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After Saigon Fell, My Family Rose

After Saigon Fell, My Family Rose

Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Black April was more than a historical marker; it's the root of my family's story. My Vietnamese mother fled South Vietnam seven days before the communists took over. My maternal grandmother escaped on one of the last C-130 aircrafts six days later. My father was a member of the Navy Seabees stationed in Da Nang before the Tet Offensive. Half a century later, this anniversary is a reminder of tragedy but also of triumph, a testament to what rises from ashes when freedom takes hold.
I grew up hearing their stories: The Viet Cong dominated dinner table conversations. My father talked about jumping into a mortar pit full of scorpions and described sleeping on the roof so he would be the first to spot anything incoming. My mother recounted frantically packing five dresses and pretending to be engaged to an American family friend to secure her last-minute escape to a refugee camp in Guam.
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