East meets West (Volume 2)

EAST meets WEST

Journey Through War & Peace From The Mekong Delta To San Francisco Bay VOLUME

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EAST meets WEST

Journey by: Khương Hữu Điểu Cover by: Khương Hữu Điểu & Khánh Trường Layout by: Lê Hân Review & Correction by: Thái Vĩnh Khiêm & Stanley Tull Technique by: Tạ Quốc Quang ISBN: 978-1973783404 Nhân Ảnh Publisher 2018 Copyright @ 2018 by Dieu Khuong‐Huu

Table of Contents for Volume 1 Introduction

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PART I: The Beauty of Life in the Mekong Delta Chapter 1: My Early Years as a Teenager in Vietnam

17

Chapter 2: Peaceful Life along the Mekong Delta

47

Chapter 3: My Childhood Fun in the Mekong Delta

77

PART II: Learning the French Way Chapter 4: A Taste of Competition at Le Myre De Vilers, My Tho

103

Chapter 5: Da Lat & Lycée Yersin

117

PART III: Learning the American Way Chapter 6: Immersion in Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, USA

153

Chapter 7: Challenge at MIT

183

Chapter 8: Work and Fun in New York City

207

PART IV: Time to Go Home Chapter 9: New York – Saigon in 90 days via Pan Am

235

Chapter 10: My Saigon Life from 1958‐1975

329

PART V: A Nation Governed in Time of War Chapter 11: ESSO – The Inside Story

363

Chapter 12: Perils of Industrialization during War Time

375

Chapter 13: Offshore Oil Exploration

393

Table of Contents for Volume 2 PART V:

A Nation Governed in Time of War

Chapter 14:

Creation of Industrial Infrastructure in War Time

411

Chapter 15:

International Cooperation

427

PART VI:

Escape from Vietnam

Chapter 16: Saigon to the U.S

457

Chapter 17: Refugees in Marine Camp Pendleton, California

471

PART VII:

Politics in Time of War

Chapter 18: Kissinger and the Vietnam War PART VIII:

497

Finding a New Life

Chapter 19: Good Samaritans

521

Chapter 20: San Francisco, Home Sweet Home

545

PART IX:

The Beauty of Life Here and Now

Chapter 21: Twenty-Two Years of Work for a Happy Retirement

585

Chapter 22: Gastronomy and My Life

615

Chapter 23: Retirement with Health, Happiness and Quality Life

653

Chapter 24: Anecdotes from “Dream Team”

683

Chapter 25: Bond of Love Among Sibblings

777

Epilogue / Acknowledgements

817

Appendix

823

PART V

A Nation Governed in Time of War (continued from Volume 1)

CHAPTER 14 Creation of Industrial Infrastructure in War Time 1964�1975

, Industrial Development Bank Foundation of Economic Development

In 1961, the war effort led me to quit Esso, a private company, to work for the government in order to get a military deferment. First, I moved to work for the giant Vietnam Sugar Corporation, a government joint venture with the French.

After which, I joined the Industrial Development Center (IDC) and SONADEZI (Société Nationale de Dévelopement des Zones Industrielles).

My next career change came in 1966, thanks to Mr. Âu Trường Thanh, a very talented economist with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Paris. At the time, the economy of South Vietnam was suffering from dangerous inflation that created further instability to our war‐torn country. Mister Thanh had just been nominated Minister of Economy and Finance, and he was looking for someone with an American background since South Vietnam was supported by the U.S. government. Minister Thanh wanted someone capable of dealing fairly with USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the lead U.S. government agency that worked to enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. In 1966, the annual commercial aid provided by the USAID to South Vietnam was about $800 million. I was on the list of candidates for the

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job. Besides being CEO of IDC, I was also president of the AUAA (American University Alumni Association.)

By luck or destiny, it seemed like I was the right man at the right time and place for the job. Mister Thanh nominated me as his deputy probably because I was the first Vietnamese with an advanced degree from MIT and because of my experience working in Vietnam for the previous eight years. He believed that with my experience, I would be capable of working with the Americans at an equal level. For me it was an honor to serve my country at such a difficult time. At 35, I was the youngest deputy minister of economy ‐‐‐ facing the greatest challenge of my life and I tackled the job with my heart and soul. As president of the U.S. University Alumni Association, I drew upon that pool of talents to assemble my dream team. We were a close‐knit team and even now, more than 25 years after the fall of Saigon in 1975, we still get together like members of an extended family.

My “Dream Team” reunited for my 70th birthday surprise party in my San Francisco home in Oct. 2000

The Alma Maters of the team included Lafayette College, MIT, Stanford University, Columbia University, NYU, Phú Thọ Technical University, Saigon University, Đà Lạt University, California State University‐Sacramento, University

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of Arizona, Colorado State University, Georgetown University, Purdue University, University of Oklahoma, Pittsburgh University, Bowling Green State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Laval University of Québec‐Canada, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Asian Institute of Technology‐Thailand, École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux‐Arts de Paris, Université de Montpellier, Université de Nantes, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Monash University‐ Melbourne Australia, University of Western Australia‐Perth, Massey University‐ NZ, London School of Economics, University of Canterbury‐Christchurch, NZ …

The task at hand was to bring South Vietnam out from under more than six decades of French colonial rule during which time international commerce consisted primarily of exporting raw materials such as rice, coffee, copra, rubber, coal, hardwood, and importing French manufactured goods. The country as a colony lacked all the necessary infrastructure for conventional economic development. My priority was to help speed up the conversion of the existing system to a free market economy. To achieve this goal, development of industrial parks would be necessary along with the creation of a Bureau of Standards, Export Processing Zones, and a management training program.

Vietnam was behind other Asian countries, the so called “little tigers” like Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. The three countries of Japan, China, and Korea were part of the four nations with “chopstick culture” which were industrious and hard‐working and endowed with a considerable pool of talent and skilled labor. The Republic of China (Taiwan) and South Korea as well as other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore really took advantage of the availability of US dollars spent during the Vietnam War to speed up their own development. In fact, they reached the economic “take‐off” stage in a very short time. Vietnam, however, was seriously handicapped by war devastation and insecurity, so we offered investment laws with many tax incentives to attract foreign and local capital.

The Biên Hòa Industrial Park was a good example of our success. The Park, only 30 km from Saigon, was well protected by the huge, nearby US military base at Long Bình. The Park offered land, water, electricity, telephone, easy construction permits and low‐cost labor. One plant manufactured power tillers for our vast rice fields under license from Japan's Yanmar Diesel Engine Co. and Kubota Ltd.. Their engines were also popular for river transportation and fishing boats in the Mekong Delta and along the coastline. Other plants included a steel rolling mill producing rebar and other iron‐steel construction products from war scrap metals. The industrial park also housed paper mills, chemical plants, a brick factory, and other manufacturing plants that produced car batteries, fluorescent

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lamps and many other import substitution products. After the Tet offensive in January 1968, the economy was progressing so fast that I organized a very successful Saigon Expo 1970 highlighting all of the locally made goods.

Saigon Expo, 1970

President & Mrs. Nguyễn văn Thiệu at the inauguration of Saigon Expo. I was on the left side of Mrs. Thiệu. Miss Trúc Lâm from IDB was holding the tray with the scissors. On the upper left corner of the photo: Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and Prime Minister Trần thiện Khiêm.

In the background Hoàng đức Nhã, Võ văn Huệ and Lê văn Lắm

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Architect Lê văn Lắm, alumnus of École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux‐ Arts, Paris, was the designer of the successful 1970 SAIGON EXPO. Miss Lê Trúc Lâm was instrumental in the realization of a feature film “Kỹ Nghệ Việt Nam” (Vietnam Industry) which debuted at this Fair. The film, produced by the National Movies Center (Trung Tâm Quốc Gia Điện Ảnh), highlighted the many industrialization achievements even while the war was raging in the countryside.

Typical souvenir plate to organizer team members, this one awarded to engineer Huỳnh Hữu Hân

In 1969, the December 27th issue of BusinessWeek Magazine reported in detail the major economic progress of South Vietnam after the 1968 TET offensive.

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Business Week December 27, 1969 Excerpts from of Business Week Article: Schizophrenia is an occupational hazard for businessmen in Saigon. “We have to explain to the home office that we must plan for postwar growth” says the manager of a foreign company “and we must also be ready to rush out the front door if the Vietcong come in the back.”

But right now, for the first time since the Communists’ Tet offensive in January 1968, businessmen in South Vietnam are beginning to think more about long haul opportunities than about short term risks.

A few Vietnamese investors are putting money into new plants with financial help and other incentives from the South Vietnamese government’s Industrial Development Center (IDC), an autonomous agency that operates as a development bank. At IDC’s Bien Hoa industrial park outside Saigon, plants are going up to make a wide variety of products: paints, instant coffee, galvanized sheets, animal feeds, and diesel‐powered tillers. Other installations are planned, including a rolling mill to make steel products from the scrap strewn across the South Vietnamese landscape by the war.

Now IDC is building another industrial park and river port at Can Tho deep in the delta. Khuong Huu Dieu, IDC’s managing director and a graduate of MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says he is negotiating with the Vietnamese investors who want to put up plants to assemble pumps, tractors, and other farm equipment at Can Tho. “A year from now you will see factories there,” he promises.

Improved rural security. Movement of goods spells new prosperity.

Caution. Few foreign investors are putting new money into South Vietnam yet, but Americans and Japanese, especially, are looking carefully at prospects. “A lot of people are wondering when is the best time to get in on the ground floor,” says an American observer in Saigon.

A preliminary survey of offshore oil prospects in the Gulf of Thailand, recently done by a group of 10 oil companies by Mandrill Industries, Inc., was encouraging enough so that some participants are anxious to have the government invite bids for exploration.

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Japanese businessmen arrive in Saigon daily to look over investment possibilities from banana plantations and fisheries to a plywood factory. Japan’s Kubota, Ltd., and Yanmar Diesel Engine Co., Ltd. are licensing rival plants to make agricultural equipment.

The stepped‐up business reflects both the swift recovery of the South Vietnamese economy from the Tet offensive and increasing security in the countryside. Trucks and buses rumble from Saigon to Hue along once‐perilous Highway 1. Barges move rice without hindrance from Ca Mau, deep in the delta, to the capital.

Safer times. The free movement of goods and the improved security in rural areas are stirring new prosperity, particularly in the rice‐rich Mekong Delta.

This year’s rice harvest totaled an estimated 5.1‐million tons ‐ up 500,000 tons from 1968 and close to the peak of 5.3‐million in 1963. With money in hand, farmers are going into provincial towns and buying gasoline motors made by Kohler Co and Briggs and Stratton to power sampans and drive irrigation pumps.

The markets for such motors alone currently are around 100,000 annually.

Outlays. Meantime, despite uncertainties, the government is trying to encourage more industrial investment. IDC’s Khuong Huu Dieu has no illusions about what is needed to whet businessmen’s interest.

“In wartime, you have to wave a lot of carrots,” he says. Accordingly, IDC arranges a piaster of financing for every piaster of equity an investor puts in a plant. At the new industrial park in Can Tho, IDC will install power lines, telephones, water, put up steel framing prefabricated buildings, and invite investors in. “There is no red tape.” says Dieu “I get all the permits for them.”

At the Bien Hoa Park near Saigon, factories representing $30‐million of investments make such products as bicycles tires, textiles, and sheet glass.

Parsons and Whittemore of the U.S. has a minority interest in a paper mill; Eternit of France makes roofing and pipes. As in other countries of South‐east Asia, much of the investment is by overseas Chinese.

Dieu, a former deputy minister of the economy, holds a master’s degree from MIT in engineering and industrial management. He worked for Ebasco in New York, then for Esso and a sugar company in South Vietnam.

Manpower. Dieu has assembled a staff of 40 graduates of American universities‐MIT, Stanford, the Wharton School, and others‐ to provide a wide

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range of service to investors from designing equipment to helping in calling for international bids.

Running a development center has led Dieu into other activities. “When I went to look at plants of investors and get repayment on loans, I found they had no management” he explains. This led him to set up a training center to teach such subjects as cost analysis, personnel management, and inventory and quality control. With this he hopes to lure investors to risk money in enterprises and then show them how to run them. Dieu explains his philosophy this way: “I try to keep a lot of industrial projects in the pipeline. I feed investors ideas through seminars and conferences. Once I catch them, I feed them with engineering, and then I feed them with money. After the plant is set up, I feed them with management.”

During my years as Deputy Minister of the Economy, I also served as the CEO and president of two important government organizations in South Vietnam: the Industrial Development Center (IDC) and later the Industrial Development Bank (IDB) which loaned money for the construction of manufacturing facilities.

Thanks to the tremendous efforts of my exceptionally capable and dedicated “Dream Team" we achieved impressive, concrete results. It is worth touching upon some of the systems, agencies, and organizations that we put into place to accomplish our mission.

Among other requirements, a Bureau of Standards was set up to certify the quality of goods being produced, and to guarantee that the goods were up to standard. One of our “Dream Team,” MIT‐trained Phí Minh Tâm, was the CEO of this agency which was located at the Biên Hòa Industrial Park. We also set up the Investment Service Center at the ministry of economy building that was run by Stanford‐trained Nguyễn Đăng Khôi.

One very important organization that our team set up was The Vietnam Agency for Petroleum and Minerals to capitalize on the untapped natural resources of the country. Our focus was primarily upon the great potential for off‐ shore oil and gas development in the oil rich Saigon‐Sabu basin that Vietnam shared with its neighboring countries. The Sabu side of the basin had produced a lot of crude oil a long time ago, but the Saigon side of the basin was essentially untapped. With technical aid from CCOP “Coordinating Committee for Offshore Prospecting in Asia,” the agency was created and one member of our dream team, Mr. Trần văn Khởi, became its CEO. Mister Khởi published the book “Vietnam Petroleum – 1970 to 1975” to relate the results of these exploration activities.

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“Vietnam Petroleum 1970‐1975” by Trấn văn Khởi

Having visited very successful Export Processing Zones (EPZ) in Taiwan, I knew that the creation of such zones in Vietnam would be critical for the country’s economic development. Therefore, I wasted no time in implementing EPZ’s in the port of Saigon. The objectives of setting up EPZ’s were to encourage Foreign Direct Investments and channel the sources of foreign exchange within the system. The EPZ’s served to foster the establishment of industrial enterprises and to generate wider economic activities thereby attracting foreign investments to further develop the zones. Earnings from foreign exchange were channeled into the development of more exports. Furthermore, the zones provided the much needed infrastructure to encourage the establishment and development of Vietnamese industries and businesses which created more employment opportunities. Our vision was to acquire advanced technology for increased productivity, thus providing world class quality products.

The Biên Hòa Industrial Park, with its security guaranteed by the nearby US base in Long Bình, was not the only successful industrial park that we created. In Cần Thơ, the capital of the Mekong Delta, Taiwan provided substantial aid to South Vietnam by sending over its largest dredge to fill the new park with sand from the Mekong River. Additionally, the Đà Nẵng Park in Central Vietnam had projects financed by the IDB branch office.

The Management Institute was another successful endeavor launched by our team. We soon learned that senior staff at factories in the newly created industrial plants needed training in management to increase productivity and thereby give them the ability to repay our bank loans. That was how the

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Management Institute was created under the supervision of one very active member of our dream team, Mr. Võ văn Huệ. Starting in 1970, we published our monthly Management Magazine announcing the results of different training classes either at home or abroad. We organized many factory visits for the manufacturing community so they could share their experiences and learn from one another. Our regular seminars dealing with management topics were very well accepted. The governing body of the Management Institute was under the Honorary Chairmanship of Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm. Many of the country’s business leaders served on the governing body.

1972‐1973 Board of Management Institute

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Management Seminar Membership ID

We saw continued success in the industrial development of Vietnam due to our multifaceted efforts. As a result, the Industrial Development Bank continued to speed up the financing of new projects in the provinces. Loans were approved for all sectors of the economy from agricultural processing to manufacturing, to water and power projects, and more.

I have only touched on a few of the stories there are to tell about the industrial development in South Vietnam some half a century ago. My purpose was to fulfill the needs of the people, both in the cities and rural areas. My team and I went about the urgent task of setting up the required industrial infrastructure for economic development as fast as possible � even in time of a raging war, with the goal of improving the everyday vital living conditions of the people. My reward was seeing the positive differences that these efforts made in the lives of the Vietnamese people.

CHAPTER 15 International cooperation

PART A Asian Productivity Organization & Japan

My responsibilities during the war years 1964�1975 involved working with the Free World countries helping South Vietnam counter the attacks by the communist North that received sustained support from the Soviet Union and Red China. The friendly countries were the USA, Japan, France, West Germany and the Republic of China (Taiwan). As a representative of South Vietnam, I joined the APO (Asian Productivity Organization) in 1964. It was founded by Japan on May 11, 1961 as a regional intergovernmental organization to contribute to the sustainable socio�economic development of Asia and the Pacific by enhancing productivity and competitiveness. It tried to strengthen the capability of the National Productivity Organizations (NPOs) through training and consultancy services to the public and private sectors. It aimed to facilitate the dissemination and exchange of information on productivity among its members. Its head office was in Tokyo and its Secretary General was a former Japanese ambassador. In 1964, APO members included Japan, Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

The board of Governors of APO met once a year on a rotational basis among its members. During those meetings, I learned a lot by exchanging development

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ideas with my colleagues. They were cabinet members or highly qualified CEOs in their respective countries.

In Asia, Japan was the best place for me to send my staff, business owners and managers for training programs offered by the APO. There they could study various aspects of business management in world famous corporations such as Sony, Pioneer Electronics and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. APO also sent many technical experts to the IDC (Industrial Development Center) to help in many different areas. For instance, Mr. Kobayashi, a very knowledgeable industrial engineer retired from Japan National Railroad, and Mr. Kaneko, president and owner of an electroplating company in Japan, were sent to Saigon as instructors in their areas of expertise and to provide valuable lessons in human interface in which they were masters.

Prime Minister Eisaku Sato's Inaugural Speech in Tokyo 1970

As a vice chairman, I sat on the stage 2nd from the right.

Minister of Finance, Kiichi Miyazawa, 2nd from the left

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APO and the Japanese Embassy in Saigon organized delegations of Japanese industrialists and potential investors to visit South Vietnam for joint ventures. We had at our Biên Hòa Industrial Park the Yanmar and Kubota factories manufacturing agricultural diesel equipment. The engines produced by those two companies were very popular for our fishing and transportation industries.

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Japanese investors visiting my Saigon office in 1972

An APO Japanese delegation of industrialists visiting my Saigon office in 1973.

They had a Vietnamese lady interpreter. Our APO Liaison Officer, Mr. Nguyễn Đăng Khôi, sent a number of Vietnamese managers and business owners, as well as members of our own staff, to the many training programs offered by APO. He himself and his colleague Trần Văn Khởi attended a 3‐month training session as visiting engineers.

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On the panel L to R: Mr. V.A. Safarey Deputy Minister of Industry of Pakistan, Mr. N. N. Wanchoo Minister of Industry of India

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APO projects Most of Vietnam's export of forest products was raw logs. I tried to promote factories to process raw wood into finished products such as plywood to earn the added value and to create jobs. With the help of APO, Japan financed a plywood factory, the Tân Mai plant, in the suburb of Saigon. I was able to visit a similar factory in Japan and to specify the proper equipment for our project in Vietnam. It was a very successful investment although the war created additional difficulties.

Tree trunks were often damaged by bullets or shrapnel. Consequently, the wood logs, raw material of the project, could cause damages to the steel blades used in the shaving of the logs.

Our cooperation with APO resulted in bringing Japanese manufacturing plants to the Biên Hòa Industrial Park. They were electronics manufacturing and assembling plants together with other consumer goods factories. Japanese experts in bamboo and wood handicraft were sent to Vietnam to promote the added value of our forest products.

In 1973, President Chiang Kai‐shek of the Republic of China awarded me the “King Star Medal” for my contributions to the Asian Productivity Organization.

(See photo below)

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In Saigon, on August 11,1973, Vietnamese Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm opened the 15th Governing Body Meeting of APO. No one expected that Saigon would be lost to the communists in less than two years!

L to R: Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, P.M. Trần Thiện Khiêm, former Ambassador M. Sato

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Mr. Điểu delivering the closing speech (L to R: P.M. Trần Thiện Khiêm, Ambassador Sato, Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu)

Cooperation with the Republic of China, Taiwan

During the war, South Vietnam and the Republic of China (Taiwan) held yearly economic conferences to promote our bilateral trade. During this period Taiwan earned precious foreign exchange from South Vietnam. The fact that the US also had many contracts with Taiwan to supply the needed goods and services for its operations in South Vietnam provided a lot of US dollars necessary for the Taiwanese economic “take‐off phase.” During WWII, Chiang Kai‐shek’s army and

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its many engineers and specialists moved from Mainland China to Formosa. With manpower and new sources of US dollars available, Taiwan was very successful in creating export processing zones and industrial parks. I myself learned to implement such economic infrastructure already tested in Taiwan. We sent many of our farmers to Taiwan for quick training in agricultural production. I was shown a real success example in aquaculture starting with a pond at one end of the farm producing green algae as fish food; then came a hatchery with thousands of baby fish next to several ponds of mature fish. Finally, at the end of the line there was a successful restaurant with fish as specialty of the house! I was impressed by a very well integrated, successful production and sales operation. At one time, Taiwanese farmers' exports provided 50% of France’s escargot consumption.

Our farmers were trained in Taiwan to grow on an industrial scale different types of mushrooms and other farm produce. When I started my industrial park in Cần Thơ, the capital of the Mekong Delta, Taiwan donated the service of its biggest sand dredge to fill the new park with sand from the nearby Mekong River.

We received also in Biên Hòa industrial park a Taiwanese prestressed concrete plant for electric power poles.

Assistance from France

A. I was very fortunate to have received substantial aid from the French Government. To speed up the economic development I needed experts to rapidly train new recruits so as to strengthen the knowhow of my technical staff. As technical aid to Vietnam, France sent a really experienced senior advisor Dr. Denis Nguyễn Phước Du, a Ph. D. from École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier. Doctor Du, a Vietnamese French citizen, was a talented supervisor having worked many years with Shell‐Vietnam Company. Being also a professor at Phú Thọ National Technical Center, he helped me recruit the cream of the crop

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from that university. We worked together from 1964 to 1975. He made a great contribution to the success of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam. I had great pleasure seeing him and his family at his home in Montpellier, France.

B. The system of education in Vietnam was similar to that of France during the colonial time. However, during the American intervention from 1956 to 1975, the existing system was modified to match the US model. In 1974, the French government invited a delegation of Vietnamese officials to visit its best universities. The team included the Minister of Education Mr. Ngô Khắc Tỉnh, his deputy Dr. Đỗ Bá Khê and me as technology advisor to the minister. I had the rare opportunity to visit the École Polytechnique de Paris, École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, École Normale Supérieure, Supélec, INSEAD, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Université de Bordeaux, Université de Toulouse, Université de Montpellier, Université de Marseille, and the Université d’Aix‐en‐ Provence with members of the Department of Off‐shore Petroleum. The most pleasant and unforgettable experience was at the University of Bordeaux. This school had a famous Hôtellerie Internationale Department and the President of the university treated us to a real gourmet reception prepared by his Hôtellerie staff. Of course. the Bordeaux wine was properly selected for the guests.

At the end of the tour of universities, the French minister of education invited our delegation to a banquet at the world‐famous Hotel de Crillon, Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris. I was impressed by the luxurious, elegant reception room and the Michelin starred restaurant food.

In light of my MIT background, I made the following observations of the French higher education system, which has remained very much the same nowadays in its main aspects: 1. Most of the universities in France are public schools, meaning they are run by the government. The private sector only played an insignificant role. On the other hand, the US has many public universities but most of the best universities are private and are decentralized. For instance, the following US private schools are dispersed all over the country: MIT and Harvard in Massachusetts; Columbia and New York University in New York; Stanford and Cal‐Tech in California; Princeton in New Jersey; Yale in Connecticut…

2. In France, the best i.e. “The Grandes Écoles” are all centralized in the capital city Paris.

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3. Tuition is fairly low and the students can finish the university without financial debt like in the U S. 4. Relations among students and faculty are more formal than in the U S. 5. The campuses are rather small; there is no Fraternity and Sorority Life. The so‐called Greek letter organizations common at American universities don't exist in France.

6. There is no Student Affairs Residential Education which advances student development and learning and empowers students to thrive.

7. Research and Development funds and facilities are fairly limited compared to that at American universities.

8. Sports activities on campus are much less developed on French campuses.

None had huge stadiums like the 107,601 seats of the University of Michigan and many others.

9. French Alumni are less generous than their counterparts in the U S because the French think this funding is the responsibility of the government.

10. US Private universities depend on their endowments; Harvard $32.7 Billion; Yale $23.9; Stanford $21.4; Princeton $20.7. Having more money allows universities to hire more and better professors, and through scholarships recruit high‐quality students. Rich universities maintain their reputation by offering high‐quality instruction and by financing high‐powered research among their faculty. The result is that the two highest ranked French universities are École Polytechnique de Paris and École Normale Supérieure, whose rankings are 40 and 23 respectively on a worldwide scale.

C. In 1974, I was invited by Mr. Rueff, Chairman of the board of CARIC to give a talk in Paris on investments in Vietnam. CARIC was a French Shipyard & Ship repairing Company, located in Saigon since 1887. The conference was organized at the head office of the “Conseil National du Patronat Français” (CNPF), a historic building of the “French Employers Union” on Avenue Pierre‐Ier‐de‐Serbie. I was accompanied by Vietnam's Ambassador in Paris Mr. Nguyễn duy Quang. My twin, Dr. Khương Hữu Quí and his wife were also invited. The French investors benefited from the advantage of low cost and skilled labor in Vietnam to produce and export high quality rosewood furniture, ceramic pottery, flash frozen seafood and farm raised fish to France. In the Biên Hòa Industrial Park, France had a

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successful factory Éternit making low cost building materials. CARIC even manufactured the “La Dalat” automobiles in Saigon. To please my potential investors, I did my best to speak French during the conference.

Aid from Germany

1. Vissan, Vietnam Súc Sản Công Ty (Saigon modern slaughterhouse) This was a special economic aid project from Germany to South Vietnam. I had observed that Saigon, a city of multi‐million people, still had an unsanitary, antiquated slaughterhouse. I contacted the Commercial Attaché of the German Embassy to explain to him the need to set up a proper slaughterhouse for Saigon and offered to show him in detail the terrible conditions at the existing facilities.

Therefore, I invited him to make a trip to the site with me. Starting by boat from the Saigon “Club Nautique,” we followed several miles on Cầu Ông Lãnh canal leading to the well‐known antique Chánh Hưng slaughterhouse. During low tide, it was a shock to see houses on stilts along the canal dumping toilet paper on the banks of the canal. At the meat processing plant, we witnessed the old fashioned‐ way of killing pigs with a sharp pointed knife. It was awful to see blood all over the place and hear loud animal screams. That was enough to convince our friendly German Commercial Attaché to start the paperwork on the project. I was named project manager by the ministry of economy.

The government took private property through the power of Eminent Domain for the construction of the slaughterhouse. The law required the government to pay just compensation to the property owner. I was given that piece of paper to carry out my job. The logical and functional proposed site for this Saigon project was located in a plantation of “Bông mai” (the Vietnamese yellow TET blossom) and “Bông ngâu” (flowers added to Chinese tea for flavor). I had to form a committee to decide on the issue of property compensation. It was a very heartbreaking job. The “meat plant” must be surrounded by a canal because

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pigs and cattle came from the provinces mostly by boats and barges, the most economical transport in the Mekong Delta. Also for security reasons the plant had to be isolated from the housing zone. I created an island with a bridge connecting it to the road network. One day, the dredge used in the digging of this canal came to an abrupt stop by an old farmer sitting on his chair in the middle of the way. He refused to sell his ancestral land and sat there in protest. Thank GOD, I had the authority to deal with this respectable gentleman. I patiently and politely explained to him the need for the country to have a sanitary modern meat processing plant and that Germany was willing to give Vietnam financial aid for this purpose. Besides the maximum cash compensation, I told him that I would give him a special bonus: several Yorkshire pigs from the US aid program. The deal was finally sealed.

During the construction phase, I found that the whole project sat on a muddy alluvium terrain requiring a massive foundation supported by long reinforced concrete piles. I felt very proud of this project because it was a first in Saigon realized from A to Z by a team of young Vietnamese engineers from my organization i.e. from conception to specifications suitable for international bidding, choice of proper equipment, supervision of construction, installation and start‐up. The completed facilities, named VISSAN, were inaugurated by Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm in 1974. The CEO of Vissan company was Lê thanh Nhàn, one of our staff, an alumnus of École Polytechnique de Montréal.

The photos below show the Inauguration ceremony of this “Vissan” project

by Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm, the German ambassador and our former “Dream Team members” Ministers Hoàng Đức Nhã and Nguyễn Đức Cường.

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2. In 1969, I participated in a one�month German training program for development banking in Berlin for 12 Asian countries. That was the time when West Berlin was isolated from the outside world by the famous wall. From Paris to Berlin, our plane was required to fly within a controlled narrow corridor. I remember the Air France Caravelle I flew on had to ride out the stormy weather with its great turbulence without any deviation possible from the allowed route.

Berlin's Tegel Airport was the main international airport for Berlin, serving the former West Berlin, which was of course surrounded by communist East Germany. The seminar was held at Villa Borsig.

Villa Borsig, Berlin Tegel, 1969

International seminar center Berlin Tegel, 1969

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One weekend I was curious about visiting a communist land by crossing “Checkpoint Charlie� controlled by the Americans. With my South Vietnam passport, I was afraid I might have trouble getting back to the West. I made sure that all my classmates at the seminar would contact their embassy about my absence in the West should I not return.

Checkpoint Charlie

The minute I crossed into East Germany, one East German and one Russian approached me and asked me not to return to the West. They knew I was a mechanical engineer from MIT and suggested I stay and work for East Germany.

Of course, I continued my visit as a tourist observing the great contrast between poor East Berlin and prosperous West Berlin. I had no problem returning via Checkpoint Charlie, with excitement. Besides the formal training, the government program organized tours for the participants to learn more about life in West Berlin.

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UK Assistance

The British government invited a delegation of South Vietnamese businessmen and industrialists to visit British industries especially those adapted to produce low cost housing for the war refugees.

I lead a six‐member delegation of Vietnamese industrialists on a ten‐day informational tour of England, arriving in London on April 8th, 1967. This tour was at the invitation of the British government. The delegation included Mrs. Nguyễn‐Thị‐Hai, Owner and Manager of the Nguyễn‐Thị‐Hai Pharmaceutical Laboratories; Mr. Trương‐Khắc‐Cẩn, Managing Director of the Trương‐Văn‐Bền oils and soap firm; Mr. Nguyễn‐Văn‐Khải, Owner and Director of the Phúc‐Tiến Weaving Company; Mr. Huỳnh‐Ngọc‐Mỹ, General Manager, My‐Tox Company (insecticides); and Mr. Hồ‐Tấn‐Phát, Director General of the Viet‐Nam Power Company. The visit was arranged by the Central Office of Information.

Six‐member delegation

During their stay in Great Britain, the Vietnamese industrialists visited industrial firms and establishments related to their own field of activity and interest, both in London and in provincial cities, and met leading British industrialists.

As a result of the Vietnamese trade delegation visit, Gideon Richter (G.B.) signed an agreement with various South Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies to supply ethicals and pharmaceuticals worth several million dollars during the following three years. Under the agreement Gideon Richter (G.B.) ‐ which is a member of the Lepetit Group, in turn owned by Dow Chemicals ‐ would supply goods worth $60,000 every month for the three‐year period of the agreement.

The order, said a spokesman for Gedeon Richter, came after almost a year of negotiations, and representatives of the company had paid several visits to Saigon meanwhile.

We were very impressed by the quality of the British protocol taking excellent care of visitors. The railways from London to the provinces were a very comfortable mode of transportation. Besides visiting special manufacturing plants, we were treated as tourists in Liverpool and Manchester, including the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. Mr. Phát and I were guided through the control room of a nuclear power plant. We were also taken on a tour of the historic London power station which was converted later into a massive complex of retail space, offices, and luxury "villas."

PART B Vietnam � USA 1964�1975

The CIA and Me

In 1952 I began my first college year at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. I had to struggle with great difficulties in the use of the English language. I had to find all kinds of ways to help me improve my English, such as listening to the radio, reading newspapers, talking to the new friends in class and at the living quarters, as well as attending the English classes for foreign students.

Thus, while trying to keep my head above the water with the use of the English language, I received a letter from the International Institute of Education in New York City informing me that my scholarship was valid only for one year. I was flabbergasted. I felt hopeless and asked myself was this the way the United States of America was helping me get my Mechanical Engineer degree? For my parents, it would be totally unacceptable that I should return to Saigon without my Engineering diploma! No one in Saigon could understand my feelings of despair at that time. How would I have the necessary capability of overcoming this tremendous challenge in my life on American soil?

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Undergoing such mental stress, loneliness, and being thrown into the darkest period of my life, I did not properly weigh the possible adverse consequences in applying to study elsewhere, including in Moscow. I sent my scholarship applications to Switzerland, Germany and the Soviet Union in case the United States truly decided to shorten my studies. The University of Moscow could be the place to help me complete my Engineering degree although at the time there was a matter of life and death conflict between the Free World and the Communist Bloc. I continuously received propaganda materials from Moscow. A few months later I got some help from an American friend by the name of "John."

He told me a friend of his named Berringer was writing a book about Vietnamese history and was looking for someone on a part‐time basis to assist him in research work through magazines, newspapers and other documents on Vietnam.

That was a good opportunity for me to earn some money for my studies and at the same time improve my English. We became friends from that time.

In 1957, from MIT, Cambridge, I went to New York City to assume a new job and there were times we had lunch together. I then had the opportunity to impress John that I already had a Pan Am air ticket to return to Saigon to work and be near my parents. "John" and his wife treated me with a lavish surprise at a high class restaurant frequented by well‐known personalities. I also went from one surprise to another and finally I was able to discover that "John" was already a long time CIA agent! I was able to understand that "John" had kept a watch on me since the time I received the propaganda stuffs from Moscow! My part‐time work with him was a way for him to control me! After my graduation from MIT, "John" tried to convince me to help Vietnam by cooperating with the CIA. I was stunned by this sudden proposition and reacted to it very negatively.

How would it be possible for a new MIT Engineer to accept cooperating with the CIA and carry on with his life, especially being a spy in his own country for the benefit of a foreign power? That was something that had never entered my mind. I had studied hard to become a good, well‐trained technocrat in order to serve my country and not to be a good spy to do harm to my homeland. Where would I put the pride and dignity of my parents as well as respect of the beautiful traditions of my family in terms of ethics and righteousness?

In my mind, participation in CIA activities meant the use of violence, assassination, coup d’ état or undercover operations such as intelligence, things which were totally unfamiliar to me. "John" tried to convince me with his positive reasoning. In short, he argued that the CIA would help me save my country. The CIA had done a lot of beneficial things in my country such as giving assistance to stabilize the economy of South Vietnam in time of war thus avoiding inflation,

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providing sufficient supplies of essential goods, promoting the living conditions of the people. For the first time in my life, I was able to know about the top secret world of international banking with the use of the special confidential code by the Swiss banks. The remuneration offered to me was also enormous. "John" concluded that cooperation with the CIA was another way to help my country and would not mean committing treason. In a way, "John" could be right.

However, right at the start, I had affirmed that I had my own ideal to serve my country. My education according to the Asian traditions taught me not to do anything unethical, improper and, therefore, I would never accept to work for the CIA. Nevertheless, due to curiosity, I asked "John" what would happen to me if unfortunately the Communists took over Saigon? How would I be treated?

"John" told me that he would have to ask his superiors before answering my question because it concerned a matter of policy. I was quite relaxed when I put that question to him. At another special dinner, "John" informed me that I would be one of the people on the priority list for evacuation of U.S. Citizens in case Saigon should fall into Hanoi communist hands.

I did not forget the saying "there is no free lunch." When the U.S. spent billions of dollars and had hundreds of thousands of soldiers in South Vietnam, it was not helping but was acting in the interests of the U.S. first of all. Of course, the relationship between South Vietnam and the U.S. was not one of equal partnership. The United States had to know what the Republic of Vietnam was doing and it must do whatever the U.S. required according to the U.S. strategy, both publicly and secretly.

Since 1965, with the increase in U.S. aid and the direct participation of the U.S. troops in the war, the CIA provided weekly and monthly reports besides the special ones covering every major local event to the American leaders. In 1972, with President Richard Nixon's Executive Order Number 11652, the secret documents were gradually declassified and made public, and many "high level inner secrets" were revealed.

Among the declassified documents, I was very surprised to read the CIA report dated July 13, 1967 containing the suggestion to the Republic of Vietnam government that it invite me to become the Minister of Commerce, replacing the then incumbent Nguyễn Kiến Thiên Ân, due to his inability to cope with the changes at the time.

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Below is the declassified document from the “Vietnam War Research Collections” of the “University Publications of America.”

Weekly CIA report from Saigon to the WHITE HOUSE March 13, 1967 CIA report:

“Situation in South Vietnam.

Economic situation: Changes in Ministry of Economy.

Date of Creation: March 13, 1967.

Date of Declassification: September 3, 1993.

Type of Document: Weekly report.

Level of Classification: SECRET”

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This classified CIA weekly report dated March 13, 1967 reads:

“…Hanh will replace Truong Thai Ton, who has held the position since 27 January and is now reported seriously ill. At the same time Luu van Tinh will replace Tran Van Kien as minister of finance while retaining his present position of director of the budget, and Khuong Huu Dieu will become minister of commerce replacing Nguyen Kien Thien An. Kien has been an ineffective minister who has not made much progress in the important fields of taxation and customs. Tinh, his replacement, has had wide experience in economic and financial affairs and reportedly is competent and hard worker. Although Thien An was only recently put into commerce position at Hanh’s request, he is lacking in the stature and experience needed for this difficult office. His successor is presently chief of the GVN Industrial Development Center.”

Reading this secret document, I remembered the surprise I had at the time when Nguyễn Hữu Hanh, the Minister of Economy and Finance, called me on the phone asking me to see him at his office with the intention to convince me to accept the cabinet position of Minister of Commerce in his Super Ministry of Economy and Finance. I did not know Hanh well since I had not had much opportunity to see him in the past. Usually, when working together, especially at the leadership levels on important national matters, trust and the sharing of common views must be the required conditions. Therefore, I had to use personal reasons for not taking the position that Hanh was offering me. I really tried not to

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upset him and cause difficulties for me in my job at that time as the Director of the Industrial Development Center. I was worried that my refusal could cause Hanh to feel antagonistic toward me considering that my work came under his powerful ministerial jurisdiction. But even with these concerns, I was comforted in thinking that my demonstrated capabilities plus the trust and affection of my colleagues would afford me a degree of personal safety. Furthermore, I was also the Board President of the Vietnam�American Association (VAA), an organization which included the majority of high level Vietnamese and American Executives.

Now that I was reading the declassified secret report of the CIA, I was able to know that when Hanh proposed that I should accept the position of Minister of Commerce it was not because he had trust in me but he was simply carrying out an instruction from the CIA. And if he did not cause me harm it was not because he liked me but it was mainly because the Americans knew me and trusted me.

On this matter, in all humility, I take the liberty to talk about myself and my professional world. I was the first student from South Vietnam to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship, to have graduated from MIT University, and to have worked in one of the largest US industrial corporations. If French and Vietnamese cultures had given me a basis in Asian ethics, patriotism and national pride, then the American culture created in me technical capability and leadership skills. I was able to use the high qualities of these three cultures in my student life in Vietnam and in America. In my adult life, I made use of these principles of ethics and behavior of the Vietnamese and Americans in my personal life and professional activities. In whatever positions, I spared no effort to preserve self� respect and respect for others, rejecting greed and running after power through the aim of doing wrong or illegal things.

Throughout the 17 years of hard work in Vietnam, my wife and I were able to have a nice but simple house and when the communists took over Saigon, we went to the refugee resettlement center at Camp Pendleton with 150 dollars in our pockets. In the course of my working career, I was fortunate to have met many friends in many spheres of life, from many social levels, many nationalities, and after so many stormy upheavals, if I am still able to stand upright, it is mostly the result of the affection of my friends, benefactors and in some way the fruit of what has been sown.

Through these pages of my memoirs, I have had the opportunity to thank only a small number of the benefactors who gave me help during my life full of adversities. I want to especially put on record an exceptional person among the many people who extended a helping hand to me when I arrived and sought

refuge on American soil empty handed. This is expressed in the moving letter of the former US Ambassador to South Vietnam, Mr. Ellsworth Bunker, an ambassador who was highly respected for his deep feelings for the Vietnamese people. He wrote a letter on January 13, 1976 to Mr. Edgar Kaiser, President of Kaiser Industries Corporation, to introduce me in my search for work. This was a priceless present for Marie and me who were then jobless and destitute.

I take the liberty to publish below this rather personal letter in order to say that, although in terms of politics and policy, the US did let down the Republic of Vietnam, in terms of humanity the American people did not turn their heads away when they opened wide their arms to help millions of Vietnamese refugees including those under the HO programs.

Letter of Ellsworth Bunker, former US Ambassador in South Vietnam, to Edgar Kaiser, President of Kaiser Industries Corporation, to introduce Khương Hữu Điểu

PART VI

Escape from Vietnam

CHAPTER 16 Escape from Vietnam

Getting Out! The Last Helicopter: Evacuating Saigon

Mini heliport on the roof of Saigon CIA agent residence, 18 Gia Long Street on April 29, 1975 (Newsweek)

In February 1975, the French government invited the late minister of education of Vietnam Mr. Ngô khắc Tỉnh, his deputy Mr. Đỗ bá Khê and myself as Technology Advisor to the minister to visit all the Grandes Écoles and other prestigious universities in Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseilles, Aix‐en‐ Provence, Compiègne and Essec Business School. At the time, there was a political rivalry between France and the US in regards to higher education in Vietnam. In colonial days Vietnam adopted the French model, but since the US intervention in the country which had already begun little by little in 1952, many new Vietnamese graduates returned home from the American universities and worked for the Ministry of Education. They brought back new ideas. The French government, however, would have preferred to continue its influence in the cultural activities of its former colony.

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Upon our return from France to Saigon, we learned that the military situation was becoming extremely grave, especially in the highland region of the country. The North Vietnamese troops had infiltrated down the Ho chi Minh trail in greater and greater numbers. By that time the US had already put an end to its intervention in the Vietnam conflict and had also been cutting military aid to South Vietnam as stipulated in the 1973 Paris Accords, and surely in order to send more funds to Israel. It was an open secret that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the US Congress were under the influence of a strong and effective lobby from the Jewish community to help Israel. On the other hand, the communists in the North knew that they were solidly backed by both Red China and the Soviet Union without any congressional type of restrictions.

Meanwhile, the South Vietnamese army began to cannibalize helicopters and airplanes for spare parts. Heavy artillery shells were also restricted to a minimum. The Saigon troops were fast running out of ammunition and petroleum products. The enemy knew all of this, and the South Vietnamese were deprived of the means to fight and became increasingly desperate in their final battles.

Secretly and silently many people who were aware of the critical situation felt that it was just a matter of time... Of course, most of us in the government kept working and putting on a good face to maintain the national spirit.

There was talk of the blood bath that would be instilled by the communists upon those of us working for the government. Often, in small gatherings, we would brainstorm amongst ourselves, discussing possible ways to avoid being captured and tortured by the enemy. I thought that, as a last resort, I would tie a few ripe coconuts together to make a makeshift raft and float down the Mekong River, hoping that a friendly boat would pick me up. It may seem silly but when cornered, survival instincts kicked in. Some of us thought of using suicide poison pills to avoid torture. In the end, I had to make myself believe that fate or destiny would play a role. This was one of the most painful periods of my life.

One day I arrived at the USAID office (US Agency for International Development) for a regular meeting, and was shocked to find that the building was almost empty. I went to Von Spiegelfeld’s office. He was a good friend and the third man in charge at USAID. I locked the door, looked at him straight in the eye and asked: “My friend, please tell me what’s going on.” He said: “If I were you, I’d escape.” I thanked him and left. Apparently, a few days earlier, they had received a secret order to leave Vietnam but had not told this to their Vietnamese counterparts.

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On the fateful day of April 23rd, 1975, after our daily staff meeting, I was about to leave for the Ministry of Economy to attend a weekly conference. I was almost to my car when a staff member let me know that I had an urgent call from home. I returned to my office on the second floor. It was Marie, my wife, who called to tell me that her nephew‐in‐law, Tom Forbes, a decoding employee at the US Embassy, was then at my home and wanted to talk to me urgently. On the phone Tom refused to say anything other than ask me to return home immediately to see him. When I arrived, Tom was a little nervous and with his shaking hand, he handed me a letter. The letter contained the secret address of a private villa organized by the CIA as a rendezvous point set up for emergency evacuation. It also had the list of people who were authorized to be evacuated with my niece. My wife and I were to go immediately to that location.

I took a last look at my home. Then, Marie and I left with a small bag of clothing and $300 in American Express Travelers checks that were left over from my previous overseas trip. I shared half of that amount with our niece who took the same flight with us out of Vietnam and consequently I had only $150 left.

Thank God for a second chance! We were going to be saved from capture and torture by the invading communist forces. At the villa, we were surprised to see hundreds of regular employees of the US Defense Department also waiting to be transferred secretly to Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport by civilian buses.

Consulate evacuation list

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Please note that at the bottom of the letter the names of my wife and I had been added with an asterisk as Uncle and Aunt. Here again was a fateful act of God. This piece of paper was our “birth certificate” for a second life.

Several days before this fateful date, my niece had taken my wife to Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport to get her out of Saigon, which was already surrounded by communist forces, while I stayed behind to work. But according to US law, only blood parents were eligible to be evacuated with their children. No extended family was allowed to join them so Marie had to return home that day.

As chance would have it, Newsweek Magazine had interviewed me a couple of weeks earlier, at which time I had seized the opportunity to forcefully express myself. I explained that whereas my abilities might be of use to the communist government, my life would surely not be spared because I was President of the prestigious Vietnamese‐American Association (Hội Việt Mỹ) which was a very high profile organization in Saigon with about 25,000 students learning English and participating in other national cultural exchange activities. The April 21, 1975 issue of Newsweek ran my story with the title “The Crowd at the Exits.”

Cover of Newsweek, April 21st, 1975

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April 21, 1975 Newsweek Article (excerpts below)

(excerpts below)

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“THE CROWD AT THE EXITS”

“Khuong Huu Dieu is the kind of Vietnamese to whom Americans point with pride.

Honest and industrious, he worked his way through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology washing dishes. Then, after gaining some business experience in New York City, Dieu returned to Saigon and joined Vietnam’s Industrial Development Bank. Today at 43, he is president of the bank—and so highly regarded that he was recently elected president of the Vietnamese‐American Association. A few short weeks ago, U.S. officials in Saigon were calling Dieu the hope and future of South Vietnam. Today, the same officials avoid his stare. “I have no hope and I have no future,” he declared last week. The American approval and respect he worked so hard to win, Dieu firmly believes, will soon be the death of him.

For thousands of Vietnamese, from technocrats like Dieu scattered throughout Saigon government ministries to clerks and cleaning women on the U.S. Embassy’s payroll, it is suddenly a time of reckoning. With the Communists knocking on the gates of the capital, the Vietnamese who hold these jobs realize their positions tenuous at best, and that many of their number may be executed if Saigon should fall.” It seems we have all backed the wrong horse” said ...a businessman.

…Several American officials privately said they plan to resign from the Foreign Service.” It’s so unbelievably cynical”, one embassy officer blurted. People who have helped us for a decade are now no longer important‐‐‐so we desert them…”

But whatever the problems, most Vietnamese with U.S. ties clearly preferred evacuation to being left behind to take their chances with the Communists. “My abilities as a banker might be useful to the North Vietnamese,” bank president Dieu said last week, “but all they will see is that I was president of the Vietnamese‐ American Association. That alone will be enough to put me in my grave. All we ask is that you be fair to us. We want to stay until the last day. But on that last day, we want to go out with our friends ‐ the Americans.”

Milton R. Benjamin with NICHOLAS C. PROFFITT in Saigon

Before the appearance of that Newsweek article, the US Embassy in Saigon had refused to let me join my niece’s evacuation list. Thanks to the timely publication of my interview with Newsweek, however, the US Embassy decided that if the communists ever captured me, I would be tortured and killed because I had been working very closely with the US government. They could also accuse

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me of being a high‐ranking CIA agent ‐ again eligible for a death sentence. In retrospect, because the sequence of events leading to my survival was so unreal, I had to believe that it was destiny. By a few seconds, I could have missed that phone call from Tom Forbes, and that would have been the end of me. By the way, my good Samaritan, Milton R. Benjamin was named later president and chief operating officer of UPI. Nicholas C. Proffitt was Saigon bureau chief.

Our trustworthy driver that had worked for us for twelve years took us to the designated villa on Trần Quí Cáp Street. He did not know that we were leaving Vietnam for good. I wanted to give him some money but was afraid to tell him what was going on, so I told him to go home and look for something from me in my bedroom drawer. There I had put some money in an envelope for him. To this day, I still feel bad not knowing what happened to him and his family. Rumor has it that he also escaped from Vietnam and his kids are now doing fine. I am still looking for him, and hope that someday God will let me tell him about the events that led to our departure in April of 1975.

Now at the secret villa, we met our niece’s family members whose names were listed on the priceless evacuation list. Either fate and destiny or God had added our names with an asterisk to that list. At that moment, I felt that life and death were delicately balanced in a fragile spider web.

A few hours later a van transported us to the Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport. It was a scary moment when security agents checked all of the passengers in the van. If they recognized any high officials, they would have retained them for further interrogation. I was wearing a pair of heavy dark sunglasses and praying to God for a safe exit. Finally, we were taken to an American bowling alley where several hundred other evacuees were also waiting. About 24 hours later, we boarded a military transport plane, a C‐141 Starlifter. All the while, the communists continued launching their rockets at the airport, and the planes kept their engines running, so they would be ready for take‐off at a moment’s notice. The evacuees sat on the floor of the plane like sardines. Finally, the loud roar of the engines signaled our departure to the unknown.

The future was a complete unknown. We eventually learned that the plane was heading for Manila but for some unknown reason, it continued on to Guam.

We learned later that Camp Pendleton, the Marine base slated to be our final destination, was not yet ready to take the refugees. We stayed in Guam in the military Quonset huts for one week, and then finally continued on to our new home in California.

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Scenes from the Sudden End of a Long War

In this April 29, 1975 photo, South Vietnamese civilians scale the 14�foot wall of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, trying to reach evacuation helicopters as the last Americans depart from Vietnam. (AP Photo)

Map showing NVA and ARVN movements around Saigon before 30 April.

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North Vietnamese soldiers on Tân Sơn Nhứt Airbase April 30, 1975

Evacuees offloaded onto the USS Midway

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Headlines of Washington Post

North Vietnamese tank at the gate of Presidential Palace

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South Vietnamese refugees arrive on a U.S. Navy vessel during Operation Frequent Wind

Panic evacuation by sea

U.S. Navy personnel aboard the U.S.S. Blue Ridge push a helicopter into the sea off the coast of Vietnam in order to make room for more evacuation flights from Saigon on April 29, 1975.

The helicopter had carried Vietnamese fleeing Saigon as North Vietnamese forces closed in on the capital

In a nut shell, Congress placed a $1 billion ceiling on military aid to South Vietnam for fiscal year 1974. This figure was trimmed further to $700 million by August 11. Military aid to South Vietnam in fiscal year 1973 was $2.8 billion; in 1975 it would be cut to $300 million. Once aid was cut, it took the North Vietnamese only 55 days to defeat the South Vietnamese forces when they launched their final offensive in 1975.

C�141 Starlifter evacuation plane

Our safe landing in Camp Pendleton, California meant an abrupt end to nearly four decades of our existence in the Land of our Ancestors but it was also the beginning of a new episode of challenges, hardships, and opportunity for Marie and me.

We thanked God that it was not only a matter of survival but also a rebirth and the beginning of our new life in the New World, also known as the Land of the Free, the very destination of our dramatic in extremis escape out of Saigon which came under communist rule just a few days later on April 30, 1975!

CHAPTER 17 Refugees in Camp Pendleton, California

All that’s left: an end… and new beginnings!

Khương Hữu Điểu, ex‐banker, shows his wealth‐‐‐clothes for family

The Gates at Camp Pendleton Welcome the Vietnamese Refugees

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General Graham, head of the entire refugee operation

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Camp Pendleton Bird’s eye View

The temporary housing facility for Vietnamese refugees was erected at Camp Pendleton, CA, May 1975. Beginning the first week of May, military C�141 Starlifter planes transported thousands of refugees to Marine Airfield El Toro, California. From there, buses transferred them to Camp Pendleton. It was the first time in the history of the United States and Vietnam that a massive evacuation of refugees across the Pacific Ocean happened in such short order and under such panicky conditions. Camp Pendleton was the very first camp in America to have received the refugees. Later on, other camps were opened in Florida and Pennsylvania.

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Nixon House‐San Clemente, Ca Nixon and Chu En‐Lai in Beijing in 1972

By fate or destiny, the Vietnamese refugees landed in Camp Pendleton next door to former President Richard Nixon’s house in San Clemente, Ca. From declassified historical documents, after his dinner with Chu En‐Lai in the Hall of the People in Beijing in 1972, he and Kissinger virtually pushed the “remote control” button for this long term, secret debacle of South Vietnam in May 1975.

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By pure coincidence also, Mr. Richard Nixon, former Vice President to President Dwight Eisenhower, personally handed me in June 1956 my Engineering Diploma on the Campus of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania!

He was the commencement speaker. Now in May 1975, I survived happily and also bitterly as the first elected “Mayor of Camp Pendleton” in a bare Quonset hut next to his luxurious home. It was a really ironic and small world!

Notable features at Nixon's “Western White House” San Clemente, Ca

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Quonset huts: “Tent city” in Marine Camp Pendleton near Mr. Nixon’s home

Marine and Refugee Boy in Camp

A Quonset Hut is a shelter made of corrugated steel sheet, having a semicircular cross section, first built in the 40’s.

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Photo of “The First boy� refugee taken by Sgt Manthey 29Apr75

Newsweek Magazine of May 19, 1975 reported the unprecedented historical event at Camp Pendleton as follows:

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At Camp Pendleton, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ said:

“…we are exiled because of Nguyễn văn Thiệu. Remember that name. He is the most despicable man in the world.” As for the United States, Kỳ seemed eager to absolve his new homeland of any guilt. “In the past ten years you did a lot for us‐ too much in my opinion,” he declared.

Kỳ has always made good copy for American reporters, but his own countrymen seemed less impressed. While some gather around him to beg for assistance, most just gawked.

“I don’t want to see him. I will not shake his hand” said Khương Hữu Điểu, 43, ex‐president of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam and now an organizer of the “infrastructure” at Pendleton. “If he is such a good fighter, he should have stayed and fought.”

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In the meantime, I received from one of my friends a Glendale News‐ Press clipping dated June 13, 1975 above. The former Vietnamese Vice President Nguyễn cao Kỳ said in Saigon a few days before the fall of South Vietnam: “Let the cowards who are leaving with the Americans go and let those who love South Vietnam stay and fight. Why run? To do what? To eat leftover American food?

Even if the country falls to the Communists, at least they have yellow skins like ours.” It was a shame that five days after that loud, arrogant and insulting declaration, he fled by helicopter to the Philippines en route to the United States, Marine Camp Pendleton, California.

Nguyễn cao Kỳ at his tent in Camp Pendleton, Newsweek photo

As mayor of the camp, I assigned him to a newly built tent on the grass because there was no Quonset hut available. I used the “first come first serve” principle and Kỳ did not like that. Later on, some of his Air Force members tried to take revenge on me because of that decision.

“With U.S. Marine units providing logistical supports, the Vietnamese in tent cities at Camp Pendleton formed their own quasi‐governmental ‘infrastructure’ to coordinate the processing and solve day to day problems. And while Administration officials squelched the leadership aspiration of former Premier Nguyễn cao Kỳ (box), they were pleased by the emergence of grass‐roots leaders such as U.S. educated Khương Hữu Điểu, 43, former president of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam.”

“We want to show America we are responsible, said Điểu, and that we don’t want to just eat and sleep here”

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Other documents from NBC about the camp “NBC Evening News for Wednesday, May 07, 1975

Summary

(Thousands of South Vietnam refugees already at Pendleton and are taking practical steps to prepare for transition to American life.)

REPORTER: John Chancellor (Camp Pendleton, California) “Govt. structure organized by Vietnam headed by 20‐mbr. Exec. Committee. Over all, village chief coordinates activities with military camp commander. Refugee government set up by former Saigon banker and Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, Dieu Khuong Huu. [Dieu ‐ says action taken for cooperation in management of camp.] Schools organized; teachers recruited from among evacuees; English classes began this week.

REPORTER: Ray Cullen)” John Chancellor was anchor of the NBC Nightly News.

Bird’s eye view of Camp Pendleton 1975

It was a massive undertaking: Nearly 900 Marines and civilians worked for six days to erect 958 tents and 140 Quonset Huts. Camp Pendleton was the only tent city in the West.

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Former First Lady Betty Ford visited on May 21, 1975.

Camp Pendleton's Tent City Housed 50,000 Vietnamese Refugees

The NEW YORK Daily News, May 3, 1975 had this photo with caption: ” Khương Hữu Điểu, ex‐banker, shows his wealth‐‐‐clothes for family.”

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The Express‐Times, Tuesday May 6 ,1975

My Alma Mater Lafayette College hometown newspaper, The Express‐Times, on Tuesday May 6, 1975 had this headline: “Refugees Try to Establish Order”

Quote:

“ALL THAT’S LEFT ‐‐‐ Khuong Huu Dieu, 1956 graduate of Lafayette College and a Vietnamese banker, holds up all that’s left of his possessions after he and his family fled the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese”

The refugees realized that thanks to the massive airlift by the US government, they survived and just landed in the Land of the Free. In panic, they escaped the communist capture and torture. They would like to show Uncle Sam that they did not want to just eat and sleep here. Immediately after their landing, they got together and began to set up their own camp administration to cooperate with the Marine staff. I felt much honored to be elected the first “Mayor of Camp Pendleton,” the first American “tent city” built for Vietnamese refugees. Why did I get elected? Probably because in Saigon, I was the founder and President of the

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Management Association of Vietnam and President of the popular VAA (Vietnamese American Association) with about 25,000 students in English classes.

In a short time, we had our organization chart prepared and filled with all volunteer teams.

