Author: Lê Quang Vịnh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780645444322
Category : Boat people
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"After 70 years of Communism in the north Việt Nam (and the 47 years they rules the south), they brainwashed three generations. We, the 'Boat People', could not wait for anyone to claim our freedom for us. We fled, not as cowards, but as loving people who wished only a decent world for our children to grow up in. With all due respect, please read this book, then read it again. Then teach your children, and grandchildren, about what we lost. Lê Quang Vinh (Vinh Lê) is a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in Perth WA in 1978. A young English teacher (Karen) once told the author how her brother (Ross) died fighting as part of the Australian forces during the latter part of the 1954-1975 Việt Nam War. In 1966, when Lê Quang Vinh was just 12 years old, a communist Division (which included two local regiments) ambushed Ross's D company (6 Battalion of the Roayl Australian Regiment) in the rubber plantations of Nui Dat under very heavy rainfall. The battle lasted for three days and resulted in the deaths of 18 Australian soldiers with 24 wounded. On the other side, 1500 Việt Cộng were killed and 350 were wounded. After the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the War ended. Unfortunately, the winners were the communists and the mission of the South-aligned international forces (to free locals from the tyranny of Communism) as never accomplished. Not only that, but what really happened before, during and after the War was not taught in schools in Việt Nam. Any anti-Communist debate was (and still is) brutally stifled and history is whitewashed for the Party's benefit as a matter of course. These outcomes convinced Lê Quang Vinh that the South Vietnamese people owed their international friends (in particular, Australians) two great debts. The first one can never be fully re-paid: the deaths of the 521 Australian soldiers who died in the battlefields of Việt Nam. The second, however, is the acceptance of the thousands of refugees who settled down in Australia during and after the war. This book was written to pay tribute to the over 58,000 Americans and 521 Australians who sacrificed their lives in the great, if ultimately Quixotic, battle for Freedom and Democracy in Việt Nam. It was also written to set the record straight. It may not always be written in perfect English (which is, after all, the author's most recently acquired tongue) but it is very much from the heart." -- back and dust covers.
The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People
Author: Lê Quang Vịnh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780645444322
Category : Boat people
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"After 70 years of Communism in the north Việt Nam (and the 47 years they rules the south), they brainwashed three generations. We, the 'Boat People', could not wait for anyone to claim our freedom for us. We fled, not as cowards, but as loving people who wished only a decent world for our children to grow up in. With all due respect, please read this book, then read it again. Then teach your children, and grandchildren, about what we lost. Lê Quang Vinh (Vinh Lê) is a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in Perth WA in 1978. A young English teacher (Karen) once told the author how her brother (Ross) died fighting as part of the Australian forces during the latter part of the 1954-1975 Việt Nam War. In 1966, when Lê Quang Vinh was just 12 years old, a communist Division (which included two local regiments) ambushed Ross's D company (6 Battalion of the Roayl Australian Regiment) in the rubber plantations of Nui Dat under very heavy rainfall. The battle lasted for three days and resulted in the deaths of 18 Australian soldiers with 24 wounded. On the other side, 1500 Việt Cộng were killed and 350 were wounded. After the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the War ended. Unfortunately, the winners were the communists and the mission of the South-aligned international forces (to free locals from the tyranny of Communism) as never accomplished. Not only that, but what really happened before, during and after the War was not taught in schools in Việt Nam. Any anti-Communist debate was (and still is) brutally stifled and history is whitewashed for the Party's benefit as a matter of course. These outcomes convinced Lê Quang Vinh that the South Vietnamese people owed their international friends (in particular, Australians) two great debts. The first one can never be fully re-paid: the deaths of the 521 Australian soldiers who died in the battlefields of Việt Nam. The second, however, is the acceptance of the thousands of refugees who settled down in Australia during and after the war. This book was written to pay tribute to the over 58,000 Americans and 521 Australians who sacrificed their lives in the great, if ultimately Quixotic, battle for Freedom and Democracy in Việt Nam. It was also written to set the record straight. It may not always be written in perfect English (which is, after all, the author's most recently acquired tongue) but it is very much from the heart." -- back and dust covers.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780645444322
Category : Boat people
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"After 70 years of Communism in the north Việt Nam (and the 47 years they rules the south), they brainwashed three generations. We, the 'Boat People', could not wait for anyone to claim our freedom for us. We fled, not as cowards, but as loving people who wished only a decent world for our children to grow up in. With all due respect, please read this book, then read it again. Then teach your children, and grandchildren, about what we lost. Lê Quang Vinh (Vinh Lê) is a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in Perth WA in 1978. A young English teacher (Karen) once told the author how her brother (Ross) died fighting as part of the Australian forces during the latter part of the 1954-1975 Việt Nam War. In 1966, when Lê Quang Vinh was just 12 years old, a communist Division (which included two local regiments) ambushed Ross's D company (6 Battalion of the Roayl Australian Regiment) in the rubber plantations of Nui Dat under very heavy rainfall. The battle lasted for three days and resulted in the deaths of 18 Australian soldiers with 24 wounded. On the other side, 1500 Việt Cộng were killed and 350 were wounded. After the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the War ended. Unfortunately, the winners were the communists and the mission of the South-aligned international forces (to free locals from the tyranny of Communism) as never accomplished. Not only that, but what really happened before, during and after the War was not taught in schools in Việt Nam. Any anti-Communist debate was (and still is) brutally stifled and history is whitewashed for the Party's benefit as a matter of course. These outcomes convinced Lê Quang Vinh that the South Vietnamese people owed their international friends (in particular, Australians) two great debts. The first one can never be fully re-paid: the deaths of the 521 Australian soldiers who died in the battlefields of Việt Nam. The second, however, is the acceptance of the thousands of refugees who settled down in Australia during and after the war. This book was written to pay tribute to the over 58,000 Americans and 521 Australians who sacrificed their lives in the great, if ultimately Quixotic, battle for Freedom and Democracy in Việt Nam. It was also written to set the record straight. It may not always be written in perfect English (which is, after all, the author's most recently acquired tongue) but it is very much from the heart." -- back and dust covers.
The Legacy of The Vietnamese Boat People (Hardcover)
Author: Lê Quang Vinh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781088114469
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
FOREWORD I have visited Việt Nam (Vietnam) on more than a dozen occasions, mainly for business but I have also travelled through the country as a tourist. However, my knowledge and understanding of Vietnamese history, society and culture is limited so in no way am I in a position to speak authoritatively on the historical contents or any interpretation of events described in this book, The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People. It is written by my colleague and friend Lê Quang Vinh, who with his family are boat people. Much of what I know about Việt Nam has been gleaned from my visits to the country and informed by the author of this book, particularly when I was travelling with him on many of my visits to the country. Clearly, I am not in a position to provide an informed critique of the contents of this publication so instead I shall focus my comments on certain characteristics, beliefs and behaviours of the author that have driven him to undertake the massive task of producing this book which covers over 4,000 years of Vietnamese history and culture. In this book he gives his own interpretation of the importance of many of the significant events that occurred in the history of Việt Nam, with particular emphasis on the period since 1900. The book provides an even deeper focus on more recent events around the civil war in the country and the political, social, and cultural changes that occurred after the conclusion of hostilities in 1975. My initial contact with the author was early in the first decade of this century when he approached me as the then Principal of Tuart College about promoting the College's educational programs to the local Vietnamese community. He had identified that the adult ethos of the institution and its educational programs which were supported by a strong English as a Second Language program would be invaluable to assist local Vietnamese aiming to undertake tertiary education. Due to the author's knowledge of the local Vietnamese community, his enthusiasm and commitment to encouraging local Vietnamese to take up the educational opportunities offered by the College, and the promotional efforts he made, this project was successful both for local Vietnamese and the College. Buoyed by this success, he then turned his attention to promoting the College to students in Việt Nam who were aspiring to undertake their tertiary education studies in Australia, particularly in Western Australia. It was on this educationally and commercially successful project that I worked most closely with him over about seven years before I retired in 2010. During this time that I went through a massive learning curve about the Vietnamese educational system, individual schools with whom I developed particular relationships, Vietnamese teachers and their students, the aspirations Vietnamese parents had for their children and the Vietnamese society and its culture. The author's contribution to developing my knowledge base about and the success of the venture in Việt Nam was vital and invaluable. The author is a man whose life experiences and interests are many and varied, and during the time I have known him I have come to recognise his many admiral character traits. He has demonstrated that he is a keen and conscientious worker with a lovely sense of humour and with a thoughtful and compassionate nature that expresses itself in his willingness to help people improve their lives and develop their potential as fully as possible.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781088114469
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
