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35 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 10, 2005 Josh Elbert Orphan of Vietnam, child of the valley: ‘I feel blessed’ By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Josh Elbert doesn’t see April 7 as anything special. It’s just another day for the Medford resident who is married with two children. He and his wife, Trisha, spent Thursday remodeling the kitchen floor. "It takes more than blood to be family," he explains. "It’s how you raise people, how you treat people. "I feel like I have so much family here," he says. "I know where I’m from. I know where I am. This is my family as far as I’m concerned. It always will be." Elbert, 32, arrived in Medford 30 years ago early Thursday morning as part of "Operation Babylift" from what was then South Vietnam. He was on one of the last commercial flights carrying Vietnamese orphans out of the war-torn country: the South surrendered to the North on April 30, 1975. A bright, pleasant fellow who calmly looks you in the eye when he speaks, he is now part of the melting pot that has enriched and enlightened American culture for more than two centuries. Advertisement A 1990 graduate of North Medford High School where he played basketball and ran track, he has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southern Oregon University. He played volleyball in college, and now coaches a junior varsity volleyball team at South Medford High School. He coached at North Medford for eight years. An avid reader, especially when it comes to science fiction, he is also head chef at Shoji’s of Medford, where he has worked for 14 years. "Chefing got me through school," he says. "It’s been a great job but it was also important to me that I finished college." His parents, Kevin L. and Janice Elbert, own the Four Seasons Nursery in Central Point. The Elberts have three biological children and three adopted, including two from Korea. Their parents treated them all alike, Josh says. "I feel blessed as well as very lucky," he says. But his parents will tell you they were the fortunate ones. "We’ve been really lucky with all our kids," his mother says. "The way we see it, we have three home-grown and three imported." And they are loved equally, she says. "All the kids are family," she says. "All our friends and extended family accepted them fully. "When they put that little child in your arms, they are yours," she adds. The Elberts, 1963 graduates of Crater High School, already had adopted a little boy from Korea when they were notified that Holt Adoption Agency had a 2-year-old boy available for adoption. They didn’t hesitate. After all, Kevin Elbert knew a little bit about that part of the world: he had been a Navy hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Corps combat unit in Vietnam. "Josh was solemn when he came here for almost a year," his mother recalls. "There were no smiles." He was also afraid when he heard fireworks or an airplane flying over, she says. "But he used to sing in Vietnamese these little songs he had learned," she says. "It was a wonderful experience, watching him grow into such a nice young man. We’re very proud of him as we are all our kids." As a father now, Josh Elbert figures his biological parents likely faced a difficult decision. "They did a very tough thing in order to get me over here to a life they knew would be better than what (Vietnam) could offer," he says. "I can’t imagine having to do that. But it was a pretty intense time over there." Having traveled to Europe and Mexico as well as hailing from Southeast Asia, he says southwestern Oregon is where he’ll always call home. "It’s a great place to raise kids," he says. "You get four seasons here. I’ve been elsewhere but I’ve always wanted to raise my family here. It’s a safe place to live as far as natural disasters are concerned." As for the country he arrived in 30 years ago, nothing compares with it, he says. "This is my life now," he says. "It’s what I’m used to and comfortable with. Somewhere down the road I might take a trip back there to Vietnam. "But as far as finding out where my other biological siblings are, it’s not a big issue with me," he adds. "My family is here." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s