#201 THE PROMISE                        (Original air date:   10/02/97)
 

Written by:	Claire Whitaker & Rolf Wallengren
Directed by:	Michael Schultz
Produced by:	Martha Williamson, Jon Andersen, E.F. Wallengren & R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:

Rod Bridger	Doug Sheehan
Paul Bridger	Vien Hong
Kyle Purdy	Fred Applegate
Leo Greene	R. Lee Ermy

 

On the way to Russell's hometown of Sugar Springs, North Carolina for a park naming ceremony honoring Russell's late father, Claire receives an S.O.S. call from "Rod Bridger," an old boyfriend from her days in the U.S.O. during the Vietnam War. Reluctantly, Russell agrees that this is a promise she must keep. Claire arrives in Atlanta to discover that Rod has to break some news to his adopted Vietnamese son, Paul (now age 25) as Paul prepares to meet his Vietnamese sister for the first time. Rod tells Paul the truth - that he was forced to bomb an orphanage to take out a key artillery position. Paul was an infant, one of the few survivors found in the rubble. Paul reacts in horror, appalled, feeling that Rod adopted him merely to assuage his own guilt. Claire visits Paul to convince him that, regardless of the circumstances, Rod did his very best to raise Paul as his son and provide him with the best opportunities. At Hattie's urging, Russell makes a special trip to Atlanta to check on Claire and is able to help Rod deal with the repercussions of the war (so many years later) as well as the rupture with his son. Paul returns, ready to forgive and forge a new beginning with his adoptive father. Russell and Claire return to Sugar Springs just in time to hear Josh paying tribute to his grandfather at the ceremony.