Long lost best friend

October 15, 2005 9:54 PM

When I was 7 years old my best friend was an American (US Citizen) of the same age whose father was a Major in USAF stationed in Ohakea Airforce Base in the North Island of NZ; around 1983-84. My friends name was Ryan Davies (or Davis) and I would really like to make contact with him again. On the off chance...

I have tried Google etc and would love to trade letters and see where each other ended up.

posted by Samuel Farrow to human relations (14 comments total)

ZabaSearch shows birth months and years of many Ryan Davies'. Some look like good candidates.
posted by whatisish at 10:07 PM on October 15, 2005

ooops.
posted by whatisish at 10:09 PM on October 15, 2005

I have had a similar experience with google. I asked on the off chance there might be a personal connection - a military kid who knows, or who knows who might know.

A long shot - but worth the time that it took to ask.

Thanks though.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 10:29 PM on October 15, 2005

Wasn't there another AskMe question about finding someone that ended badly? I'm not suggesting that your question is a bad one, it just seems like these kinds of questions border on "creepy," given the globalized nature of the audience you have.
posted by odinsdream at 10:33 PM on October 15, 2005

I think the globalised nature of the audience is the reason I am asking here - unless of course you have another - better - solution.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 10:41 PM on October 15, 2005

You can create a site with the information of the person you're looking for as well as your own contact info. When they google themselves, they'll hopefully see the page (you can test it out) and contact you. You can also look through Classmates.com which has a substantial user base (even for military associations), but unless your own school is listed, you may need his father's name.
posted by fionab at 11:02 PM on October 15, 2005

Did he go to school in NZ too? You could post a notice in the 'Lost and Found' section of the school on the NZ reunion site OldFriends. That will come up if he searches for his name on google, although he'll have to sign up to the site to see the notice I think.
posted by slightlybewildered at 11:08 PM on October 15, 2005

Thanks very much and I guess by posting the question here with my name, also my user name and his is that if he was looking for me he would find me and make contact, which was the reason I took the punt in the first place.

We went to school together in Clifton Primary in Bulls New Zealand - suprisingly not listed in classmates.com.

The website is a good idea though fionab - thanks.

slightlybewildered - same problem, no school listing.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:13 PM on October 15, 2005

Can you call the US Air Force and see if you can track down where his dad ended up?
posted by cmonkey at 11:43 PM on October 15, 2005

We have all kinds of privacy rule in NZ that would make that impossible here - but in the States would they actually tell me that information? (and I am guessing the call wouldn't be the best time to practise my Middle Eastern accent).
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:55 PM on October 15, 2005

You can add a missing school to OldFriends by following the instructions on this help page.
posted by slightlybewildered at 12:37 AM on October 16, 2005

Why not try Military.com, an online resource for active and retired service personnel?

I just checked, and there are 165 Davies, and 500 Davis' that are either active duty or retired Air Force.

They have some kind of "buddy finder" as well, which might be helpful either getting a direct hit or someone who knows someone.

Take care
posted by Mutant at 5:21 AM on October 16, 2005

I see in your profile you have a Livejournal - you could add your school to the new LJ School Directory. Here's the NZ list. It will show your schools on your userinfo, and if your long-lost friend is ever browsing through the schools on Livejournal he will be able to find you. Sort of like a free Classmates.
posted by Melinika at 8:13 AM on October 16, 2005

Thanks so much for all your input - this page will hopefully stand and may in future help. I will try all your suggestions - and the best answer to winston - sometimes the really out there ideas do work :-)

Thanks again.

Sam Farrow
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:55 AM on October 16, 2005