FOREWORD I have visited Việt Nam (Vietnam) on more than a dozen occasions, mainly for business but I have also travelled through the country as a tourist. However, my knowledge and understanding of Vietnamese history, society and culture is limited so in no way am I in a position to speak authoritatively on the historical contents or any interpretation of events described in this book, The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People. It is written by my colleague and friend Lê Quang Vinh, who with his family are boat people. Much of what I know about Việt Nam has been gleaned from my visits to the country and informed by the author of this book, particularly when I was travelling with him on many of my visits to the country. Clearly, I am not in a position to provide an informed critique of the contents of this publication so instead I shall focus my comments on certain characteristics, beliefs and behaviours of the author that have driven him to undertake the massive task of producing this book which covers over 4,000 years of Vietnamese history and culture. In this book he gives his own interpretation of the importance of many of the significant events that occurred in the history of Việt Nam, with particular emphasis on the period since 1900. The book provides an even deeper focus on more recent events around the civil war in the country and the political, social, and cultural changes that occurred after the conclusion of hostilities in 1975. My initial contact with the author was early in the first decade of this century when he approached me as the then Principal of Tuart College about promoting the College's educational programs to the local Vietnamese community. He had identified that the adult ethos of the institution and its educational programs which were supported by a strong English as a Second Language program would be invaluable to assist local Vietnamese aiming to undertake tertiary education. Due to the author's knowledge of the local Vietnamese community, his enthusiasm and commitment to encouraging local Vietnamese to take up the educational opportunities offered by the College, and the promotional efforts he made, this project was successful both for local Vietnamese and the College. Buoyed by this success, he then turned his attention to promoting the College to students in Việt Nam who were aspiring to undertake their tertiary education studies in Australia, particularly in Western Australia. It was on this educationally and commercially successful project that I worked most closely with him over about seven years before I retired in 2010. During this time that I went through a massive learning curve about the Vietnamese educational system, individual schools with whom I developed particular relationships, Vietnamese teachers and their students, the aspirations Vietnamese parents had for their children and the Vietnamese society and its culture. The author's contribution to developing my knowledge base about and the success of the venture in Việt Nam was vital and invaluable. The author is a man whose life experiences and interests are many and varied, and during the time I have known him I have come to recognise his many admiral character traits. He has demonstrated that he is a keen and conscientious worker with a lovely sense of humour and with a thoughtful and compassionate nature that expresses itself in his willingness to help people improve their lives and develop their potential as fully as possible.
I Did Not Miss the Boat
Author: Lea Tran
Publisher: Lea Tran
ISBN: 9781939237743
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Lea Tran begins her memoir with vivid details of the historically-significant Vietnam War era as she and her family experienced the upheaval when the communists brought down Saigon and their world was forever changed. With extraordinary courage and determination, Tran's resourceful father managed to get his family out of the country, albeit as "boat people." "Lea Tran tells her family's refugee story, giving a poignant and moving voice to the many refugees who risked their lives fleeing Vietnam," said Pastor Tim Rauk, one of the many Americans who sponsored refugees during that crisis. In this compelling story, the plot thickens for the refugees as they endure the dangers of the open seas, attacks by pirates, and abrupt rejection, just when they finally reach a port they thought would be their salvation. In I Did Not Miss the Boat, Tran writes, "There is a misconception that once refugees settle in a new country, problems are solved, but this is false?I learned that fitting into the American mainstream does not guarantee happiness, unless I deal with my past, make peace with my identity, and accept who I really am." The intent of the book is not only to recount a perilous yet amazing adventure, but to inspire people to look deeper into their roots, understand their early influences, and discover connections between past adversity and profound opportunity. "No matter how difficult your challenges, or how dire your situation seems, you have the power to navigate your own way through. You can build your own boat so you never have to miss one," writes Tran, who also delivers her motivational message to audiences as a TEDx guest and keynote speaker. More information is available on the author's web site https://www.leatran.com/
Publisher: Lea Tran
ISBN: 9781939237743
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Lea Tran begins her memoir with vivid details of the historically-significant Vietnam War era as she and her family experienced the upheaval when the communists brought down Saigon and their world was forever changed. With extraordinary courage and determination, Tran's resourceful father managed to get his family out of the country, albeit as "boat people." "Lea Tran tells her family's refugee story, giving a poignant and moving voice to the many refugees who risked their lives fleeing Vietnam," said Pastor Tim Rauk, one of the many Americans who sponsored refugees during that crisis. In this compelling story, the plot thickens for the refugees as they endure the dangers of the open seas, attacks by pirates, and abrupt rejection, just when they finally reach a port they thought would be their salvation. In I Did Not Miss the Boat, Tran writes, "There is a misconception that once refugees settle in a new country, problems are solved, but this is false?I learned that fitting into the American mainstream does not guarantee happiness, unless I deal with my past, make peace with my identity, and accept who I really am." The intent of the book is not only to recount a perilous yet amazing adventure, but to inspire people to look deeper into their roots, understand their early influences, and discover connections between past adversity and profound opportunity. "No matter how difficult your challenges, or how dire your situation seems, you have the power to navigate your own way through. You can build your own boat so you never have to miss one," writes Tran, who also delivers her motivational message to audiences as a TEDx guest and keynote speaker. More information is available on the author's web site https://www.leatran.com/
