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War refugee cum US Navy commander makes unique homecoming to Vietnam

On the day his side lost the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le fled his homeland at the age of five in a fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees. Thirty-four years later, he made an unlikely homecoming — as the commander of a US Navy destroyer.

Le piloted the USS Lassen yesterday into Danang, home of China Beach, where US troops frequently headed for rest and recreation during the war, which ended on April 30, 1975, when Saigon was taken by communist troops from the North.

That was the day Le and his family embarked on an uncertain journey in a fishing boat piloted by Le’s father, who was a commander in the South Vietnamese navy. They were rescued at sea by the USS Barbour County, taken to a US base in the Philippines, a refugee camp in California and finally to northern Virginia, where they rebuilt their lives.

Le returned on the Lassen, an US$800,000 million, 155m, 8,300 tonne destroyer with a crew of 300. The ship and the USS Blue Ridge are making the latest in a series of goodwill visits to Vietnam, which began in 2003 when the USS Vandergriff paid a port call to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.

“I thought that one day I would return but I really didn’t expect to be returning as the commander of a Navy warship,” Le said yesterday after stepping ashore. “It’s an incredible personal honor.”

“This visit reflects the growing cooperation between our two countries,” Le said via e-mail as his ship approached Danang for a welcoming ceremony yesterday. “It happened to be my ship that was chosen, which is an incredible opportunity for me both personally and professionally.”

The ship visits represent the efforts of both the US and Vietnam to develop their relationship as a balance to Chinese power in the region without antagonizing Vietnam’s massive northern neighbor.

Directly east of Danang are the Paracel Islands, where China and Vietnam are engaged in a sensitive territorial dispute over the archipelago, from which the Chinese drove out south Vietnamese troops in 1974. They are also wrangling over the Spratlys, another island chain believed to contain valuable oil and gas reserves.

Le grew up in Hue, a city on the central coast about 105km north of Danang where he still has relatives. He will be returning to a country vastly changed from the days of the Vietnam War.

Along the Danang coastline where US troops used to swim and surf, luxury hotels such as Hyatt and Marriott are springing up. Tourists are flocking to the region, where they play golf at a course designed by pro golf star Colin Montgomerie.

The relationship between the US and Vietnam has also changed dramatically since the former foes normalized relations in 1995. Trade has boomed and diplomatic and military ties have grown closer.

“Next year will mark the 15th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” Le said via e-mail. “I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made.”
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