“Bright young Vietnamese seek new life in States” from the August 21, 1975 Door County Advocate
Four young Vietnamese refugees recently came to Sturgeon Bay to find new homes and another way of life. Kiet P. Tran, second from left, was the last to arrive. On hand to welcome him were (from left) Richard Hannemann, Long Thranh Tran, James Newman, Ban Gia Phan and Tung Tranh Tran.
Bright young Vietnamese seek new life in States
By LINDA ADAMS
It was hard to believe the four smiling young men introduced to me one morning in the Advocate office had just a short time before been uprooted from their homeland, leaving behind all family, friends, personal possessions and their culture in hope of finding a better life.
Within the past month four young, educated men who were destined for fine careers in their country but were forced to flee for freedom and perhaps even their lives have arrived in Sturgeon Bay seeking peace and a means to rebuild their shattered lives.
Kiet P. Tran, 24; brothers Long Thanh Tran, 22, and Tung Thranh Tran, 20, and their cousin Ban Gia Phan, 20, escaped from Vietnam last spring shortly before the Communist Viet Cong overran their city.
All are from Saigon except Ban whose family comes from DaNang. They all attended the University of Saigon where Long and Ban were majoring in law; Tung in economics and business and Kiet was in the field of mathematics.
The men were brought to Sturgeon Bay through the efforts of James Newman and the Gideons. The three cousins arrived in Door county July 30 and stayed with the Newman family for some time. Kiet arrived in Sturgeon Bay on a Midstate airplane Aug. 6 and spent several days with the Richard Hannemann family. The four are now setting up housekeeping in a mobile home in Sturgeon Bay.
Kiet is already at Bay Shipbuilding as a sheet metal worker. He has four years experience because he was employed in the shipyard in Saigon while he was going to school.
The others are expected to take the shipfitting course in early fall and then will probably be employed at Bay Ship also. They are temporarily working for Newman.
Like thousands of other countrymen the four men fled Vietnam to escape communist aggression. “We are frightened of Communism and fear the Viet Cong, who are very cruel and brutal,” they said explaining why they left the country.
Kiet, the senior member of the group and an extremely friendly young man, was a paratrooper in the Vietnamese Airborne. He explained that the Viet Cong hate the military and airborne police and he feared certain death if it was discovered he was a paratrooper. Kiet left his country on a Vietnamese Navy boat, first landing at Subic Bay in the Philippines, then on to Guam and finally Ft. Chaffee, Ark.
Brothers Long and Tung escaped with the aid of a sister of a friend who worked for the American Embassy. They were lucky enough to secure a flight out of the country stopping for a period at Clark Air Force Base, Guam, and after several weeks finally the United States.
Ban, who appears to be most light-hearted of the group with his fashionable long hair and infectious smile, did not have as easy an escape as his comrades. He was forced to flee the country in a ship packed with 2,000 other refugees. For six days they sailed with little food or water and when they finally reached land three had died.
At one time the cousins were at Guam together but had no way of knowing the others were there. It wasn’t until Long accidentally ran into Ban at Ft. Chaffee that the trio was united.
All four men have family still behind in Vietnam and have had to sever contacts with those still in the besieged country. The Than brothers have 14 brothers and sisters; Ban comes from a family of 8 children and Kiet has two brothers and sisters.
For fear of Viet Cong retaliation of their families the four are reluctant to speak about their home life in Vietnam. All are very concerned about their families and some day dream of having them with them in the United States.
Kiet, Ban, Long and Tung had already been in the states several weeks when they learned of the opportunity to come to Door county. Newman, working on behalf of the Gideons, had contacted the Christian Missionary Alliance and the national refugee headquarters in hope of sponsoring a Gideon family. When he learned all of these families had been placed he agreed to do what he could to help some other refugees.
“I think it was part of God’s plan they were sent to Sturgeon Bay,” Newman said “I don’t believe they are here by accident.”
Although they lived in the same city and attended the same university Kiet had never met Ban, Tung and Long until he arrived in Sturgeon Bay in August but already they are good friends.
All are educated men. They speak and write several languages and are active in sports. Ban speaks and writes Chinese, Japanese, English and a little French. Long and Tung know Chinese, English and a little French. They all studied English for four years in their schools so have good verbal use of the language although the American slang often confuses them. They also are proficient in writing English. All are hoping to complete their degrees here in the United States.
They are fun-loving and athletically minded. Long was a member of the National Vietnamese Rowing team and Ban played basketball at the university. All participate in Karate, Judo and Kung Fu (both Chinese and Vietnamese). Long and Tung hold black belts in karate.
Although shy when praised for their expertise in these martial arts one did demonstrate a kick that placed his foot on a wooden beam in the Advocate office that is nearly seven feet in the air.
They say they never use their talents for fighting, only for fun. Long says these are sports for the strong and healthy.
Thus far the quartet has readily adapted to the U.S. culture and environment. This may be evidenced by their bell bottom pants and fashionably long hair and their love of the good ol’ American hamburger. The American style of dress does pose one problem. Tung said he couldn’t properly exhibit his karate style because his pants were too snug.
They have found the temperatures here a bit varying from those they are used to but are pleased with the beauty of the country-side. None of them has ever seen snow, except in the movies Long says. They are looking forward to the first snowfall this year.
Since coming to Door county they have been on picnics, fishing, boating, swimming and have had a chance to play basketball and soccer. They have also been attending church at Bay View Lutheran.
And like most youths their age they enjoy going to parties, listening to music and dancing. When the word “dancing” was mentioned they responded simultaneously — yes! They know how to tango, rumba, cha cha and can also step to the American “soul” favorites.
Their favorite musicians are Glen Campbell, Lobo, Neil Young, the Carpenters, Grand Funk and Led Zeppelin. They also go in big for the Beatles, Bee Gees, Elton John and the Rolling Stones.
The four say they like the United States and especially Door county. All are lonesome for their families and friends and said they hope to meet people and make lots of friends in the city.
“I think the freedom, government, strong economy and business in the United States is very good. The people are friendly and compassionate,” Long said, “and I hope to stay here a long, long time.”
In Ban’s own words, “I don’t know about the other American cities, I only know about the Sturgeon Bay people, and I will keep them deeply in my mind and I will never forget them, their compassion or the way they treat me with kindness.”
Over 25 centuries ago Thucydides told his warriors “…the secret of freedom is a brave heart…” and 2,500 years since those with brave hearts are still seeking to be free.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[The quote is from Thucydides’ history of the Peloponnesian War, which includes Pericles’ Funeral Oration. A different translation of Thucydides has Pericles stating the following:
For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men. Make them your examples, and, esteeming courage to be freedom and freedom to be happiness, do not weigh too nicely the perils of war.
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/education/thucydides.html ]
Articles by Linda Adams
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/linda-adams