We had committees in charge of:

1. Mess hall management 2. Camp sanitary standards 3. Information and mail office 4. Health care center 5. Recreation program center 6. Barber shops 7. Child care units 8. Lost and found

I was very surprised by the great number of reporters from AP, UPI, Reuters and AFP surrounding me and asking me so many questions about what the camp Mayor was planning to do next? I was shocked also by their wasteful use of Kodak films on me. There was no digital camera at the time. The number of TV cameras from NBC, ABC, CBS and local stations made me feel unreal as a celebrity mayor: A survivor of a disaster.

The side benefit of the media exposure was to enable many of my classmates, colleagues, friends and relatives around the world to know that I was alive at Camp Pendleton. As a result, I received many telegrams and letters from them wishing me well. Many offered to sponsor me out of the camp.

One telegram arrived from my Lafayette College 1956 classmate living in Washington DC.. It stated: “I am Dick Wilson. Điểu was my dishwasher mate; I want to sponsor him out of the camp.”

I also received letters from my colleagues at the Tokyo APO, Asian Productivity Organization of 14 countries of Asia.

Funniest of all were the many letters from “serious” well to do American professionals, retirees asking the Mayor to let them “try the refugees so they would marry them!”

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For myself, I was exposed to some shock experiences. In the Quonset Huts, with dozens of people sleeping on military style Army bunk beds the snoring was unbearable. The funny thing was that the richest person snored the loudest!

Fortunately for everyone in the hut, she left the camp really early!

Another after shock. The Marine toilet facility was designed with a row of twenty seats in a well‐lighted and aerated room without heat or walls between seats for privacy. I have to admit that I was not used to that style of public toilet but I could not tell that to anybody. However, I came up with a practical, workable solution. In May, it was fairly cold at night in the camp. I got up early at 1 AM in the morning chill and, alone, I had my privacy in the big toilet room.

There were some problems with the way rice was cooked in huge quantities by the Marines for the refugees. But here again, for survival, everything was appreciated. I got it solved quickly by the Vietnamese volunteer chefs.

The Express‐Times, May 6, 1975, summarized the historical event of May 1975 at Camp Pendleton as follows:

“From Our Wire Services Under the direction of a Lafayette College graduate, Vietnamese refugees at Camp Pendleton, Ca are setting up their own ‘mini government.’ Khuong Huu Dieu, a 1956 graduate of Lafayette and former president of the Vietnamese Industrial Development Bank, said he and two others would set up a nucleus of about 20 persons to coordinate the care of the evacuees. At the time Dieu held his news conference at the Marine base, Ky was arriving at another Marine station in California and said he would help take charge at Pendleton.

“I will try and be a leader for them” Ky said when he arrived from Hawaii. Earlier he had branded former President Nguyen van Thieu “a big criminal. All that has happened to us is Thieu’s fault and only Thieu’s fault,” Ky declared. Dieu and his “mini government” intend to establish medical services, language school, a post office and a Vietnamese newspaper for the roughly 10,000 refugees at the camp.

The Lafayette graduate headed the association that operated the largest English language school in Saigon. He is being assisted in setting up a Vietnamese administration at the camp by Cornell University graduate Tran quy Than, a Saigon banker, and Mrs. Nguyen van Bong, head of a planned parenthood association.

When Dieu escaped from South Vietnam last week, he said he and his family owed their lives to an asterisk. Their names he said were listed at the bottom of a sheet of paper authorizing certain Vietnamese to depart Saigon. The asterisk indicated

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that the Dieu family was being sponsored as refugees by a niece married to a former U. S. Embassy employee.

When Dieu escaped, he called Mr. and Mrs. Miller of 1710 Richmond road, Forks Township to tell them he was safe. The Millers and Dieu struck up a friendship during his Lafayette years.

Camp Pendleton is serving with Ft Chaffee, Ark and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla as one of the three refugee reception centers in the United States…

On Guam, all elementary schools were ordered closed for three days to free school buses for the transportation of thousands of South Vietnamese refugees en route to that Pacific way‐stop.

Some 15,000 refugees were due to arrive at Guam today aboard the American Challenger, the Pioneer Commander, and the Pioneer Contender.”

We tried to take care of boys first at the day care centers. Parents were free to join other programs. (See photos of camp activities.)

Cleanliness of the camp got a lot of help from boys picking up trash. This had a dual purpose. Not only did they clean everybody’s trash, but they were busy working and could not create additional burdens to their parents. The parents in turn were free to volunteer for other programs.

We sent boys to English classes, and organized walking tours with guides to explain nature’s secrets.

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” I hope that these photos describe fully the daily activities of a crowded, noisy tent city. Many photos are self‐ explanatory.

Bus unloading refugees from nearby El Toro Marines airport

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Boys at newly installed tent city The weather was cold and kids got their oversized coats

At the Health Center, soldier and child Game & play for kids

Game & play for kids

Even in the midst of limbo, we had to keep life going with baptisms and weddings, learning English, playing games.

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GI’s helping kid in English Distribution of blankets GI’s preparing new lesson

shelter for refugees

GI’s taking care of refugees

Red Cross facilities for children

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Wash Only! & Sun Dry Red Cross volunteers

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Red Cross volunteers provided 24�hour services at the Camp Pendleton processing center. Nurses and physician’s assistants toured the camp daily to find health problems that were untreated.

Caseworkers interviewed the refugees in an attempt to send them on their way to new homes. Other volunteers provided snacks and drinks.

Entertainment program with Pat Boone Kids and TV entertainment

Even Rosemary Clooney came out to entertain Cozy Housing

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Wedding Ceremony in Camp Pendleton Buddhist Service in Camp Pendleton

Celebration of Buddhist year 2519 Boy Scouts in camp

Refugee Pharmacy Barber shop

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This is where the families left notes with their names and sponsors' addresses in case other family members made it out at a later time, so they could find each other.

In summary, we got lightening fast support from the Marines. They completed the camp construction on 4 May 1975. The Herculean task of completing a camp of 18,000 people was accomplished in less than six days. The accommodations, though Spartan at first, were continually expanded and improved, providing not only the necessities of life but also many comforts and amenities for the refugee population as shown in the above photos. On May 9, the camp population peaked at 18,608. It gradually turned into a daily routine of insuring that the refugees had everything they needed including a locally produced Vietnamese newspaper. The refugee center continued in operation well beyond the arrival of the last refugee in mid�July 1975. Between mid�May and the end of July, the Marines and the civilian organization found new homes and sponsors for 29,135 evacuees.

Lesson learned:

Dangerously but luckily, the war put me in a refugee camp. My mind switched from thinking about the economic development of my country to the painful loss of the war. I remember a famous quote from George Clemenceau in World War I: " War is too serious a matter to entrust to the Generals." Truly, there is great civilian statesmanship shown by commanders in chief such as Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War, Winston Churchill in World War II, and David Ben Gurion in Israel's war for independence.

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It was sad that many of our generals were not even normally trained to be generals through any military academy. Many were just junior officers in the French colonial army. People did not give them any power. They grabbed power for themselves. They were not well regarded by the people… worse, they usurped political power after they murdered President Ngô Đình Diệm in the 1963 coup d’état staged by General Dương Văn Minh and supported by the CIA.

President Ngô Đình Diệm

In general, one of the reasons that led South Vietnam to fall so rapidly into communist hands could be attributed to the fight for power and material gain amongst the generals. This deplorable situation prevented them from presenting a united front against the common enemy. In spite of their irresponsibility and lack of military competence, they also wanted to secure full control of the civil administration. They proved so inept in their conduct in both the military and administrative arenas that the Americans wanted to replace them with a civilian cabinet. Mister Nguyễn Văn Bông, Head of the National Institute of Administration, was the person the Americans had in mind to become prime minister.

Regrettably, Mr. Bông was killed in an assassination attempt masterminded by the communists on November 10, 1971.

Professor Bông and his car which was blown into pieces

Besides the shortcomings of the political scene in South Vietnam, the betrayal of the American ally, with Kissinger as the main instigator, also contributed to the fall of the Republic of Vietnam. A full chapter (Chapter 18) in this book will discuss the detrimental deeds Kissinger committed against the nation and people of Vietnam.

In the history of warfare, the Vietnam War is unique in the sense it generated the largest, most wide‐ranging and complex trove of documents. In the United States alone, besides the well‐recognized The Center & Archive at Texas Tech University, we can count at least 10 well known universities that keep important collections of books and materials related to the field of Vietnamology and the war itself. A common question that is often on the lips of Vietnamese and Americans alike is: “Who is the winner and the loser in the Vietnam War?” Probably, a short video on YouTube, lasting only 5 minutes, dated June 23, 2014

by Bruce Herschenson, member of the Institute of Politics at John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, can provide a partial answer to that question. It is entitled: The Truth about the Vietnam War ‐ You Tube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqYGHZCJwk

PART VII

Politics in Time of War

CHAPTER 18 Kissinger and the Vietnam war

A man never elected to any Job! Secret Meteoric Rise to Power and Fame

What, you might wonder, is a chapter about Henry Kissinger, one of the world’s greatest and most famous Secretaries of State, doing in my memoirs?

Well, the answer is quite simple. I truly believe that Kissinger’s foreign policy and actions led to the events that turned my life upside down in 1975. Practically overnight I went from being a middle class engineer in Saigon, to a dispossessed and depressed refugee in Camp Pendleton, California. I credit Kissinger with drastically changing not only my life, but the lives of millions of Vietnamese and Americans.

In my quest to discover, and subsequently unveil the truth about Henry Kissinger’s actions, I hope that my readers will not look upon me as bitter or vengeful, or as a bad loser due to the outcome of the Vietnam War. On the contrary, I acknowledge that Kissinger’s diplomatic actions resulted in my own rebirth in America, and ultimately gave me the freedom and opportunity to write

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the truth about his deeds during the Vietnam War and their devastating consequences.

Much of my information has come from declassified top secret CIA and NSC (National Security Council) documents. To better understand Kissinger, who rose from obscurity to the second most powerful position in the White House within just five years, it is best to delve into his background before he became famous.

Heinz Alfred Kissinger, later known as Henry Kissinger, was born into a family of German Jews in 1923 in the town of FĂźrth in Bavaria, Germany. Fleeing Nazi persecution, his family moved to New York in 1938 where he enrolled in an accounting program at the City College of New York. In early 1943, his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

The Army sent him to study engineering at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania (My Alma Mater). Shortly thereafter, the program was cancelled and he was reassigned to the 84th Infantry Division. It was in the 84th Division where he made the acquaintance of Fritz Kraemer, a fellow immigrant from Germany.

Kraemer noted Kissinger's intellect and fluency in German, and arranged for him to be assigned to the Military Intelligence Corps.

Henry Kissinger and Fritz Kraemer

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Kissinger saw combat with the division and volunteered for hazardous intelligence duties during the Battle of the Bulge. He was then reassigned to the 970th Counter Intelligence Corps where he was awarded the rank of sergeant.

During this time, while in charge of a team tracking down Gestapo officers and other saboteurs, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Following the war, Kissinger remained in Europe as a civilian instructor at the European Command Intelligence School at Oberammergau, Germany. From 1946 to 1949 he was a captain in the Military Intelligence Reserve. His advanced training and experience in intelligence and counter intelligence during WWII played a critical role in his ability to conduct secret diplomacy that ultimately led to his fame.

The 1968 Humphrey vs. Nixon presidential election was pivotal in giving Kissinger his greatest career breakthrough, and his actions led to the history‐ altering “October Surprise” in 1968. In American political jargon, an October surprise is a news event with the potential to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency. The reference to the month of October is because national elections are always held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Therefore, events that take place in late October have great potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters.

Lyndon B. Johnson Hubert Humphrey Richard Nixon The Republican challenger Richard Nixon feared that a last‐minute deal to end US involvement in the Vietnam war by President Lyndon Johnson would earn incumbent Vice‐President Hubert Humphrey enough votes to win the presidency in the 1968 election. Much to Nixon’s chagrin, on October 30th President Johnson announced a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam, and Humphrey surged ahead of Nixon in the polls where just days before they had been in a dead heat.

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In response to this, the Nixon campaign called upon Henry Kissinger for his help. Kissinger, Nixon’s campaign advisor on foreign policy, was stationed in Paris where the peace negotiations for Vietnam were taking place. Drawing upon his skill in intelligence and counter intelligence, Kissinger succeeded in gathering the latest top secret information from these negotiations.

Apparently Kissinger, claiming to be disillusioned with the Republicans, went to Paris and hooked up with Daniel Davidson, a young acquaintance from Harvard. Davidson was by then on the Harriman team that was negotiating peace terms with the North Vietnamese.

Harriman and Xuan Thuy at the Paris Peace Talks, 1968

Kissinger also got in touch with Dick Allen, who was another young foreign policy advisor during Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign. Allen said that Kissinger always called him from pay phones to avoid any wiretaps that would reveal his duplicity.

Furthermore, no less an establishment figure than Richard Holbrooke, a member of the American team (then a senior LBJ negotiator,) said that "Henry was the only person outside of the government we were authorized to discuss the negotiations with.... It is not stretching the truth to say the Nixon campaign had a secret source within the U.S. negotiating team.�

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Peace Talks: The Scenario in Paris

With the secret information that Henry Kissinger had gained, he had some of the ammunition needed to destabilize the Paris Peace negotiations. Now, the more difficult task was for him to gather information from the Communist North Vietnam.

To do this Kissinger went so far as to involve himself with the initiative called Pugwash, code name PENNSYLVANIA, made up of an international group of scientists working to promote peace. Through this group, he became friendly with Raymond Aubrac and Herbert Marcovich. Both Raymond and Herbert were Frenchmen who had a direct link to the Communist leadership in North Vietnam’s capital.

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Aubrac, a French civil servant who had studied at MIT and Harvard in 1937 was a close personal friend of Hồ Chí Minh (who was his daughter’s godfather).

He and Marcovich, a French microbiologist, began a series of trips to North Vietnam, meeting with officials such as Hố Chí Minh and the Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng. Kissinger debriefed them upon their return to Paris, and through this process Aubrac was used as a secret intermediary between the Americans and the North Vietnamese at the height of the Vietnam war.

Raymond Aubrac Hồ Chí Minh & Élisabeth, Aubrac’s daughter, wife Lucie During one of his briefings in Paris, Aubrac asked for a signal to be sent to North Vietnam showing a serious intent for peace by the U.S. So, on August 19, 1968, President Johnson agreed to suspend bombing within a 10‐mile radius of Hanoi from August 24th to September 4th. This was done not only to ensure the safety of Aubrac and Marcovich who were scheduled to go back to Hanoi during this time, but also to validate Kissinger as an intermediary.

In his role as intermediary, Kissinger had the inside information from both sides of the negotiation table between the U.S. and North Vietnam. Therefore, if he were able to penetrate the inner circle of South Vietnam’s President Thiệu with a secret, critical message, he would have the power to sabotage the negotiations.

Here the genius of Kissinger was to be able to find the right person at the right time for the job: that person was Mme Chennault, the Chinese American wife of General Chennault of WWII Flying Tigers.

Chennault was Chiang Kai‐shek's chief air adviser and head of the U.S. Air Force in China in 1941. Foreign reporters wrote that Mme Chennault was President Thiệu’s lobbyist in Washington, although this was not true, according to my friend Hoàng đức Nhã, President Thiệu’s advisor and cabinet member. Mme Chennault did serve as a committee member of the Washington, D.C. Republican

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Party and was the founder and chairperson of the National Republican Asian Assembly. Both she and Kissinger were advisors to Richard Nixon.

Mme Chennault with President Nixon

The Chennaults were very good friends with Generalissimo Chiang Kai Chek. President Thiệu’s older brother, Nguyễn văn Kiểu, was serving as Vietnam’s ambassador in Taiwan and therefore also knew Chang Kai Chek. Thus, through this connection, Mme Chennault established a secret communication channel with the President of Vietnam.

Left to Right: 1. Mr. Trần văn Khởi, CEO of Petroleum and Minerals Agency, 2. China’s Ambassador in Vietnam 3. Mr.Nguyễn văn Kiểu, Vietnam’s Ambassador in China 4. Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu CEO of Industrial Development Bank

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Kissinger and Mme Chennault privately assured the South Vietnamese government that an incoming Republican administration would offer them a better deal than a Democratic administration. The South Vietnamese responded by withdrawing from the talks on the eve of the election, thereby disrupting the peace initiative on which the Democrats had based their campaign.

President Lyndon B. Johnson

The tactic ‘worked.’ Before the elections President Johnson suspected Richard Nixon, of political sabotage that he called treason. In part because Nixon won the presidency, no one was ever prosecuted for this alleged crime.

The election on November 5, 1968 proved to be extremely close, and it was not until the following morning that the television news networks were able to call Nixon the winner. Nixon won the election with a margin of less than one percentage point (43.4% vs. 42.7%,) one of the closest elections in U.S. history.

When the new administration took office, Nixon appointed Kissinger as his Secretary of State.

Kissinger being sworn in as Secretary of State by Chief Justice Warren Burger

Nixon created the National Security Council, a special committee to be chaired by Henry Kissinger, to which the CIA director, Attorney General, Under‐ Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would report. According to U.S. News & World Report on November 1st 1971: "It was on the advice of Governor Rockefeller, who described Mr. Kissinger

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as 'the smartest guy available,' that Mr. Nixon chose him for his top adviser on foreign policy.�

Later, the Desert News (Utah) quoted a Rockefeller aide as saying: "Rocky set up the job for Henry because he . . . thought it might give (Rockefeller) some voice in U.S. foreign policy."

The dye was cast. By 1971 Henry had become, as the New York Times noted, "all�powerful in the sprawling sector of the government which seeks to advise the President on national security matters." His dominance of the expanded, 110�member National Security Council was so complete that he controlled every piece of intelligence to reach the President from the State Department, the Defense Department and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Henry Kissinger, Feb. 14, 1969

Shortly thereafter Kissinger had emerged as the leading American foreign policy strategist. He ran a vast empire, presiding over 12,000 diplomats, code clerks, economic analysts, linguists, secretaries, and other staff. Never before in the history of the United States had such colossal power been put into the hands of an unelected official.

In tracing Henry Kissinger's meteoric rise from obscurity to international acclaim, we see that his magic slippers had the Rockefeller label. Nancy Maginnes, Kissinger's new wife, was and continued on as, a Rockefeller employee. The relationship was such a family affair that Rockefeller even supplied the jet that

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whisked the couple to their honeymoon retreat, and threw a lavish party for them upon their return to Washington.

This, then, was the background of Richard Nixon's most important appointment. Kissinger, a trusted spokesman for the Council on Foreign Relations, was selected as chief adviser to the President. In fact, Kissinger was nothing less than an outright Rockefeller agent ready to carry the family's "Grand Design" into the White House.

As Senator Stuart Symington remarked to Kissinger: "If you stay in two positions, head of State and also head of the National Security Council, you are going to be in a position where you are going to have unprecedented authority never granted to anybody but the President."

It should also be noted that under Nixon, Kissinger became the first immigrant to serve as Secretary of State and the only immigrant in the history of the U.S. ever to chair the National Security Council.

The intelligence empire over which Kissinger reigned was far vaster than just the State Department. It included 16 major agencies with 200,000 employees, a total annual budget in excess of $6 billion, and controlled the most sophisticated gadgetry and computers on the planet. His training and experience in spy work in the US Army helped him manage his new domain.

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Out of range of the Oval Office tape recorder, Kissinger reports to Nixon on his recent secret talks.

(September 16, 1972) [Source: National Archives, Still Pictures Branch, Nixon Presidential Materials]

It became common knowledge that Kissinger spent more time with President Nixon than any other White House staffer, and the President frequently dropped into his office, less than a half‐minute away from his own. Long‐time Washington reporter Clark Mollenhoff noted, "Officially, the 47‐year‐old former Harvard professor of government is the 'Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs' at a salary of $60,000 a year. But, in fact, he has become the Number Two Man in all matters dealing with the Defense and State Departments."

During the first two years of the Nixon administration, the Vietnam war raged on.

It was only after South Vietnam was invaded by tens of thousands of North Vietnamese troops that the Paris "peace" accords were arranged. By this time there were 150,000 Red soldiers in South Vietnam, with 50,000 more ready to join them.

Throughout the Vietnam War, the U.S. did little that was right ‐‐ right in the sense of trying to win the war. But during the Nixon years there were three actions taken which veteran military observers supported as moves in the proper direction: The invasion of Cambodia in 1970 to eliminate Communist sanctuaries; The May 1972 decision to mine Haiphong Harbor; The December 1972 decision to bomb North Vietnam.

Kissinger, however, did not agree with Nixon's decision on December 17, 1972 to bomb North Vietnam, and it was this disagreement which led to a real split between Nixon and Kissinger. The dispute so angered the President, that

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Nixon ordered Kissinger’s phone tapped and finally decided that he should be replaced.

The story was first broken by one‐time Nixon hatchet man Charles Colson in his book entitled “Born Again.” Other sources confirmed that Kissinger pleaded with Nixon to "explain his reasons for the bombing.” When the President refused, and ordered the Executive Branch to maintain a strict silence about the bombing renewal, Kissinger let it be known that he opposed the bombing.

When New York Times columnist James Reston reported Kissinger's dissent, Nixon was furious. The President said "I will not tolerate insubordination.

You tell Henry he's to talk to no one, period! I mean no one! And tell him not to call me. I will accept no calls from him.” Despite this disagreement, Nixon did nothing to change Kissinger’s role within his administration and the Paris peace talks.

Following years of secret negotiations in Paris with his North Vietnamese diplomatic counterpart Lê Đức Thọ, Kissinger announced in his monotone and often‐imitated, German accent “We believe that peace is at hand.” He added “what remains to be done can be settled in one more negotiating session with the North Vietnamese negotiators, lasting, I would think, no more than three or four days.”

Kissinger’s autumn proclamation proved excessively optimistic. Though Nixon boasted during the last two weeks of the 1972 presidential campaign, of the breakthrough in the anticipated end to the war, talks broke down in December. Nixon then ordered what became known as the Christmas Bombing of North Vietnam, which resulted in over 100,000 bombs being dropped on Hanoi and other North Vietnamese towns. The Christmas bombing, however, failed to extract further concessions from North Vietnam.

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Peace talks were then rekindled, and on January 23, 1973, Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ reached a final agreement providing a cease‐fire. The agreement included the release of American prisoners of war, an arrangement for U.S. withdrawal, and a vaguely planned but never‐realized “council of national reconciliation” that ostensibly would resolve political issues through the supervision of elections. The accords were formally signed four days later. With this treaty, the Nixon Administration concluded the war on the same terms that had been offered in Paris five years earlier.

President Nixon had described the treaty as “peace with honor” and Kissinger, along with the North Vietnamese leader Lê Đức Thọ, were awarded the controversial 1973 Nobel Peace Prize.

According to Irwin Abrams, historian and champion of the Nobel Peace Prize, this prize was the most controversial to date. Two Norwegian Nobel Committee members resigned in protest. When the award was announced, hostilities were continuing.

Later Aasa Lionaes, the chairwoman of the Nobel Peace Committee, in an interview with Henk Ruyssenaars, the senior editor for the Foreign Press Foundation (FPF), and former correspondent for the Nobel Prize, fully acknowledged that awarding the Peace Prize '73 to Kissinger "was a dreadful mistake.” Lionaes also said “Kissinger understands this as well, and hasn't even dared to pick up the Nobel medal, prize money or the Nobel award's diploma."

Ruyssenaars said that “The interview was, as far as I know, shown on TV in many countries all over the world, but never in the United States.”

As Lionaes said, Kissinger himself did not show up to receive the controversial prize because of strong public demonstration against him. He asked Thomas R. Byrne, Ambassador of the United States to Norway, to accept the prize for him. His counterpart Lê Đức Thọ of North Vietnam refused to accept the prize.

The January 1973 "peace agreement" which Kissinger negotiated had in fact set up South Vietnam for the kill, by allowing the Communists to keep more than 150,000 Red troops "in place" in the South, while American military personnel were withdrawn. South Vietnam was overrun, Cambodia collapsed, and Laos became fully communist. It was a three‐bagger. The United States lost three former allies in as many months. For the first time, it became obvious to the world that American strength meant nothing in the face of a Communist advance. In the meantime, war‐weary Americans turned their attention to the Watergate scandal, which claimed Nixon’s presidency when he resigned in August 1974.

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In early 1975, Communist forces mounted a final attack against the exhausted and demoralized South Vietnamese Army. From the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy compound in Saigon, a fleet of marine helicopters shuttled Americans and Vietnamese out of the besieged city. The next day Saigon fell, the Vietnam War was over, and the United States emerged a chastened country.

Ultimately, Henry Kissinger’s covert actions drastically altered the lives of millions ‐ including my own. Over the course of the Vietnam War, that could have ended in 1968 without Kissinger’s intervention, thousands of Americans and many more Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians lost their lives. The chief beneficiary of the slaughter was Henry Kissinger. Tragically, Vietnam was once again a pawn in the chess game between great world powers.

Deaths in Vietnam War (1954–1975) per R. J. Rummel: 3,207,000 In the end, the Communists gained much power and prestige, while millions under their rule lost their personal freedom. By contrast, the United States not only suffered from losing the war ‐ its first loss ever, but its reputation as a world power also was damaged.

Could have been 1968 instead of 1975

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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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January 2015� Kissinger, in the senate, was shown handcuffs during public protest

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January 2015 ‐ Kissinger, in the senate, was shown sign “war criminal” during public protest

As I completed this chapter I realized we were only a few days away from the 40th anniversary of the fall of South Viet Nam to the northern communist forces. This realization led me to add the following footnote to this chapter, as a sort of requiem to my former beloved homeland.

FORTY YEARS AGO Remember April 30th, 1975 Dieu, KHUONGHUU This year 2015 will mark on April 30 the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to the north Vietnamese communist troops who arrived in their sophisticated soviet T‐54 tanks crashing into the gates of south Vietnam's Independence Palace. Since then the 300‐year old beautiful city of Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City, a good mimic to outdo Leningrad or Stalingrad and, worse still, the entire country from north to south has come under communist rule with a new label, namely, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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It is now clearly recognized that the collapse of South Vietnam on April 30th, 1975 resulted from the January 27, 1973 Paris Accords which was acclaimed a "masterpiece" in diplomacy by Dr. Henry Kissinger then National Security Adviser to President Richard Nixon.

In fact, well before these Paris Accords, Henry Kissinger had already made the decision to jettison South Vietnam, aka Outpost of the Free World since the mid�

1950s. Declassified documents have revealed that while meeting Chu and Mao in February 1972, Henry Kissinger openly informed the top communist Chinese leaders that if the U. S. was able to live with a great communist country like China, the U. S. could also live with a small communist country like Vietnam.

Henry Kissinger did not have to wait long to carry out his prophecy. Less than a year later, with the Paris Accords of January 27, 1973, he was able to pave the way for South Vietnam to come under communist rule. According to the terms of these Paris Accords, the most basic, concrete and decisive matter was for the U. S. to put an end to its intervention in the Vietnam conflict and the complete cessation of military aid to South Vietnam for its vital national defense.

The South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu was surely not a geopolitical expert of Dr. Kissinger's caliber but he was able to see immediately the catastrophic consequences of these Paris Accords for South Vietnam and vigorously refused to have his government sign them. President Thieu's stubbornness in demanding many major changes in the draft dragged on and on during three months without much result.

By mid�January 1973 Henry Kissinger had President Nixon send a series of letters to President Thieu saying that the U. S. government would sign the Paris Accords with or without the Saigon government on January 27, 1973. To read between the lines, the U. S. was dumping the Saigon government and getting out of Vietnam (period.)

President Thieu did not have much choice and had to accept the Paris Accords but with a "written guarantee" by President Nixon to carry out strong U. S. military action in case of violation of the accords by Hanoi. That letter of guarantee was, of course, just "for the birds" as history has shown ...

Thanks to the Paris Accords of January 27, 1973, the communist regime in Hanoi was able to understand that the U.S. would not intervene again in the Vietnam conflict or grant further military aid to South Vietnam. On the contrary, during that period Hanoi received from the Soviet Union four more times of military supplies compared to the levels it used to get previously at the highest peak of the American military intervention in the Vietnam war.

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After two years of intensive preparations, Hanoi began to unleash its "Ho Chi Minh Campaign" in March 1975 with the quasi‐totality of its army (15 divisions) across the DMZ ‐ Demilitarized Zone ‐ at the 17th Parallel against the south Vietnamese troops who were by then down to their last bullets and gallons of gasoline in the defense of their country and of the Free World. This final military general offensive

by North Vietnam against South Vietnam lasted only 55 days and, of course, without much opposition by the destitute Saigon troops.

History has also recorded what happened after the fall of Saigon to the communist troops. More than one million soldiers and civil servants of the South Vietnamese government were sent to prison and kept there without any trial, some for 5 years, some for 10 years and some for over 20 years. Of course, tens of thousands of them died in these hard labor camps. Their families were deprived of their possessions and chased out of their homes to so‐called "new economic zones" to face sheer destitution. Their children were not allowed to attend schools. The right to private property no longer existed and the sole employer was the State!

The fall of Saigon in 1975 was not only a problem of political strategy or military tactics but very much a matter of morality and ethics in world affairs. The past four decades of communist rule in Viet Nam have allowed the people in Viet Nam as well as in the United States to understand the true nature of the Vietnam war with South Vietnam and its great American ally fighting for the defense of Freedom and Democracy against Hanoi and its powerful communist allies to subjugate South Vietnam by the force of arms. The truth is now clear for everybody to see all the lies and deceits which were put out by Hanoi during the Vietnam war.

In the past 40 years, the Vietnamese people have been compelled to live under communist rule. Vietnam is now the 14th ranking population with over 90 million people but Vietnam has also become one of the poorest countries and one of the most repressive states in the world for blatant violations of human rights, widespread corruption and outrageous abuses of power always inherent in the totalitarian regime.

There is a question which has been haunting many Vietnamese people in the past 40 years: was it at all possible for Dr. Henry Kissinger and the powerful United States of America to find a way to prevent North Vietnam to take over South Vietnam by the force of arms and avoid the imposition of communist rule on the entire country of Vietnam in 1975?

In this year of 2015, we remember the fall of Saigon 40 years ago and cannot forget Dr. Henry Kissinger's major role in that historical and tragic event for the

Vietnamese people. Now at the age of 92, Henry Kissinger continues to be very active in politics and international relations, still with special reference and emphasis on China. Again, last month, he made a grandiose visit to Beijing where he was given a red carpet reception by the highest Chinese leader Xi Jin‐ping to remind people that Henry Kissinger has always been a great friend of China since his meeting with Chu En‐lai and Mao Tse‐tung in February 1972.

There is one obvious thing the world can be sure of is that, as long as the communist leaders in Beijing continue to heap praises on Henry Kissinger, the kind of "World Order" he has professed in his recently published book, must be quite profitable to China.

With China now considered to be a leading superpower both economically and militarily, Henry Kissinger strongly claims that China and America should become BFF ‐ Best Friends Forever. Henry Kissinger may score here a "first" in getting a second Nobel Prize for bringing "peace" this time to the whole world, not only for Vietnam with his 1973 Nobel Peace Prize! It must be remembered that Kissinger's co‐laureate for this Nobel Peace Prize, Le Duc Tho, refused to accept it because the Paris Accords were, in fact, a victory for Hanoi and the communist side.

The way Henry Kissinger succeeded in ending the Vietnam war was a tragedy to the Vietnamese people and a deplorable stigma in the 200‐year history of the American nation. It was the unprecedented time that the United States of America failed to honor its promise and did not fulfill its commitment to defend its ally in the face of the enemy.

In short, when you do not know how to secure victory for your side and stop the advance of your enemy, you do not have to be a genius in geopolitics to tell people "if you can't fight them, join them" which simply means "just throw in the towel" ...

PART VIII

Finding a New Life

CHAPTER 19 Good Samaritans: Roy, Nancy Muehlberger and Others

Happy Landing in the land of the Free!

Roy and Nancy Muehlberger, our sponsors in June 1975

First day out of Camp Pendleton: June 1975 Ä?iáťƒu, Marie, our niece Anh and her family

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Then 1975 and now 2012

2012

2012

One sunny day in June 1975, the camp office phone rang. It was for me.

(There were no cell phones in those days.) I picked up the phone and, on the other end of the line, was a complete stranger: Roy Muehlberger. He said he wanted to sponsor me and my wife out of the camp. We would stay in his home in Montecito near Santa Barbara. I was quite surprised and told him: “I don’t know you and you don’t know me, why do you want to sponsor me? He said: “People do that. I have

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learned about you from The Los Angeles Times and several TV news stations. It could be me. You are about my age. You were from MIT and I was from Caltech.”

I could not say yes yet because I did not know enough about Roy. Besides I was seriously concerned about a gay man in California sponsoring me to his home. But naturally, I could not ask him that question directly. I tried to keep him talking for a while hoping for some breakthrough information about his background during our conversation.

Sure enough: “Que Sera, Sera” “Whatever will be, will be.”

As the conversation continued, Roy said:” I have two daughters, Marion and Frances. Marion has completed her studies at UCLA. Frances is still at Duke University. Nancy, my wife, a nutritionist, is living with me in our Montecito home.

I have a brother who is a scientist working on the geology of the moon…”

At this point, thank God, I felt relieved and safe to accept Roy’s offer and politely thanked him for his generosity and hospitality.

Roy & Nancy’s home in Montecito, Ca

Roy was kind enough to find another sponsor for my niece’s family so we could get out of camp at the same time. My niece’s sponsor was Peter Frick, a German American immigrant.

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A few days after the phone call, Roy came to camp Pendleton with his Mercedes‐Benz 450SEL. He took us home. We had not much baggage, just the small Saigon handbag and a new suitcase with donated clothing from the camp office. The Marines gave warm clothing to the refugees because Camp Pendleton weather was quite cool compared to tropical Saigon.

Peter Frick, who sponsored my niece family, was at the camp too. It was a big day for all of us, our D day in America! We all went together to Roy and Nancy’s home. After dinner, Peter went home with his five new immigrants. We felt like landing on Plymouth Rock in the 20th century.

Roy told me that for the first time in his life, he had a couple living in his home. Marie and I also, for the first time, received free room and board from complete strangers. We had our nice, private bedroom in a modest home at Schoolhouse Road. Marie and I did our best to please our sponsors.

I learned that Roy’s parents had cholesterol problems. As a result, Roy and Nancy were very strict in controlling their nutrition. It was a surprise for Marie and me to see them giving all the egg yolks to their dog. They just ate the white part. They rarely consumed red meat. Nuts were their preferred food. They always drank non‐fat milk. Of course, they ate a lot of vegetables, fruits and cereals. I had an appetite for the foods they tried to avoid. But my flexibility to adapt to new conditions came naturally. I had no problem accepting what was available even if my stomach was half full. Frances seemed to know that we wanted red meat. She went to the supermarket to buy lamb and prepared a stew dish for us. I remembered it was quite a delicious treat. Frances also gave me a neat hair cut in the backyard. I learned from my niece's family that their German American sponsor ate a lot more and drank a lot of beer!

Roy told me that he wanted to sponsor me because he wished to use my management and engineering background for a potential construction project in Hawaii. He wanted to participate in the building of Honolulu’s new stadium in early 1975. However, with the month’s long delay to process my paperwork at Camp Pendleton, it was too late for him to involve me in that project. To my surprise he gave me a $500 dollar check as a retainer fee.

I wanted to be helpful to Roy while getting our room and board from him.

My hobby was designing landscapes and Asian gardens. Looking around his existing property, I saw a good opportunity to create a beautiful Japanese garden in the vast space of his backyard: a redwood deck 5 ft above the lawn. I suggested to Roy a design of a lotus pond with waterfall on miniature Rock Mountain above

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a pool full of colorful Koi. I had had previous experience in Saigon creating my own Asian garden in my front yard and a roof garden on the third floor of my Saigon home. (See photo)

My Saigon Roof Garden

Roy became very interested in my garden proposal. In fact, he wanted a complete, classic Japanese house. But instead of starting from scratch, he worked with his real estate agent. With good luck, in a short period of time, he found and bought a beautiful villa built by an architect who specialized in Japanese style homes. It belonged to a rich connoisseur of Japanese art who even invited some experts from Japan to finish the landscape. Here again, the key was location, location, location. The house was built on the side of the hill overlooking the Catalina Islands off the Santa Barbara coast. The view was unobstructed. There were some beautiful old oak trees next to a classical Japanese garden! It was beyond my belief to see such an authentic Asian masterpiece in a western town.

I had an opportunity to visit Roy and Nancy in their new dream house. In the 60’s, I had seen the summer Imperial residence in Japan. I could assure you that, although Roy’s home was smaller, its modern, comfortable 20th century

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American plumbing made quite an improvement over the last century’s Imperial design.

Roy’s new “Imperial Summer Palace”, 1975

Back garden with guest’s house

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Back yard lotus pond with colorful Koi near water falls

Japan’s Summer Imperial Residence

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Building permits in this “high‐class” zone were very strict. I learned something new about discrimination by economic standards: for instance, each lot should be more than one acre and must have its own drinking water well. To find water on the hill of Santa Barbara required risky and expensive investment in drilling deep wells. Roy, a good entrepreneur, divided his avocado orchard next to the home into several lots. His newly dug water wells converted those lots into very sought‐after sites to build expensive residences. He told me about this great financial investment!

Roy’s entrepreneurial spirit helped me a lot. I feel fortunate to have had Roy’s advice about my future career at this turning point in my life outside of Vietnam. When I was depressed and homesick, I wanted to move to France to be close to my family members. Roy convinced me that in the U. S., with my background from MIT, I could be a fish in the ocean. In France, I would be a fish in an aquarium and my potential would be limited. Besides there were many more international companies in the U.S. than in France. I would have a better choice! I learned also from Roy the “German” tradition of hard work. His parents had immigrated to America from Germany and his father had worked as a butcher in order to send their children to college. In turn, through hard work with Kaiser Engineers, Inc. Roy had become very successful and decided to start his own business. Roy and Nancy invested in a beautiful Best Western Rondee Motor Hotel in Sedona, AZ. (See photo below)

Best Western Rondee Motor Hotel in Sedona, AZ

In Asia, well‐to do people tended to avoid manual work. On the contrary, Roy and Nancy were different. They would do any type of work necessary to keep

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their business successful. I have to thank Roy and Nancy for their guidance by example.

Now during retirement, I have the luxury of looking back at an earlier decision made in July 1975, and I have to say deep thanks to Roy for helping me take the right direction. Many of my Vietnamese colleagues, who settled down in France and did not do well have proved Roy’s point of view to be right.

His money spending pattern was very sound and in appropriate relation to his wealth. His relation with his children was admirable and he took care of his grandchildren’s education.

The day we said good bye to Roy and Nancy, Marie and my niece Anh put on their traditional Vietnamese tunics, “ Áo Dài”, and prepared a copious Vietnamese farewell dinner. They served spring rolls with hoi sin sauce, crispy imperial rolls with “nước mắm” fish sauce, caramelized pork belly stew and banana beignets for dessert.

July 1975 Farewell dinner: Marie & Anh my niece in “Áo Dài”

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Imperial Rolls

Caramelized Pork Belly Stew

Spring Rolls

Banana beignets

While living and working in San Francisco, Marie and I kept in touch with Roy and Nancy and were able to visit them on several occasions.

Left to right: QuĂ­, my twin brother, Marie, Nancy, me, Roy and HoĂ ng my nephew from Nice, France.

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We visited Roy & Nancy at their Sedona home with my brother and nephew from France.

At the wedding of Roy & Nancy’s daughter, Marion, in Santa Barbara, Nov 1980

At Frances’ home in Monterey, Ca, in 2000

We had a reunion at daughter Frances’ home in Monterey, in 2000 with a delicious feast of Cantonese roast ducks and crispy roast piglet from San Francisco special BBQ house.

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Reunion at Điểu’s home, 2011

In 2011, Roy and Nancy were on a cruise to Alaska and the ship stopped in San Francisco. Marie and I invited Frances and her husband for a surprise lunch‐ time reunion at well known Ton Kiang Restaurant on Geary Street. Then in the evening we had dinner at the famous KOI Palace in the Serramonte shopping center. After dinner, we sent Roy and Nancy back to the ship in downtown. It was a lot of fun and a wonderful time together with them.

Reunion at Điểu’s home, 2011

Carmel 2014, reunion at Nancy’s home

It was a big shock to us to learn from Frances that Roy passed away in 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ. We were deeply grieved by the great loss of our exceptional Samaritan friend who voluntarily extended vital assistance to us, total strangers, during one of the darkest periods of my American journey and provided an

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important milestone of my rebirth in this country of adoption, the Land of the Free.

Another Good Samaritan: Dick Wilson, Boise, Idaho The following are the words of Dick Wilson:

“One morning in 1975 I opened my newspaper, the Washington Post, to read about the ongoing developments after the fall of Saigon. The center column of the front page contained a series of short vignettes about the Vietnamese refugees arriving in Hawaii and the West Coast. One story described an energetic young man who arrived at Camp Pendleton in California and immediately began organizing civic action committees and organizing the camp. His name was Dieu Khuong Huu.

The name was familiar. During my freshman year at Lafayette I had waited tables at Watson Hall. One of my fellow waiters was a Vietnamese student whose name was similar to the one in the newspaper. By an odd quirk of fate, I had received a copy of the college alumni directory the day before in the mail. I had not yet even taken it out of its package. I opened the package and compared the name in the newspaper with the name in our class list. It was the same. The man organizing the refugees in Camp Pendleton was my classmate and former fellow waiter.

My wife and I wanted to help Dieu in any way that we could so I called Camp Pendleton. After some explanations, the Marine on the switchboard was able to get Dieu on the telephone. We had not talked for over twenty years and it took a while to refresh memories. I found out that Dieu was in the camp with his wife Marie and he needed someone to sponsor them before they could be released from Camp Pendleton. Dieu mailed me the forms which I signed and mailed back immediately.

Then we waited. And waited.

After several days I had still not heard from Dieu. This was supposed to have been a simple procedure; submit a form verifying sponsorship, release the internee.

Finally, I called Camp Pendleton and tried to reach Dieu. I was told that he had to be moved to another part of the camp because he had been beaten up by Nguyen Cao Ky’s gang. This was shocking news because Dieu was a peaceful sort of person that would not become involved with physical violence. The Marine that I spoke to could not give me any further information, but he was able to get Dieu on the telephone for me.

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Dieu was still somewhat shaken and frustrated that he could not get released from Pendleton. He said that they could not find his papers and was stuck in the camp while his friends and neighbors were being released. It was at that point that a champion appeared, my wife.

I had to work long hours at my job as Director of Federal Government Marketing for a small computer company. However, my wife, Celia, made it her personal mission to get Dieu out of Camp Pendleton. When I left for work in the morning she got on the phone to call the offices of congressmen, senators, congressional aides, and legislative assistants. Any hint of cooperation was followed up with personal visits to their offices. Finally, after a week of lobbying she was referred to Representative John Rousselot from California. He was not in the office at the time, but his wife was and she and Celia talked extensively about Dieu’s situation. Later, we met with the congressman and he agreed to do what he could to get Dieu out of the camp.

A few days later Celia received a telephone call from a Marine major at Camp Pendleton. He said, ‘I don’t know who you talked to madam, but we have an order from the Commandant of the Marine Corps to get Mr. Dieu out of Camp Pendleton TODAY. We have had every available Marine looking for Mr. Dieu’s papers and you would not believe where we found them. I can assure you that he will be released by the end of the day.’ The next we heard Dieu was a free man.”

We became close friends. With our Westphalia camper we went to Boise, Idaho to see Dick and Celia. They really gave us a warm welcome and made us feel at home. Both of us happened to own identical VW Westphalia campers. We drove to wilderness Grandjean campground. Dick knew the place where we could dam hot springs water from the bank of the river and blend it with colder river water to get the right comfortable temperature. That was a lot of fun for big city visitors!

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Grandjean Campground. Sacajawea Hot Springs from banks of the South Fork of the Payette River

A lot of fun with Dick and Celia in Idaho

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Another Good Samaritan: Don Sayenga, Arizona

Easton Hall

In the fall of 1952, I landed on this Pennsylvania campus alone with very little English. My room was on the ground floor of Easton Hall dormitory, on the opposite side of this façade facing a beautiful small forest and downtown Easton.

All the students on my floor were US‐born freshmen, and I was the only foreigner from the Far‐East! It was a shock to me that none of them knew that Vietnam exists on the globe. When I mentioned old French Indochina they realized that they were behind in geography!

My room was next to Don Sayenga, a student in metallurgy from Pittsburgh, PA. He was the heavy‐weight in wrestling and a Lafayette football player. I was physically the smallest of the group and a ping‐pong player. As usual, there were always bullies and I seemed to be the target. They taught me how to swear in English and enjoyed this game. A friend in need was a friend in deed. Don was the one who always came to my defense against the bullies. Thanks to his fairness and his physical strength, Don became my God given natural bodyguard. No more hard time for me on this floor. One day by pure chance, I used my basic Asian martial art to flip one bully on the floor of the shower room. The word spread around fast giving me peace of mind. When I was ten years old, my father had his friend from Hainan teach me Chinese Kung Fu. Don became my chosen brother for the next seven decades! I felt very lonely on my first Christmas in 1952 in America. Don invited me to his home in Pittsburgh, PA to spend the holidays with his parents. That was an unforgettable souvenir. Being in the steel capital of the US, Don showed me at night the spectacular view of red hot slags being dumped from rail‐wagons outside of West Mifflin Township.

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West Mifflin Township Red Slag Dump near Pittsburg, PA

During the school year, we went to the gym together. We had fun in New York City 70 miles away. He made me feel less homesick. Don wanted me to join his wrestling team as a light weight member. I declined because I was afraid of receiving blows to my head that could hinder my study in engineering. In 1966 as deputy minister of economy, I had a chance to come back to Washington DC for the IMF and World Bank meeting. There Don and I had a mini reunion. I remember driving his sporty Corvette! Don and I went back to Lafayette campus seeing our former professors. The war in Vietnam was very hot and the Easton Express newspaper and The LAFAYETTE magazine has asked me for an interview.

“What is your reaction to the American students who demonstrated against U S policy in Vietnam?” “I don’t think they know enough to demonstrate. They just demonstrate on the basis of a few things they know. But is that enough? The demonstrations helped the Viet Cong…” (see below Lafayette Magazine)

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In 1975, I came back to the US with my wife Marie this time as empty� handed refugees in Marine Camp Pendleton, CA. We felt very depressed and again Don was there to help us. He kept our Lafayette classmates informed about my situation.

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Don and Carlene

Điểu and Don 2014

Lunch in San Francisco Japantown Benihana with my niece Sang and Renauld from Reims, France

By the way Don was a wrestler friend of Rocky Aoki, a Japanese�born American wrestler and restaurateur who founded the popular Japanese cuisine restaurant chain Benihana.

Don giving a lecture before the annual convention of the ASCE in 2015

In 2017, I feel sad to learn that my good buddy Don is fighting against cancer and will move back to Pennsylvania from Arizona. oOo In my adopted New World land, I am lucky and happy to have had Dick Wilson and Don Sayenga as classmates, buddies and best of all as real brothers in my family.

CHAPTER 20 San Francisco, Home Sweet Home

Second life in the New World A man's home is his castle Each man's home is his safest refuge

San Francisco home since 1978

Downtown San Francisco, seen from Twin Peaks

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Downtown San Francisco, seen from Twin Peaks at night

April 30, 2015 remains an important date and emotional day for me since it marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to the invading North Vietnamese troops. April 30, 1975 was the day of my painful, dramatic and most challenging METAMORPHOSIS from my past life.

MY 1975 METAMORPHOSIS From a worm in a refugee camp to a butterfly in the New World

That date has also become "Black April" for the millions of us who had to leave the land of our ancestors and seek refuge somewhere in the world to avoid communist rule. It was truly a scary, abrupt transformation from my traditional Asian ways of life with a comfortable and cozy home in Saigon to an unprecedented, unimaginable, helpless, jobless and broke refugee in Marine camp Pendleton, California. That was how Marie and I started our second life in the New World. “East is east and West is west.� Life was then totally different for us on this side of the Pacific Ocean.

After 37 years of mostly happy living in South Vietnam, (except for the war period) we were cut off abruptly from our former homeland. No parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces. No friends either. We were

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uprooted, transplanted from our ancient Asia to the New World of youthful America. We had heard the saying “from riches to rags� and never thought it could be us! But thank God, we were both alive and in good health. Being an optimist, I accepted and considered this disaster to be a temporary inconvenience. We had learned to live within our means a long time ago and were able to reach the top of the hill. We should remember our way back there. From a cocoon, we would learn to fly like a butterfly again.

The US economy was not bright in 1975 and it was very hard to find work in the area surrounding Marine Camp Pendleton and Santa Barbara. We decided to move north to the San Francisco Bay Area looking for jobs.

New roots in San Francisco, the Best of the West

San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise

Here again by fate or destiny, God seemed to have given us the best city in the West: San Francisco. How and why? While in Camp Pendleton, we were transported to the military airfield EL TORO, to be transferred to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas because too many new refugees kept arriving on the Pacific Coast from South Vietnam. There was overflow in the camp. By pure luck our assigned plane was full and we were sent back to the camp. I can now imagine what a completely different future in Arkansas would have been for Marie and me!

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El Toro Air station

After several months of living temporarily in my sponsor’s home, I met in San Francisco the late Mr. Huỳnh Trung Lập, a former client of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam. He gave me a $500/month job to help him apply on his behalf for a $100,000 soft loan from the Bank of America. He needed a loan in order to build a French restaurant called “La Cabane” on Union Street.

My rent was $200/month in the Parkmerced community located in an old artichoke farm; the landscape was generous with ample free space for parks and gardens, tennis courts etc… God seemed to have given us a really comfortable refuge. Marie and I felt that we had our new shelter in a peaceful place. What a strange feeling to live in an apartment without any furniture, just a bare wooden floor. I remember a reunion of a dozen of our Saigon friends for dinner in our “new home” seating on the floor with paper plates and disposable bamboo chopsticks.

My first purchase was a $10 alarm clock to get me to work on time. The Bay Area was convenient with its many flea markets. The one in Alameda, across the Bay, was a good place to go to to furnish our new “home” with basics at really very low costs: 5 cent silverware, a few dollars for pots and pans, a dollar for a jean or shirt etc… The most costly item was a $35 solid, square wooden table used as our dining place, office and homework desk, and as living room furniture. We made a really functional multi‐purpose investment!

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Marie studying in our new “home” at the only table, 1975

After a few months, the restaurant loan was approved and I found a new job with Bechtel Inc., a huge engineering company in downtown San Francisco. Every day, I commuted by bus to the office. With a much better salary, we had our first car, a low cost, functional, economical Chevrolet Vega station wagon, excellent for camping on weekends and on vacations. One night we camped in a nice site near the Pacific Ocean Highway 1. We slept in our sleeping bags inside the station wagon; suddenly a strange loud noise from the roof of the car scared us to death.

Thank God there were no VC here. We waited impatiently for sunrise. Only then did we learn that a big raccoon, leaving plenty of muddy footprints on the car, had opened our ice box for the roast beef inside!

We felt very content in San Francisco thanks to the availability of abundant Asian food and its cosmopolitan atmosphere. It was also the real melting pot of the “chopstick” culture (China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam) in a western city, the Best of the West for us.

This land of opportunity gave me many pleasant surprises, all contributing to care free living. Asian Sunset Supermarkets next to the Lucky and Safeway stores were so convenient with a wide variety of East‐West food choices. In Vietnam, I never cooked or even walked into my kitchen. Most of middle class families had a full time cook. In my Saigon home, the kitchen was connected to the villa by a covered walkway. Now in the New World, a new life style was a must. I realized that for the rest of my life I would never have a cook again. At the same time Marie and I became used to the good food that was available and plentiful in the Bay Area. The simplest solution was to learn how to do the cooking ourselves.

It became a rewarding hobby for both of us. From the San Francisco Chronicle

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newspaper, every Wednesday, Ellis the Butcher taught us how to select quality meat at a reasonable price. For instance, go early to Safeway or Lucky and choose the right low‐cost chuck blade steak. The center of the cut was very good for steak and the rest of the cut was excellent for stew. Every Wednesday, the food section provided also plenty of choice recipes. In no time and with regular practice, Marie and I became family “gourmet chefs.” Besides, I tried to recreate the best Saigon dishes prepared by our Vietnamese cook, a retired chef from the “Messageries Maritimes,” a French merchant shipping company running between Saigon and Marseilles. (See Chapter 22. Gastronomy and my Life) For music, luckily Marie and I found in the daily Chronicle a shipshape Steinway piano for sale by an American composer living in Chinatown. He got a contract in Hollywood and sold his good piano for $2,500, the most expensive item in our house. We had a hard time moving it from his narrow second floor apartment with the help of a professional mover. What a wonderful break for Marie’s music practice.

While working for Bechtel, I met two new friends: Stan Tull and Ted Paul.

Stan was in Vietnam for a short while during the war installing the communications network for the US Air Force. Ted, a Navy captain, was with the US Navy Seabees at the Saigon Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport construction project. I remember vividly our first lonely Christmas of 1975 without any relative in a new land. Mr. Paul invited us and our friend Dr. Hưởn to his home to enjoy dinner with the family. I felt much moved by his warm hospitable gesture. It so happens that Marie and I got married the same day as the Pauls. We began to celebrate together our annual wedding anniversary dinner at a gourmet restaurant in 1976 and we have continued to do so to this day. At the time, it was truly “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Mini annual reunion with Dot & Ted

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Outing with Dot and Ted on Angel Island

Outing with Dot and Ted at Sonoma vineyard and Angel Island

We alternated our choice of gourmet restaurants in the Bay Area for our annual reunion. Ted and Dot have a very neat motor boat with comfortable cabin and kitchen. One time we started our “Champagne and foie gras aperitif” on the boat mooring in San Francisco Marina. After that we went to Ghirardelli Square for dinner at the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant. We had the best Peking duck in town according to then famous columnist Herb Caen of the San Francisco Chronicle. Another time we selected Napa's “Auberge du Soleil” Restaurant with well‐known chef Masa. The following year we went to Manka a romantic small place hidden on the hill of Inverness, Ca. The specialty of the inn was German roast goose. This year 2015, we missed Dot because she had moved to Seattle to be near her daughter Cindy, another Navy captain.

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Stan and Ursula Tull, knowing also our refugee displaced and lonely conditions in the new city, invited us frequently to their home in Sausalito, Marin County on many social occasions. They even invited Marie’s parents who were visiting us from Paris to make us feel really at home. My twin brother Quí’s family from Paris with their two children Philippe and Sabine, also came and enjoyed sailing on the Tulls’ boat in the beautiful San Francisco Bay. I had fun myself playing tennis with Stan and his friends on Tiburon courts.

On Stan’s sailing boat in SF Bay Happy gathering at Stan’s home in Sausalito

Together with Ursula & Stan in Falls Church, VA Picnic in California with Stan and Ruth

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Dinner at Ursula & Stan’s Sausalito home with Dr. Hưởn

Marie and father at Stan’s home “Steam boat” fun dinner at our San Fran home

Of course, Marie and I loved to reciprocate by inviting our friends to some of the best Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. When Stan and Ursula moved to Falls Church, Virginia, Marie and I including Dr. Hưởn went to visit them in their new home. We had a great time enjoying the delicious soft shell blue crabs in Annapolis on the Chesapeake Bay. Lately something very precious and unique happened to me. Stan, who has read a lot of books all his life, convinced me that the mental exercise involved in writing would help me avoid Alzheimer and at the same time offer me the opportunity to tell my life story, which he found fascinating. So, willingly he is coaching me through to the completion of the only book in my life and that of my Khương Hữu family.

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Living in a rented apartment never gave me the feeling of having a cozy home. After three years of hard work, we had saved enough to look for a house. It was a great challenge because California homes were the most expensive in the US and San Francisco houses were the highest priced in California at the time. The situation becomes even worse now due mainly to so many buyers of Chinese descent. It is simply the law of supply and demand. We have to keep in mind that there are over one billion (1,300,000,000) Mainland Chinese plus forty million Overseas Chinese. Recent official statistics show that every year hundreds of thousands of wealthy Chinese have been buying houses everywhere in the world, especially in the United States. And a San Francisco home is one of their preferred choices because the city offers political stability, safe and comfortable living, especially for the education of their children. They can enjoy a very fulfilling life here speaking only Chinese in the great Chinatown of San Francisco if they wish.

Main entrance to SF Chinatown

San Francisco Chinatown is the largest outside of Asia as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America. It is one of the top tourist attractions in San Francisco. The city is limited on three sides by the Ocean and on the fourth by Daly City. De facto, the home supply is always limited and the demand keeps growing. Besides, the price of local real estate is quite independent of the US economy because Chinese cash is already in the bank overseas or in San Francisco. Native San Franciscans spend time working on a mortgage with the bank while the Chinese are ready to pay cash and sometimes with a premium. By luck, my new home seemed to look for me. How? Every weekend I played tennis with my friends Dr. Hưởn, Thi and Cẩn in Parkmerced. After tennis, Dr.Hưởn and Thi used to come home with me for lunch. One day, Thi told me that his cousin Hồng, the former consul general in San Francisco, wanted to sell his home and move to San Jose. Immediately, we prepared the paper work and closed the

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escrow. My luck was that the new home really met the desired criterion “location, location, location.”

My new home is indicated by the red arrow on this aerial photo of San Francisco

My diplomat friend knew how to choose the right place in town to live. It’s near the convenient Lake Shore shopping plaza, green Stern Grove with open air music in the summer, Stonetown Galleria smart shops and the three Vicente‐ Noriega‐Irving streets mini Chinatowns. Public transportation is a block away with a Pacific Ocean beach nearby.

Nice tennis courts and modern swimming pool are a few blocks from home

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With all the conveniences in one location, Marie and I decided to try to keep the new home as long as possible for our retirement, especially since the weather is mild year around. Everything seems to be right. For the last 40 years there has not been one case of burglary in the neighborhood.

Another bit of good luck for us: right after our purchase, one of our Parkmerced neighbors was about to move to San Diego and offered to sell us all his furniture for only $400. In no time, our refugee friends used their own cars to transport the furniture on their cars’ roof to my new home about a mile away. In such a short time, my new nest became a cozy place. By the way, my Riverton home has some historic value because it used to be owned by Joe Rosenthal, the photographer who took the famous Iwo Jima photo during WWII.

Raising the flag on Iwo Jima, by Joe Rosenthal / The Associated Press

Back to life in the new home. How true, war is hell and peace is paradise.

We have used the in‐law room in our basement to help shelter several groups of refugees. In fact, nine altogether. After about a year each group succeeded to become independent and moved out to make room for the next one. God seems to reward us with good health and happiness during retirement.

Work at Bechtel, as in many US companies, was very stressful and competitive. My solution to have quality of life was to ventilate my work stress by living close to NATURE as much as possible during weekends. For my first love of Nature, I never forget my lesson from a French class in 1950, during my Lycée Yersin years, about a poem written by the romantic poet Lamartine with the quotation: “La nature est là qui t’invite et qui t’aime” or “Nature is there that invites and loves you.”

