May 18, 2010

Share another memory involving a war during childhood or youth.

I am actually going to answer this question from an experience in my young adulthood not earlier because it has been a major part of my life. When I was newly married and worked for American Television my boss Carl sponsored an electronic technician from Viet Nam. His name was Khoi Ngoc Vu. Khoi became a very dear friend to me through the next two years as we worked together at the television shop. I then left AM TV and went to Signetics. About two years later I was able to get Khoi to get a job at Signetics. I really don't remember how it all went together but I was glad when he came and applied and we began working together again for several years. We took our children to his home several times to shop in his home store for special candy that he sold from his homeland. Khoi was the son of one of the French Diplomats from Viet Nam. He was Vietnamese and when the communists came in promising freedom from the french his father was one who helped them until he started to realize what they were really up to in their country. His father owned thousands of acres of land and Khoi said that when he rolled out the maps of their land they had to use magnifying glasses to be able to see the detail since it was crammed into a large map but made small enough to get it all onto the map that covered the large front room floor. When he discovered what was happening however he fled with his family to South VietNam leaving it all behind and grateful for their lives. They started from scratch again to make a living but never getting anywhere near the fortune that they held in the North. Then when Khoi, who was an attache to the American military, was told as he was going into a meeting to turn round and get his family out of the country and onto one of the boats headed for America, he turned around and went to the school and got his daughter and then went for his wife and went directly to a boat owned by his brother who then took them to the American ship. Khoi would have been killed had he not left at that point since the military was pulling out that day and the officer who was his friend gave him a head start to leave in time. They came to America into a tent city of sorts where they were being housed until people from America were able and willing to sponsor them and give them jobs. We were really lucky to have Khoi, his wife and his daughter come to Orem.