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To: ThanhPhero

Interesting story. I liked Vung Tau when I was there, and I was last in Saigon in1971. I got my woman in the Philippines, however.


49 posted on 03/26/2014 3:23:50 PM PDT by Mark17 (Chicago Blackhawks: Stanley Cup champions 2010, 2013. Vietnam Vet 70-71 Msgt US Air Force, retired)
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To: Mark17
Until a couple of years ago there was a restaurant in Vũng Tau that was owned by an American expatriate and his locally obtained wife and 7 children. He went back by invitation in '83 before foreigners were really even allowed into the country (except Russians). In the war he had been a very young and very competent engineer and his father had been a longtime construction contractor. He was sought out by a Vietnamese agent and asked to go to Việt Nam on the VN dime because they wanted someone to teach them how to build stuff the American way. They flew him out via France. He did not have a passport and has never had a visa. At first he was moved around to construction sites all over the country to give instructions and classes and hands on building.They had all the equipment left by the Americans. Gradually they used him less and less and he got married and opened the café. Last time I saw him he still kept a go bag packed by the door in case a government car drove up. He would then grab the bag and get in the car to go to wherever they need his expertise. The last time he "was called up" was when that great bridge down in the Delta collapsed before it was completed. He is comfortably retired as only a Vietnamese man with American levels of income can be.
53 posted on 03/27/2014 4:52:06 AM PDT by ThanhPhero (Khach san La Vang hanh huong tham vieng Maria)
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