Leaving behind all that they knew, who they were, their family, their friends, and their country, they intrepidly boarded a boat along with hundreds of others fleeing their homeland and seeking the same dream. Their boat navigated the rough and ferocious waters of the South China Sea dodging death with every storm, every band of pirates, and every other calamity that came their way.
Faced with hunger and malnourishment, they desperately embraced the courage to survive. The Mother (at the time one month pregnant) stayed with her 3 children as the Father went down into the cargo area of the boat to escape the masses of starving people who would go to extreme measures for any type of food. There he made a makeshift stove out of a tin coffee can and a few candles. He then proceeded to cook the rice with the water that they had brought along with them. Their children were able to eat and the simple rations of food helped to assuage their hunger.
After several days at sea, they finally landed in Hong Kong at a refugee camp. The days passed slowly as they awaited their hopeful acceptance as refugees in another country. The couple had very little in terms of material wealth and again found it difficult to survive and provide for their children. They decided to pawn their wedding rings and were able to secure a small amount of money to live off of. As the weeks went by, they at last received the news they had been anxiously waiting for – they were going to be resettled in the United States.
From there, they arrived at a refugee camp in Fort Chafee, Arkansas. Through the grace of God and by the sheer generosity of the Catholic Parish of St. Agnes and its parishioners in Mingo Junction, Ohio, who graciously sponsored the family and received them into the community with open arms, the Vietnamese family was able to put in place the first pieces of the building blocks of the American Dream.
Thirty-four years later, as I reflect on what my parents and siblings had to endure during that trying time I think of the significance of each decision and choice that had to be made and am overwhelmed with emotions of respect and admiration. I cannot even begin to describe what it must have felt like that first evening in the ocean, with nothing but absolute darkness everywhere you turned. That darkness, however bleak and gloomy, was eventually overtaken by the dawn of a new day. It is certainly accurate what many say, “with great risks comes greater rewards.”
Although I don't have any pictures (or at least haven't found any yet) of my parents during that time...I can share this picture of my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncle, and cousins more than 30+ years ago:
