The increasingly weird story of John Yettaw
So…he told the press he was a Vietnam vet. But, he also said he was 53. The last American troops left Saigon in 1973. That means, if he were there for the very end of the war, the evacuation of the diplomats, he could only have been 17 at the time. So…either he lied about his age to join the military and had the forged documents to go along with the story, or he’s lying about his age now, or he was never in Vietnam.
For the record, there are a lot of reports listing Yettaw’s name as being spelled “Yeattaw”, so I’ve added that tag as well. He also seems to have a mostly unused travel-blog under the name John7children, with just a few pictures of the Great Wall. Someone with that same name on ebay recently purchased a couple of cell phones without contracts, a camera phone that looks to be the same model that shot the pictures of himself wearing the flippers he used to get to Mrs. Kyi’s house, and a breathing trainer.
Oh…but wait…the story just keeps getting weirder:
Apparently, John and his first wife divorced, and he got custody of their 6 kids. He remarried, to a woman named Betty, but reportedly, Betty wouldn’t let the first wife’s kids live in her house, so those four kids, ranging in age from 17 to 10) lived in a trailer in the woods. John apparently just left the kids there alone when he went to Asia.
Very odd, indeed. (As a snarky aside, what sort of evil stepmother refuses to let the first wife’s kids live in her house? And what sort of man marries a woman who makes his kids live in a trailer in the woods? I mean, wtf?)
Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!
Hiya! *wave*
You are a good example of what happens when people read the news and believe all of it. News articles have trashed this family and printed many things in error. Much of the trashing came from Mr. Yettaw’s bitter ex-wife. Ask yourself why he got custody.
A little-known fact is that he had already taken the 13 year old to California to stay with his grandmother. So he left three at home and they were not alone but living with a neighbor until the end of school and with the new wife after school let out. They were not left unsupervised. They live where they do so they can attend the local school rather than re-locate. The mobile home is temporary until the house he is building is finished.
Vietnam ERA is not the same as Vietnam vet as was reported in error. He received an injury but not in combat. The list of glaring untruths and misreporting goes on and on. So believe all of the garbage printed if you must but keep in mind that you don’t know all of the facts before you add to the scorn directed toward someone you don’t know.
I don’t have any way to independently verify what you’ve said, but in the interests of fairness, I’ll absolutely publish it.
Thanks for sharing your side.
john is very controlling which is why his ex didn’t get custody. His eldest son, Shawn, is never mentioned in any articles. A source of embarrassment for the family since he is in and put of prison so often. Yvonne’s only fault is that she married that POS.
Thanks for your fairness and letting me set things a little straighter. I’m wondering where you saw it reported that those kids were left alone or where someone said the step-mom refused to let them live in her house. I have a good guess.
Granted that this is a puzzling story, but as more is coming out in the trial, things are becoming a little more clear. Apparently he had his reasons….
To Candice: He got custody because she was apparently registered as a child abuser at the time. The older son is not mentioned because he is in his 30s and has been away for quite a while. You must be a fan of Yvonne’s to have bought the control thing and that she has no faults. Making libelous statements to the news media to promote her own agenda and exposing her own kids to the news (giving their names and ages) is not something a decent, rational person would do. Neither is calling another human being a POS. Shame on both of you….