and his family plan to make the trip to see her in concert.