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That was the best way for me to enjoy life while working under stressful conditions. However, I found a great change in my spirit: In Vietnam, I worked to improve my own underdeveloped country. This created a sense of patriotism and “gung‐ho” spirit. Now I worked on the design of a foreign airport in faraway Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a very rich country. I had to do a good job to earn my salary but I missed the spiritual flame of helping my poor native land. Bluntly, I felt like a mercenary, a French Foreign Légionnaire fighting in a foreign land.

I find myself in the unique situation of having lived 37 years in a less developed country of Asia exposed to war and half a century in the advanced United States of America with no war in the new homeland. My curiosity leads me to ask myself this question: what’s the difference? The answer is the joy of breathing the air of liberty and freedom. For instance, this year is the 40th anniversary of the loss of South Vietnam. On this occasion, I have written an article for the San Jose Mercury News criticizing strongly the nefarious behavior of a powerful political celebrity, Henry Kissinger, a former Secretary of State and U S National Security Advisor. (See chapter18) I have no fear of being punished by any political power. What a mighty proof of freedom of expression in the United States. In its issue of April 30, 2015, the San Jose paper printed the full text of my article under the title "Kissinger's Betrayal: he sold out South Vietnam in the 1973 Paris Accords." That newspaper itself is also free of any harm. To me it’s another very good proof of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Obviously, such action might result in death by revenge in a lot of countries around the world.

Now back to my refugee life. What a great pleasure to enjoy real freedom for the rest of my life here. Thank God for landing me here instead of somewhere else on earth. I discovered this land of opportunity through my own experience. I was empty handed in the refugee camp and by honest hard work, my wife and I are now enjoying a comfortable retirement beyond our expectations! Of course, I have also observed that people are taking advantage of the existing welfare system in the US but the young generations have shown to be more industrious. I know it may be controversial and a bit biased for me to make this observation but I have seen that the chopstick group, i.e. Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China, studied and worked a little harder. And by doing so, they make good contributions to this Land of the Free which has given refuge and opportunity to people of different races, creeds and cultures to live in peace and prosper together. I hope other minority groups would try to stop abusing our overloaded social assistance system.

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With a steady job at Bechtel, our financial situation improved. For the first time in my second life, I felt secure and confident to begin designing my own road map for the pursuit of happiness. It’s rather simple: 1. Maintaining good health through regular physical and mental exercise as well as balanced nutrition 2. Working and saving, living a frugal life 3. Enjoying the company of friends and family members. Be a social animal!

4. Living whenever possible outdoors on weekends and on vacations 5. Gardening at home 6. Choosing steady hobbies such as writing, cooking…

I let my extended family members in France know about my newly settled situation and invited them to come and visit us. We have a comfortable guest room for them. My Saigon friends got invited too. I have noted that San Francisco is a very popular overseas destination for travelers. It has no shortage of positive qualities. Though numbering fewer than a million people, this coastal city packs in so much—from world‐class restaurants and museums to community fairs and music festivals, a large educated class, and an improving economy. Its finish at the top of Businessweek.com’s 2012 best cities ranking in the U S A is well‐earned.

The rating is based on leisure attributes (the number of restaurants, bars, libraries, museums, professional sports teams, and park acres by population), educational attributes (public school performance, the number of colleges, and rate of graduate‐degree holders), economic factors (income and unemployment), crime, and air quality. Recently an influx of young techies has driven up living costs. (Average rent for a studio apartment is $2,075). By the way Seattle (second) and Portland (fifth) edged out such southern California cities as San Diego (ninth) and Los Angeles (50th). But as San Francisco has grown wealthier, it has one of the largest U.S. populations of homeless people.

I feel happy to welcome many visitors to our modest new home. My kind and generous brother Five came here several times from Liege, Belgium. I never forget the time when I returned to Saigon after 7 years living in the US during the 1950’s, he really took good care of me like a big brother and a Good Samaritan.

Thanks to him, I had a cozy residence. He let me use his new French Peugeot 403 and from time to time his sleek 2 seater VW Karmann Ghia. (See photos)

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Generous Brother Five from Liege, Belgium

We were really close to each other. He passed away a few years ago and I really miss him very much.

What a relief to feel safe in a new home in a new country without fear of war atrocities and bad surprises. We began to gather together our displaced extended family members for our traditional ancestral Memorial Day events. We created a circle of former Saigon friends living in the Bay Area (our new Mekong club) with regular social activities. Luckily San Francisco is attractive to tourists including many of our friends, sisters, brothers, cousins, nephews and nieces from France. We are not alone anymore. Our hospitality, our transparency “you see what you get” seem to have reached both old and new friends. Our love of good food is also a good catalyst.

My Home Sweet Home has served me well as a multi‐purpose social club.

It’s a base for organizing camping trips in the continental US, for helping newly arrived refugees and also for gourmet cooking, gardening, writing a book, and developing other hobbies. Thank God for the new metamorphosis to a new life in the New World. During the first few years we enjoyed all the available entertainment in town. Music in the park, the De Young Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, The Botanical Garden, the Golden Gate Park, the Zoo, the Exploratorium, and Angel and Alcatraz islands.

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Stern Grove in the spring

Stern Grove summer concerts

At 86, I feel happy and satisfied that I had a good time with all members of my family coming from faraway places to my new Home Sweet Home: Sister Three from Nice France and her children from Soissons, and Reims; Sister Four from Garden Grove and her children; Brother Five from Liege Belgium; Sister Six and her children from Aubervilliers, France; Sister Seven from LA and her children; and my Twin family from Paris. My extended family came here from as far away as the Marquesas Islands, New Caledonia, Reunion Island, Paris, Houston, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Garden Grove, Des Moines, and Pinellas Park, Fl. Some of my former Saigon Staff came here from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

I never expected to have such a good time and good life after only a few years of hard work and to be able to entertain friends and relatives in our home.

What a joy to have one of our nieces Sang and her husband Renaud from Reims sharing some summer time with us nine times in the last ten years; and each time we made plans to visit new attractive California places, to share our San Francisco gourmet “fruits de mer� pairing with the delicious wines from France and our

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Napa, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, Oregon…products. It was amazing that with the Internet, Renaud in Reims found the best vacation places in California, better than I could do in San Francisco.

Renaud & Sang (left) from Reims, France were with us nine times over the last ten years. Here, they joined our friends' weekly lunch reunion.

L to r: Dung, Marie, Minh, Điểu, Hoàng, Sang from Soisson, Nice, Reims 2015

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L to R: Minh, Dung, Hoàng. Điểu, Sang, Marie sharing sweet shrimp and Napa Chardonnay

A Special event for this year 2015 (See photo above): all my Sister Three’s children from France planned their reunion here. We really enjoyed life to the fullest. I always made sure they got the best food and wine. My nephews and nieces called me “The last of the Mohicans.” Truly all my sisters and Brother Five have passed away and I am the last one to gather them together. Hoping for many days ahead together! We had also the occasion to organize a wedding ceremony for our nephew Đính and Linh at home with a family reunion for lunch in our backyard garden. (See Photos)

Celebration of Đính‐Linh’s wedding at home. Photos of ancestor and parents at the altar

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Family ties were very strong in Vietnam but I felt more independent from my traditional relations with my relatives after arriving in America. The big break was the possibility to live in peace after two decades of continuous wartime danger. Now outdoor pleasures like camping, walking along the trails in the wilderness were possible and California is the best state for this lifestyle with its many rivers, lakes, mountains, beaches, hilly vineyards, giant redwood forest…

Marie and I spend most of our weekends and vacations with friends in scenic campgrounds: Sierra Foothills, Lake Tahoe, Pacific Coast line, Redwood state parks, Napa and Sonoma wine countries, Mendocino, Carmel, Monterey…

Depending on the weekend weather, we choose our campground accordingly.

Most US campgrounds are comfortable, clean and have hot water and flush toilets.

I had a great surprise while camping in the largest Navajo Nation national park (Ariz.‐N.M.‐Utah). I visited one Navajo high school one day and found that the students looked exactly like my schoolmates in Vietnam. I got the idea that my previous work dealt with development and with my 17 years of experience I may be able to make a contribution to this native Nation. That was a dream that did not come true. In fact, the first migration that formed the majority of Native Americans was of a single group called the "First Americans." They crossed over from Asia to America by way of a land bridge called Beringia, (Bering Strait) that existed during the ice age more than 15,000 years ago, say the researchers, whose efforts were coordinated by Professor Andres Ruiz‐Linares of the department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London (UCL) in the UK. Following our family tradition, my father taught us the pleasure of outdoor activities for good mental and physical health since early childhood. However, we had many problems with outdoor fun in Vietnam because of the communist activities in the villages. It was almost impossible to have a campground due to war time security problems. The best outdoor place for Saigon inhabitants was Vũng Tàu with white sand beaches (former Cap St Jacques) about two hours away by car. While living in Mỹ Tho, we went instead to Gò Công gray sand beach at the estuary of the muddy Mekong River. Please note that in 1951, Gò Công beach with gray sand and brackish water was still in its natural state. There was no development for tourists, no picnic table! We lunched on our tatami mat spread over the dry sand.

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Family picnic at Gò Công beach with my mother, Sister Six and her daughters, Sister Seven and relatives, 1951

On the other hand, in the 70’s, Vũng Tàu beach with its white sand and clear water became a popular tourist attraction for Saigon visitors during weekends.

Many seafood restaurants “mushroomed” near the beach but the war still made road travel sometimes dangerous due to VC sabotage and ambush.

At Vũng Tàu beach with my friend Dr. Hưởn, 1971

What a great contrast with living now in the peaceful San Francisco city! I enjoyed organizing camping trips with the happy feeling of great security along the Pacific coast from San Diego all the way to Super Natural British Columbia and even to the polar circle in Alaska. For our newfound camping life, we started with

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a poor man’s modest Vega station wagon. Using our savings, we moved up later to a Volvo 240�DL, with a nylon red tent for 5 and including all the Coleman camping gear. Last but not least we upgraded our choice for the semi luxurious camper VW Westphalia, compact and functional for comfortable outdoor living.

Camping with my first car, the 1975 Chevrolet Vega Kammback wagon

Upgrade to a Volvo and a red tent.

Canada is the only country where Park Rangers give free fire wood at the campsite

A picture is worth a thousand words. After 40 years of outdoor pleasures, I have selected my best camping sites for this memoir: first around California and other excursions in the Western States, then up North to Super Natural British Columbia, the Canadian Rockies and finally wild Alaska and the polar circle.

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Mono Lake via Tioga pass, Ca (3,031 m) Tioga pass, Sierra Nevada, Ca

Camping at Lake Siskiyou, Mt Shasta, Ca

Camping, boating with family at Lake Siskiyou, Mt Shasta

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Lake Siskiyou, Mt Shasta

Camping, boating at Lake Siskiyou, Mt Shasta

Camping in the rocky Sierra with VW Westphalia van

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Why was the VW Westphalia camper our ideal choice as a mobile home?

Being a mechanical engineer, I appreciate very much the precision German engineering design. This VW model was popular in the 1950s and for half a century, the Germans have kept improving the design to its optimum condition of today. When the design is intended to be comfortable for four beer drinking Germans in the camper then two light weight persons like Marie and I could easily appreciate the ample space in it. VW subcontracted to the company Westphalia�

Werke for the manufacture of camping equipment inside the van.

The compact mobile home had two gas burners, a kitchen sink, a refrigerator working with either bottled gas or AC and DC, a drinking water reservoir, two dinner tables for four plus plenty of storage for food and clothing.

In rainy days, we could eat comfortably inside the van.

The “kitchen�

One of the dining tables with Dung from France

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In the summer of 1987, Marie and I planned the longest camping tour of our life: San Francisco‐Vancouver‐Fairbanks‐Polar Circle and Homer Alaska, the city at the end of the Pacific Coast Highway. We needed the extra driving help for this 8,000 mile tour provided by our young brother Vinh from France. It took us more than a month. At some areas, the earth looked to be total wilderness. The closest gas station was 160 miles away. And when we got there, to our big surprise there was only a drum of gasoline with a hand pump. At another gas station, the friendly and lonely owner gave us a big chunk of moose meat for the road! Once on the highway, we had to stop in front of a mother bear waiting for her baby to cross the road!

Early in the morning we went to Homer fish market with its huge tanks full of Dungeness crabs. We selected 9 big ones for only $30. The high and low tides here are about 30 ft different in elevation. Another surprise, we could read the newspaper under the sunlight at midnight.

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Small town along the highway and Sign Post Forest in Yukon

The Trans‐Alaska pipeline built by San Francisco’s Bechtel Inc.

Colorful tundra

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Alaska highway flowers

Homer, the town at the dead end of Alaska Highway

Eagles at Homer

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Homer offers the incredible vista of rugged snow‐covered peaks and the docks where the Halibut and Dungeness crab boats unload their daily catch. We are glad to have made that long Alaska trip in 1987 because looking back at the required energy, time and patience, it seems impossible for Marie and I to do it now during our retirement period.

By another bit of luck in life, my niece Thu and her husband George Barnes decided to retire in their beautiful Beach villa on Oregon coast. They let me have their toy car, a Sport Mercedes 560SL for a very reasonable price. I suddenly found my dream car!

My dream car in front of Thu & George “palace” in Oregon

Now back to the less demanding outdoor pleasures: picnic and camping around California and other Western states. In season and with a fishing license we went to Pescadero beach about 45mn drive from San Francisco to collect live mussels right on the rocks.

At Pescadero Beach (Half Moon Bay, CA) black rocks are full of mussels

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Steam them with beer and we have a delicious gourmet lunch with cold beer. After a walk on the sunny beach, it’s a good idea to have a siesta in the mobile home before driving home.

Picnic at Pescadero Beach with friends1996

In San Francisco, many times we prepared dinner at home then drove along the ocean beach road to a parking area facing the West for the beautiful sunset view. We still continue now and then to enjoy dinner watching the picturesque sunset over the horizon. For food, we don’t even need to prepare at home. Stop at any of the Hong Kong BBQ shops in the neighborhood and pick‐up either roast duck, Hainan chicken or crispy roast belly pork for dinner watching a colorful sunset.

Camper parking near the Cliff House facing sunset for dinner in the Westphalia

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For weekends, our Mekong club members went to beautiful Hakone Japanese garden in Saratoga, California for picnic (See photos below)

Mekong club picnic in Hakone

Hakone Japanese Gardens

At Hakone bamboo garden

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The Bay Area The urban delights of San Francisco are world famous. The City by the Bay boasts splendid scenery, fascinating museums, a vibrant night life, and tourist attractions as varied as Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown.

Head north to Bolinas, Reyes National Seashore, or take a walk through the hushed splendor of the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument.

Continue to visit Mendocino Fort Bragg.

Bolinas, Ca

Camping in Mendocino

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Fort Bragg, California with rugged, spectacular coast line, pristine beaches, big waves, spring wildflowers

Fort Bragg abalone diving and Glass beach

Head south of San Francisco and life gets simpler and quieter in the small California beach communities along Highway 1 with tiny Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Head West to the Tahoe region and the Mother Lode with Markleeville, Jamestown, Downieville and Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

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Camping at Grover Mineral Hot Spring, Markleeville, California

Jamestown, Mother Lode, California

Sang in Gold Country

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Downieville, California on Mother Lode Highway 49

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Up to the age of 75, I was still active seeking outdoor pleasures with my compact VW Westphalia camper. Outdoor living, walking along the trails in the wilderness in California Sierra Foothills, Lake Tahoe, Pacific Coast line, Redwood State Parks, Napa and Sonoma wine countries, Mendocino, Carmel, Monterey‌were still possible!

At 80 plus, I sold my camper to a VW shop in San Francisco and stopped living outdoors with its tougher physical conditions and requirement of quick reflexes while driving to the campground. My outdoor pleasures were then limited to tennis and walking along the beautiful trails around the Bay Area.

When I could no longer run on the tennis court, probably my next choice will be swimming in the modern pool a few blocks from home. My physical activities will continue at the beach, on the trails, and in the garden with gourmet cooking at home.

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My front yard is full of flowers

At 85 plus, I just relax indoors or do some gardening in the front and back yards, adding bamboo and more flowers to the main entrance, trimming bonsai…

One of the greatest pleasures is to have close friends visiting from far away.

My 1959 “old’ buddy Hồ Tấn Phát, former CEO of Vietnam Power Company retiring in Beaverton, Oregon came to San Francisco quite often to see our mutual friends. Marie and I participated in all the weddings of Phat’s children in Beaverton.

Buddy Phát from Oregon with SF friends

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We had a great time in Beaverton with several nephews and grandnephews from France at his family’s beach house at Rockaway, OR. We had a great time catching many delicious Dungeness crabs and clams.

Catching Dungeness crabs, Rockaway, Oregon

Our friend PhĂĄt is also a member of the Mekong club in San Francisco.

Mekong club reunion for lunch

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Memorial Day at home with Sang & Renaud from Reims

My sweet home has served as a reunion place for ancestral Memorial Day celebrations. My father reminded us that these special days must be used to cement close relations among members of the extended family. Our “Home Sweet Home� in San Francisco has the modern amenities of the American way of life but it is also able to express our basic Vietnamese traditions and customs which constantly remind us of the land of our ancestors, the memories of our beloved parents as well as our already departed relatives and friends.

I am going well in my mid�80s and blessed with comfort, good health and happiness in retirement but I cannot forget that Marie and I began to set up our home penniless and went through dire hardship with much sweat and tears through many long years to be where we are now.

I consider our "San Francisco Home Sweet Home" the final destination and the most concrete apogee of my 86�year odyssey with all its ups and downs, joys and sorrows but also with the exceptional privilege of sharing my life with my beloved wife Marie during the past six decades and having her by my side to take care of me in our San Francisco Home Sweet Home. I am a really lucky guy and no one can deny it! Thank you a lot Marie.

PART IX

The Beauty of Life Here and Now

CHAPTER 21 Twenty�two Years of Work for a Happy Retirement

Mercenary in a Giant Corporation From Development Bank CEO to Assistant Project Manager for Survival!

I now come to talk about the most crucial episode of my entire life when, in 1975, I had to start a completely new existence in the New World. I have already described in the preceding chapters my journey "from riches to rags" and now I must try to remember how at 44, I was able to make the trip back "from rags to riches" which was done with much sweat and tears. How was it possible in the late 1970s for a destitute refugee like me to have obtained eventually quite a good job with one of the largest US corporations. I will explain in this chapter how this happened to me. It was a total learning process from my previous experience during 15 continuous years in government service at the highest echelons for the industrial development of South Viet Nam, to my activities with high ranking US officials in both the American Embassy in Saigon and the Federal Administration in Washington, including many working sessions with US senators and congressmen.

That was the kind of professional know�how that I was able to bring with me to my job at Bechtel. It was an episode of sheer anguish, perseverance and determination in very serious undertakings but it was also a time for profound friendships to manifest themselves with mutual respect and affection among longtime acquaintances facing together new and great challenges. It was for me the opportunity to understand and appreciate Life in its fullest meaning.

As already described earlier, I had worked continuously for 18 years after my graduation from MIT when suddenly I had to escape out of Saigon to America in April 1975 for survival. In the Land of the Free and also the Land of Opportunity, it took me another 22 years of hard work to reach my happy retirement in San Francisco in 1996.

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How Did I Get my Job at Bechtel?

Leaving the refugees Marine Camp Pendleton, I could not find any job around the area of Santa Barbara where my sponsor Roy Muelhberger lived.

