70°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Baker war veteran learns he is long-lost father of European pop star after worldwide DNA search

2 years 3 months 1 week ago Friday, December 17 2021 Dec 17, 2021 December 17, 2021 8:35 PM December 17, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

BAKER - Vietnam War veteran William Johnson, 71, got a call about two weeks ago that changed his life.

"The first phone call I got, I thought somebody was trying to scam me with all the stuff they got going on," Johnson said.

It wasn't a scam, though. It was the daughter he never knew he had - Denmark superstar Zindy Laursen who has sold millions of records. A DNA search confirmed Johnson is her father.

"I tried so hard to look for him and I was almost at the brink of just giving up," Laursen said of spending 30 years and thousands of dollars searching. "I always felt like there was a half of me missing."

Johnson and Laursen's mother met in 1970 while he was in the U.S. Army serving in Vietnam. He was on leave in Australia at the time.

"Where do I come from? Who is my dad? What does he do?" Laursen asked.

Her dad retired after becoming the first African American police officer in Zachary. When the two saw each other for the first time over Facetime, DNA wasn't necessary to tell they were related.

"I saw his face and I could just see I look exactly like my father," Laursen said.

"She said, 'Mr. Johnson, you don't have to take a DNA test. You are my father.'" Johnson said.

"This is one hundred percent my father," Laursen said. "I'm not in doubt at all."

The two have already scheduled their first meeting and Johnson knows exactly what he's going to do when that happens.

"And when she comes here I'm going to let her sit on my lap," Johnson said. "That's my baby. Because she is my angel. God sent her to me."

Laursen is planning on visiting Baker in January to celebrate her father's birthday.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days