Voices of Vietnamese Boat People
Author: Mary Terrell Cargill
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476601100
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
On April 30, 1975, the Hanoi government of North Vietnam took control over the South. South Vietnamese, particularly "intellectuals" and those thought to have been associated with the previous regime, underwent terrible punishment, persecution and "re-education." Seeking their freedom, thousands of South Vietnamese took to the sea in rickety boats, often with few supplies, and faced the dangers of nature, pirates, and starvation. While the sea and its danger claimed many lives, those who made it to the refugee camps still faced struggle and hardships in their quest for freedom. Here are collected the narratives of nineteen men and women who survived the ordeal of escape by sea. Today, they live in the United States as students, professors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and craftspeople who have chosen to tell the stories of their struggles and their triumph. Each narrative is accompanied by biographical information. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476601100
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
On April 30, 1975, the Hanoi government of North Vietnam took control over the South. South Vietnamese, particularly "intellectuals" and those thought to have been associated with the previous regime, underwent terrible punishment, persecution and "re-education." Seeking their freedom, thousands of South Vietnamese took to the sea in rickety boats, often with few supplies, and faced the dangers of nature, pirates, and starvation. While the sea and its danger claimed many lives, those who made it to the refugee camps still faced struggle and hardships in their quest for freedom. Here are collected the narratives of nineteen men and women who survived the ordeal of escape by sea. Today, they live in the United States as students, professors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and craftspeople who have chosen to tell the stories of their struggles and their triumph. Each narrative is accompanied by biographical information. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People
Author: Lê Quang Vinh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A Time for Peace
Author: Robert D. Schulzinger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199879370
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal--indeed some scars remain even today. In A Time for Peace, prominent American historian Robert D. Schulzinger sheds light on how deeply etched memories of this devastating conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. Schulzinger examines the impact of the war from many angles. He traces the long, twisted, and painful path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action, the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees into the US, and the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated. Schulzinger looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films and, perhaps most important, he explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. Using a vast array of sources, A Time for Peace provides an illuminating account of a war that still looms large in the American imagination.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199879370
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal--indeed some scars remain even today. In A Time for Peace, prominent American historian Robert D. Schulzinger sheds light on how deeply etched memories of this devastating conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. Schulzinger examines the impact of the war from many angles. He traces the long, twisted, and painful path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action, the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees into the US, and the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated. Schulzinger looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films and, perhaps most important, he explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. Using a vast array of sources, A Time for Peace provides an illuminating account of a war that still looms large in the American imagination.
Boat People
Author: Carina Hoang
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780825306907
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A photographic exploration of the plight of Vietnamese refugees who left their country on boats from 1975 through 1996 in search of safety and freedom.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780825306907
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A photographic exploration of the plight of Vietnamese refugees who left their country on boats from 1975 through 1996 in search of safety and freedom.
Terms of Refuge
Author: Court Robinson
Publisher: Zed Books
ISBN: 9781856496100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
For half a century (ever since the Japanese invasion of 1942), much of Southeast Asia has been racked by war. In the last 20 years alone, some three million people fled their homes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This book is their story. It is also the story of the international community's response. Spearheading this was the United Nations agency responsible, UNHCR. It pioneered innovations like the Orderly Departure Programme, anti-piracy and rescue-at-sea efforts, and later on, ambitious reintegration projects for returnees. Today the camps in Southeast Asia are closed. Half a million people have returned home. Over two million have started new lives in the United States, Canada, Australia and France. This compelling book is the history of this modern exodus. It also takes stock and poses important questions. How did the flight of refugees and international response evolve? How do we measure the achievements and the failures of that international effort? What has been the legacy in Asia itself? And what lessons can be drawn for use in other refugee situations around the world?
