Vietnamese man receives his amputated arm from USA in 47 years

Retired American surgeon was keeping the amputated arm of a Vietnamese soldier at home for 47 year. The arm belonged to Vietnamese national Nguyen Quang Hung, who is now 73 years old.

Photo: AP photo

The Vietnamese man said that he was wounded in a battle in October 1966, but managed to escape from his pursuers by swimming. Afterwards, he had been hiding in a rice warehouse for three days. In the end, he was captured and taken to the hospital, where Dr. Sam Axelrad decided to amputation.

Doctors saved the amputated arm by removing muscles and skin from the bones. Akselrad took the arm to his home in Houston. He had been keeping the arm at home for decades, but decided to return it to the "rightful" owner.

He came to Vietnam knowing nothing of the fate of the soldier, whom he once operated on.

A local journalist wrote an article about the lost arm, which helped find relatives of Nguyen Quang Hung. The former soldier was pleased to receive the unexpected gift. According to the man, it would help him receive military pension, which he previously could not get because of the loss of documents.