Faith, We've had a very similar experience in my family! I grew up hearing that my dad had fathered a son before he'd met and married my mother, but he didn't elaborate too much on the circumstances. Basically, all we knew was that the child was born in France. After a near-death experience, my father started trying to search his memories for a way to locate his son, but his illness and subsequent long recovery had erased part of his memories. I'm sure he was also a little ambivalent about how he would be received after all these years. After my father's death, we requested a copy of his military service record. A huge stack of papers was sent to us. There was a copy of every document that had pertained to my dad's 20 years of service. One piece of paper, though, held the key. At one time, my father had authorized an allotment to his son. This piece of paper had the address to which the allotment was sent in France. We contacted the Salvation Army's Locator Service and gave them the address. They contacted the current resident of the address, who just happened to be my half-brother's aunt. She provided them with the address of her sister here in the US. She had never told my brother about the circumstances of his birth, although he knew that the man who'd raised his wasn't his biological father. She explained the circumstances and told him that he had half-sisters and a half-brother who were trying to contact him. The Salvation Army's Locator Service gives people the option of "not being found." He agreed that we could have access to his address and phone number, and then they informed us! Before my Dad had passed away, they'd lived less than an hour apart! We contacted him--each of us wrote him a letter and he wrote back. My brother and 2 of my sisters went to meet him. (I was in Germany at the time!) They meeting went okay. We didn't want to force a relationship on him...especially since it was all so new for him! We left it open-ended. We would gladly welcome him if he chooses, but as of yet, he hasn't. Of course, we'd like things to be different, but we feel that we did what my Dad would've wanted us to do. Mystery solved! Can't say that it was a happy ending, but it wasn't a sad one! Check out the Salvation Army's Locator Service! They charged a very low fee for their service, and everything was done quickly. Pruning the family tree ISN'T allowed! (Mainly a note to MY relatives!) Tricia Kuner Smith Pruning the family tree ISN'T allowed! (Mainly a note to MY relatives!) Tricia Kuner Smith