Publisher: Zed Books
ISBN: 9781856496100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
For half a century (ever since the Japanese invasion of 1942), much of Southeast Asia has been racked by war. In the last 20 years alone, some three million people fled their homes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This book is their story. It is also the story of the international community's response. Spearheading this was the United Nations agency responsible, UNHCR. It pioneered innovations like the Orderly Departure Programme, anti-piracy and rescue-at-sea efforts, and later on, ambitious reintegration projects for returnees. Today the camps in Southeast Asia are closed. Half a million people have returned home. Over two million have started new lives in the United States, Canada, Australia and France. This compelling book is the history of this modern exodus. It also takes stock and poses important questions. How did the flight of refugees and international response evolve? How do we measure the achievements and the failures of that international effort? What has been the legacy in Asia itself? And what lessons can be drawn for use in other refugee situations around the world?
The Committed
Author: Viet Thanh Nguyen
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 0802157084
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
The long-awaited follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sympathizer, which has sold more than one million copies worldwide, The Committed follows the man of two minds as he arrives in Paris in the early 1980s with his blood brother Bon. The pair try to overcome their pasts and ensure their futures by engaging in capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing. Traumatized by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend, Man, and struggling to assimilate into French culture, the Sympathizer finds Paris both seductive and disturbing. As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals whom he meets at dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese “aunt,” he finds stimulation for his mind but also customers for his narcotic merchandise. But the new life he is making has perils he has not foreseen, whether the self-torture of addiction, the authoritarianism of a state locked in a colonial mindset, or the seeming paradox of how to reunite his two closest friends whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition. The Sympathizer will need all his wits, resourcefulness, and moral flexibility if he is to prevail. Both highly suspenseful and existential, The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen’s position in the firmament of American letters.
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 0802157084
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
The long-awaited follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sympathizer, which has sold more than one million copies worldwide, The Committed follows the man of two minds as he arrives in Paris in the early 1980s with his blood brother Bon. The pair try to overcome their pasts and ensure their futures by engaging in capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing. Traumatized by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend, Man, and struggling to assimilate into French culture, the Sympathizer finds Paris both seductive and disturbing. As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals whom he meets at dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese “aunt,” he finds stimulation for his mind but also customers for his narcotic merchandise. But the new life he is making has perils he has not foreseen, whether the self-torture of addiction, the authoritarianism of a state locked in a colonial mindset, or the seeming paradox of how to reunite his two closest friends whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition. The Sympathizer will need all his wits, resourcefulness, and moral flexibility if he is to prevail. Both highly suspenseful and existential, The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen’s position in the firmament of American letters.
Where the Wind Leads
Author: Dr. Vinh Chung
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 084992295X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
The remarkable first-hand account of Vinh Chung, a Vietnamese refugee, and his family’s daring escape from communist oppression for the chance of a better life in America. Discover a story of personal sacrifice, redemption, endurance against almost insurmountable odds, and what it truly means to be American. Vinh Chung was born in South Vietnam, just eight months after it fell to the communists in 1975. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary “boat people” and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas. Where the Wind Leads follows Vinh Chung and his family on their desperate journey from pre-war Vietnam. Vinh shares: The family’s perilous journey through pirate attacks on a lawless sea Their miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas Vinh’s struggled against poverty, discrimination, and a bewildering language barrier His graduation from Harvard Medical School Where the Wind Leads is Vinh’s tribute to the courage and sacrifice of his parents, a testimony to his family’s faith, and a reminder to people everywhere that the American dream, while still possible, carries with it a greater responsibility.
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 084992295X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
The remarkable first-hand account of Vinh Chung, a Vietnamese refugee, and his family’s daring escape from communist oppression for the chance of a better life in America. Discover a story of personal sacrifice, redemption, endurance against almost insurmountable odds, and what it truly means to be American. Vinh Chung was born in South Vietnam, just eight months after it fell to the communists in 1975. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary “boat people” and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas. Where the Wind Leads follows Vinh Chung and his family on their desperate journey from pre-war Vietnam. Vinh shares: The family’s perilous journey through pirate attacks on a lawless sea Their miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas Vinh’s struggled against poverty, discrimination, and a bewildering language barrier His graduation from Harvard Medical School Where the Wind Leads is Vinh’s tribute to the courage and sacrifice of his parents, a testimony to his family’s faith, and a reminder to people everywhere that the American dream, while still possible, carries with it a greater responsibility.