It was the mark near his right eye that helped Nguyen Quang Son reunite with his family in Vietnam after being separated by war 40 years ago.

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Son was 6 months old in 1967 when a U.S. bombing raid separated him from his mother, the BBC reported. Many died in the bombing but not his mother who was rescued.

However, the mother didn't know her son too had been rescued by North Vietnamese soldiers and had been brought up by a nurse. His family gave him up for dead and built a symbolic grave for him in 1980, the report said.

After Son grew up, he began a long search for his family. His painstaking effort to retrace his past included talking to war veterans.

The clincher came when a resident near the battle site helped him identify his family, the report said.

Son, now 40 years old, and his family were reunited this week, the report said. His parents are certain the person who greeted them is their son because of the mark near his right eye, the report said. Giving them further assurance is that Son resembles his brother and three sisters.