When American soldier Allen Thomas waved goodbye to his twins at an airport in Korea in 1971, he had no idea it would be the last time he would see them.More than 40 years later, the veteran has turned to social media in an effort to locate his long-lost children, who were put up for adoption after he returned to the United States. "It was like they were always part of the family. Allen Thomas was serving in South Korea when he had twins, a boy and a girl, with a woman he called "Connie. Thomas had been looking for his twins, a son and a daughter, ever since he had to leave them behind with their birth mother in South Korea more than 40 years ago. "I was all for it." They were adopted under Korean law. "My dad doesn't cry, but this has ripped his heart out. "I want to share our family health history with them, because some of it is serious. "It's just gut-wrenching," his daughter said. When Thomas was a 19-year-old Army sergeant stationed in South Korea, he met a Korean woman named Sun-Keum, whom he called Connie. Thomas said their birth mother later put them up for adoption without his knowledge, and they were lost to him. They also had a third son together. Army Vet Recalls Last Time He Saw Twin Kids Over 40 Years Ago: Part 1 Allen Thomas was serving in South Korea when he had twins, a boy and a girl, with a woman he called "Connie." Allen Thomas and his twin children share an emotional hug together. "Thomas was widowed about 10 years ago, and the retired factory worker recently moved from Colorado to live with Roberts and her husband in Mossyrock, Washington, about two hours from Seattle.She started helping him use the Internet to reignite his search for the twins, but there was no progress. I was told I had no rights," Thomas said. It was there that he met a woman at the Non-Commissioned Officer's Club named Pae Seong-Kuem, whom he called "Connie." But he never forgot about his other family. Identical Twins Meet For The First Time ... Part 1 - Duration: 8:04. Connor joined NBC News from the New York Daily News, where she was a senior writer covering a broad range of news and supervising the health and immigration beats. It was never a secret. He then adopted her two children from a previous relationship — Roberts and her brother — before going on to have a third child.In 1974, the mother of the twins contacted him one last time with an offer to relinquish Sandia and James, who were also called Sandra and Jamie.But at the time, Thomas and his second wife were going through bankruptcy and could not come up with the money to bring them over, despite appeals to the Army and Red Cross, according to a 1980 letter to his local congressman.By the time the couple got back on their feet financially, it was too late.The couple had written to the State Department and elected officials, asking for assistance. Thomas and Polly married in 1976 and the two raised a family in Colorado, including Polly's eldest daughter Charlene and her son, whom he adopted. Thomas said Connie got in touch one last time in 1974, sending him a letter in which she offered to hand over the twins, then 7 years old, if Thomas would come back to Korea to get them. U.S. Army veteran Allen Thomas has been searching for his twin children for nearly half a century, and finally, his search is over. However, with the help of "20/20," Thomas was recently reunited with his twins for the first time over than 40 years. Thomas said he was finally reunited with his family during a 30-day leave from Vietnam, but by then a year had passed.
"We were corresponding and she kept asking for money so I kept sending her money," Thomas said. Their mother put them up for adoption in 1976 without his knowledgeAllen Thomas is searching for his long-lost twins, James and Sandia, who were born in Korea in 1967. Their mother put them up for adoption in 1976 without his knowledge.A letter from the Pear S. Buck Foundation to Allen Thomas.Allen Thomas is searching for his long-lost twins, James and Sandia, who were born in Korea in 1967. We always knew about them and wondered about them," Charlene told "20/20." ""I just need to know they're OK and tell them I love them. These are my kids, and I've never stopped loving them," he said.Tracy Connor is a senior writer for NBC News. Their mother put them up for adoption in 1976 without his knowledge. "But there is no trace of them. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? In 1976 —without his knowledge— Connie put up their twins for adoption in the U.S. Thomas didn’t find out about this until the 80’s and was prevented from contacting his children due to adoption-based privacy laws. "It's all I had all these years, so I just, wherever I went [the photos] went," Thomas, 68, told ABC News' "20/20." There, Thomas said he met a woman named Pae Seong-Kuem at the Non-Commissioned Officer's Club. But he didn't know he would never hear from Connie again. She started this role in December, 2012. Allen Thomas and Connie divorced. The post was shared more than 1 million times, with prayers, encouragement and leads pouring in from around the world. "At that time, I had just went through bankruptcy. Thomas' story began when he was a 19-year-old Army sergeant stationed in South Korea in 1966, working on helicopters.