Marie and I decided to move north to the San Francisco Bay Area. I sent out many applications for engineering jobs. To my surprise and sadness, the response was very negative. As per my resume, I was over qualified for the jobs available. I became impatient and desperate waiting for an engineering job offer. Luckily my good friend Bob De Lucia from Oregon, a retired executive and an MIT Alumnus buddy since my Saigon days, sent me very heartening advice in the form of a poem: DON’T QUIT When things go wrong as they sometimes will.

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.

When funds are low and the debts are high.

And when you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit.

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out: Don’t give up though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out – The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are.

It may be near when it seems so far: So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – It’s when things seem worst that you must not QUIT” This consolation from my Oregon friend kept my morale high for a while and seemed like a prophesy. By fate or destiny, I went to the Lone Mountain College Library to read Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times… about news from Vietnam under the communist regime.

On the campus, I met Chung Hoàng Chương, a friend of mine and son of one of the many dear people we had known in Saigon. Chương was working as Security guard for the college. He volunteered to introduce me to his big boss, the

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President of the college. To my great shock and with a joyful feeling, I met Bob Coate, who happened to be a friend of mine in 1966 in Saigon. What a coincidence! Over a glass of wine, we talked about a lot of water over the dam.

Bob was in Saigon in 1966, looking for investment in shrimp boats with flash freezing equipment to export shrimp to the United States. As CEO of the Industrial Development Bank, I briefed him about the potential investment projects and the economic situation in South Vietnam. I showed him my successful Industrial Park in Biên‐Hòa, 30 km from Saigon. He saw for himself the positive development work in a war‐torn economy. I also invited him home for more time together and more business talk. Unfortunately, the war in Vietnam continued for the worse everyday. I had lost contact with Bob until now, 10 years later, and fortunately was able to see him again on the Lone Mountain College campus! It seemed like God was bailing me out of trouble because I learned later that Bob was also quite a VIP: a Stanford alumnus and chairman of the Democratic Party in California. He was very impressed with the economic progress I made in Vietnam during his last visit to Saigon. “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Bob was glad to write a letter to introduce me to one of the great companies in San Francisco, the Bechtel Corporation. Bob understood my precarious condition and sent the following letter to Mr. Bechtel himself.

Letter of Bob Coate to Steve Bechtel, Nov 17, 1975

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Letter of Bob Coate to Steve Bechtel, Nov 17, 1975

Robert Coate Associates, Inc. PO Box 247 Tiburon, California

November 17, 1975

Mr. Steven Bechtel, Jr. Chairman Bechtel Corporation 50 Beale Street San Francisco, California 94105 November 17, 1975

Dear Steve:

Khuong‐Huu Dieu is one of the Vietnamese refugees, and he and his wife have made their way to San Francisco. Among the many people I met and worked with in Vietnam, no one was more impressive than Dieu. Now that he is here, faced with starting life all over again, I volunteered to write to several people who may be likely to appreciate the value of a worker who is exceptional by the standard of any country. Here are a few key points: ‐ Dieu has a Master’s degree in Engineering from MIT; obviously his English is excellent. ‐ He was founder and president of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam; I studied their work, visited their developments ‐ ‐ including an industrial park that is more advanced than any other I have seen in Asia; Dieu cajoled, dealt, invented, responded and did all the hundred other things necessary to transform a plan into a great project; he is as adept at finance as at engineering. ‐ I have visited his home in Saigon, and met his friends; he founded the only garden club in Vietnam, and his home was a show place of flowers and plants. ‐ He was a complete citizen, serving as Deputy Minister of Economics for Vietnam, and holding positions in many associations and organizations including President of the Vietnamese American Association. ‐ He worked avidly in international associations, and has many well‐ placed friends in a dozen Asian and mid‐East countries.

At age 44, Dieu is in excellent health and somehow is in excellent spirits, in spite of watching his life get shattered because of his commitment to America. I am positive that he can bring the same intelligent drive to work here, and can be a marvelous force in any organization ‐ ‐ particularly one interested in developing overseas

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markets. If you can refer this material to anyone who can consider a job for Mr. Dieu, please contact him direct, or call me for additional information.

Thanks, Bob Robert L. Coate

It was a great shock and sorrow for all of us that Bob passed away a year later. With great regret, we said good bye to him for the last time at Lone Mountain College Chapel. We missed Bob very much and every Christmas, Marie and I visited Margy, Bob’s wife living in Berkeley. We got together also for lunch and dinner with her quite often.

At Margy’s home 2011 The late Mr. Robert Coate, 1975

About a week later, while I was working on the procurement of equipment for the restaurant on Union Street, the phone rang. At the other end of the line, Mr. Polvi, Manager of Bechtel Hydro and Communities Division wanted to speak to me.

Bechtel executive Robert Polvi, Engineering Hall of Fame, hired me on the first call

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He said that he had a job for me only as Assistant Project Manager. I told him that being a refugee I would not have much bargaining power on that question and right now I was just writing a specification about a coffee machine for a small restaurant. He seemed a little surprised and asked me when I could start to work for Bechtel. I told him tomorrow would be fine and that was how I began to work for Bechtel during the next 12 years.

Bechtel Downtown SF Headquarter

What did I learn about the Bechtel Corporation in 12 years?

I was very impressed by this giant family owned company, still going strong after four generations of Bechtel management. The family seemed very lucky and fortunate to have consecutively four sons well educated and well trained to manage continuously and successfully the Bechtel Corporation, the largest privately�owned construction and engineering company in the United States, with its headquarter in downtown San Francisco. (See photo)

Bechtel building, the black tower in the extreme left center of photo

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Bechtel participated in the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s.

Since then, it has been involved in a number of other high profile engineering projects ‐ all multi‐billion dollar contracts: refineries and nuclear power plants, the English Channel Tunnel, the Bart system, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Riyadh International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, the Big Dig in Boston, Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia, as well as the hauling and installing of more than 35,000 trailers and mobile homes for Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi …

My New Job in the New World

Of course, I left the restaurant job and began my real engineering work. I found out later that the role of assistant project manager was a very good one indeed, because many projects with Bechtel had a budget of several billion dollars. Within the Bechtel Corporation my position was equivalent to the rank of “colonel” in the army. There was a glass ceiling for generals as many of my colleagues have told me.

A shocking surprise! I could not sign any engineering drawing even with my Master’s degree in engineering from MIT. I must pass the PE (Professional Engineering) exam to obtain my license. It was easy while I was in school. But after 15 years of working in management and as CEO of a development bank, I felt very rusty in many detailed engineering matters. It seemed impossible for me to pass the PE exam without a lot of time reviewing all the "nuts and bolts" fundamentals. Every evening, I surrounded myself with engineering text books to study for my tough PE exam. It was a scary challenge for me because at 44, I forgot a lot of text book engineering required by the exam. After intense review at home, I finally passed the exam with very high grades as told by my examiner Joe McQuillan in San Francisco. By the way, Joe became my good friend and later on when I retired from Bechtel, he wanted me to be his associate at his consulting engineering company.

At first, Bechtel wanted to employ me in Business Development because of my contacts with former colleagues in the APO (Asian Productivity Organization) in Tokyo. They were cabinet members and high officials in economic development in a wide range of countries to include Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. There was no need for a PE certificate to deal with this type of work. But I had to explain to Bechtel that as a refugee in San Francisco, I had

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my wife with me and it was very difficult for me to let my wife, for the first time in her life be alone in a big foreign city. This business development job required a lot of traveling around the world. Thank God, Bechtel was very understanding and let me work in the San Francisco office. In retrospect, one of my career successes was to work only in the San Francisco home office for 12 continuous years; my projects were implemented in such countries as Saudi Arabia and New Zealand.

My very first task at Bechtel was dealing with the inflation clause for the construction contract of Gury dam in Venezuela. I was lucky because in wartime Vietnam economy, I had to deal constantly with galloping inflation. I used that previous experience to complete successfully my assignment.

Riyadh Airport

My next project assignment was the multibillion dollars King Khalid International Airport (KKIA), Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Bechtel was the Construction Manager on behalf of the Saudi government. When the airport opened in 1983, it became the largest in the world in terms of ground area, originally covering 225km², only to be surpassed in 1999 by the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, another Bechtel project in Saudi Arabia.

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“Bechtel News Published Every Month For Bechtel Employees Worldwide , Volume 12, Number 3, March 1976 A Dream Crumbles in Vietnam

H&CH’S Dieu Finds a New Life in The U.S.

On April 23, 1975 ‐‐only days before the fall of South Vietnam‐‐‐ Khuong Huu Dieu was in his Saigon office.

Dieu was president of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam, the pinnacle point of a career that included friendships with officials of 14 nations, leadership role in prestigious cultural and professional organizations, and as an author whose works appeared in journals and magazines .

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A phone call interrupted his work. It was from the U.S. Embassy, which advised him to return to his home and read an important letter. A short while later, he opened the letter in the presence of an Embassy staff member. It authorized him and his wife, Marie, to leave South Vietnam.

“How soon?” Dieu asked.

“You have about 30 minutes,” the staff member replied. Dieu and Marie grabbed two satchels, threw in essential clothing, and left for the Saigon airport. Everything else‐‐‐business, home, car, Dieu’s hopes for economic development of his nation‐‐‐all became meaningless in the collapsing framework of a life Dieu had worked so hard to build.

Within hours, Dieu and Marie were on their way by U.S. Air Force plane to Guam as part of the evacuation effort involving thousands of Vietnamese.

Today, Dieu works for Bechtel as assistant project manager for the Hydro and Community Facilities at the Home Office. When he left Saigon his sole possessions were contained in his carrying bag ‐ and $150 in cash. After Guam, he and Marie went to Camp Pendleton, where the couple stayed a month. The future appeared bleak, but Dieu remained busy.

He served as chairman of a Vietnamese evacuation management committee at Pendleton until a complete stranger ‐ Roy Muehlberger, who had seen a newspaper photo of Dieu ‐ acted as sponsor for Dieu and Marie, and took them into his Santa Barbara home.

After two months, Dieu came north to Berkeley in search of work, finding it last December with Bechtel.

After graduating Magna cum laude from the Lycée Yersin (high school) in Dalat, Dieu came to the U.S. for his advanced education. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1956, and an engineering master’s from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked his way through college washing dishes.

The devastating turn of events in Dieu’s life hasn’t dampened his outlook.

“I have to be honest enough to say that at times I have regrets about what happened. Yet I regard my career in Vietnam as Part One of my life. It’s past. Now I have a new life…the chance to build…to make a contribution.” oOo For the airport, I was working on the mechanical engineering design of the chilled water system for the cooling of the entire airport located in the desert with an average maximum temperature reaching 113F. It had five huge compressors‐ chillers of 5000 kw each, the biggest I ever dealt with in my career. Also notable was the airport's 500,000m² of landscaping, which included more than 225,000 trees, vines, shrubs and ground cover plants. All the plants selected for the site

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were tolerant to the region's arid climate and irrigated automatically by underground piping. It served also as alternate landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle. I remember one politically incorrect design for the main dome of the airport. Somehow, accidentally the architectural structure of the dome showed many Jewish stars of David! Obviously it could not be acceptable to the royal ruling family!

After the Saudi Arabia airport project was completed, I was transferred to the New Zealand “Gas to Gasoline” Project. New Zealand has meager petroleum reserves but is rich in natural gas. In 1980, New Zealand Synfuels Corporation hired Bechtel to build a plant to exploit this abundant resource, in Waitara. It was the first of its kind—namely, the first commercial facility to produce high‐octane gasoline from natural gas. Because of a shortfall of craft labor during the construc‐ tion period, Bechtel decided that modularization of a portion of the facility was necessary to meet the delivery date. Japan’s Hitachi‐Zosen constructed the modules, 76 in all. They weighed up to 650 tons apiece and were shipped to New Zealand on special heavy‐lift ships. On arrival, the modules were transported 24 kilometers to the plant site by special vehicles. The operation constituted one of the largest overland transport programs ever attempted. The job site was susceptible to liquefaction during an earthquake. To compensate, 500 wells were sunk, 25 meters deep, and the underlying water pumped out. Completed on schedule in 1985, the plant could produce about 14,500 barrels of gasoline per day, the only commercial facility in the world capable of converting natural gas into gasoline.

After this project, Bechtel wanted me to work on business development in postwar Vietnam. Now, at a much later date, as a result of reading various Declassified Documents (See The "Nixon Letter" to North Vietnam) I became much better informed as to the inside story of possible new business for U.S. companies in Vietnam.

The "Nixon Letter" to North Vietnam

[TEXT OF MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM.]

“February 1, 1973 The President wishes to inform the Democratic Republic of Vietnam of the principles which will govern United States participation in the postwar reconstruction of North Vietnam. As indicated in Article 21 of The Agreement on Ending the War and

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Restoring Peace in Vietnam signed in Paris on January 27, 1973, the United States undertakes this participation in accordance with its traditional policies. These principles are as follows: 1) The Government of the United States of America will contribute to postwar reconstruction in North Vietnam without any political conditions.

2) Preliminary United States studies indicate that the appropriate programs for the United States contribution to postwar reconstruction will fall in the range of $3.25 billion of grant aid over five years. Other forms of aid will be agreed upon between the two parties. This estimate is subject to revision and to detailed discussion between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

3) The United States will propose to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam the establishment of a United States‐North Vietnamese Joint Economic Commission within 30 days from the date of this message.

4) The function of this Commission will be to develop programs for the United States contribution to reconstruction of North Vietnam. This United States contribution will be based upon such factors as: (a) The needs of North Vietnam arising from the dislocation of war; (b) The requirements for postwar reconstruction in the agricultural and industrial sectors of North Vietnam's economy.

5) The Joint Economic Commission will have an equal number of representatives from each side. It will agree upon a mechanism to administer the program which will constitute the United States contribution to the reconstruction of North Vietnam. The Commission will attempt to complete this agreement within 60 days after its establishment.

6) The two members of the Commission will function on the principle of respect for each other's sovereignty, non‐interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. The officers of the Commission will be located at a place to be agreed upon by the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

7) The United States considers that the implementation of the foregoing principles will promote economic, trade and other relations between the United States of America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and will contribute to insuring a stable and lasting peace in Indochina. These principles accord with the spirit of Chapter VIII of The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam which was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973.

This matter about US aid for the reconstruction of North Vietnam was one of the major unresolved issues in the secret negotiations between Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ and the bargaining went on even during their very last meeting when they paragraphed the final draft of the Paris Agreement on January 23, just four

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days before its formal signing on January 27, 1973. Until the final minutes of their discussions, Lê Đức Thọ persisted in his horse‐trading for more dollars. Kissinger knew that Hanoi had already accepted the final draft of the Paris Agreement and there was no need for him to go over Nixon's $3.25 billion.

However, the real stumbling block was not about a few more or less billion dollars but the stubborn demand of the communist regime in Hanoi to claim that this money must be considered as "reparations for war damages caused by the American military aggression in Viet Nam!" We in Saigon had a good laugh about this and, as a Vietnamese saying goes, Phạm Văn Đồng could wait "until the chicken have teeth" to get that kind of money from the Americans!

Nevertheless, Nixon's offer was still there should Hanoi wish to improve its relations with Washington after the signing of the Paris Agreement or at any time in the future.

THE UNDERSTANDING REGARDING ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM AS DEFINED BY THE US ADMINISTRATION READS AS FOLLOWS:

It is understood that the recommendations of the Joint Economic Commission mentioned in the President's note to the Prime Minister will be implemented by each member in accordance with its own constitutional provisions.

NOTE REGARDING OTHER FORMS OF AID

In regard to other forms of aid, United States studies indicate that the appropriate programs could fall in the range of 1 to 1.5 billion dollars depending on food and other commodity needs of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.”

Bechtel wanted me to continue my work in business development for postwar Vietnam projects because I had very good working relations with Ambassador Bunker (April 5, 1967 – May 11, 1973.) During my job in Saigon, as Deputy Minister of Economy and Director General of the Industrial Development Bank, I was invited quite often by Ambassador Bunker to his residence to meet U.S. Senators, Congressmen, and other American VIPs visiting Vietnam. I briefed them about my economic development work. By helicopter on the roof of the Saigon U.S. Embassy, I took them to Biên Hòa, a suburb of Saigon to show the industrial park and the projects using USAID corn for the pigs and chicken farms.

We continued our discussions during the evening dinner at the Ambassador’s

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residence. As a refugee, I felt grateful to have received letters from Ambassador Bunker trying to find a job for me.

Ambassador Bunker’s letter, January 13, 1976

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE AMBASSADOR AT LARGE WASHINGTON January 13, 1976

Dear Edgar:

I am giving this letter of introduction to a very good Vietnamese friend, Mr. Khuong Huu Dieu, who is presently residing in San Francisco. He escaped from Saigon with only one handbag and as a consequence has lost all of his possessions. Mr. Dieu is one of the younger generations of Vietnamese with whom I worked in Vietnam and whom I come to know well. A graduate of Lafayette College in Mechanical Engineering, with a Master’s Degree in Engineering from MIT, and with further training in Advanced Management and Development Banking, Mr. Dieu entered on a very active and promising career in Vietnam. You will note from his curriculum vitae the breadth of his experience.

I can recommend Mr. Dieu without reservation. He is intelligent, energetic, a person of moral integrity, and absolutely reliable. Should there be any opening in your organization I am certain that he will acquit himself well.

With best regards,

Sincerely,

Ellsworth Bunker

Enclosure: Curriculum Vitae on Mr. Khuong Huu Dieu

Mr. Edgar F. Kaiser Chairman of the Board Kaiser Industries Corporation 300 Lakeside Drive Oakland, California 94604

I wrote a letter to Ambassador Bunker asking him about the latest information of postwar Vietnam projects according to President Nixon $3.25 billion of grant aid over five years.

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Big Surprise!

One morning of September 1976, at both entrances of Bechtel Headquarter Buildings, several people distributed to Bechtel employees the September/October issue of Mother Jones magazine. Mother Jones was a politically left‐wing American magazine, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. On page 14, I found this writing about me with Bechtel.

“Bechtel’s apolitical status is also evident in its eagerness to participate in the reconstruction of Vietnam, a country whose destruction the family supported through generous gift to Richard Nixon’s election campaign. After the war Bechtel hired South Vietnam’s exiled Minister of Industry Khuong Huu Dieu. Dieu, who was a close friend of Ellsworth Bunker when he was ambassador to South Vietnam, had discovered oil off the Vietnamese coast. Using Bunker’s friendship with Dieu as entrée, Bechtel’s Washington consultant Parker Hart, a retired ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with Bunker in March of last year ostensibly to discuss the forthcoming American (Mansfield‐Woodcock) mission to Vietnam.

Although the alleged purpose was to seek an accounting of Americans missing in action, Hart‘s memo to San Francisco reporting the meeting suggests that Bechtel had other interests. Bunker felt that Bechtel’s opportunities in Vietnam might depend on the outcome on the American special mission…Bunker stated that he would keep me advised of the results and offered to be of any help he could.”

One of my first surprises at Bechtel was walking into the elevator with Caspar Weinberger, the former United States Secretary of Defense, and George P. Shultz, the former United States Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State. I found out that they were both working for Bechtel as vice president‐general counsel and president respectively.

Caspar Weinberger George P. Shultz

Caspar Weinberger, 15th United States Secretary of Defense, was vice president and general counsel of the Bechtel Group in San Francisco.

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George P. Shultz a Ph.D. professor in industrial economics at MIT. Between 1974 and 1982, Shultz was an executive at Bechtel, eventually becoming the firm's president.

Well written and researched, Mother Jones exposed the relationship between Bechtel, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, and the federal government. (John A. McCone, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, George Shultz, and Caspar Weinberger were only a few of Bechtel's one‐time famous high‐ranking staff members.) This magazine related a story of influence peddling, spying, and old‐fashioned favoritism. (Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Dwight Eisenhower were among the "friends" mentioned.) It was also the story of Bechtel's anti‐Semitism and link to the CIA as reported by this magazine.

Representing Bechtel as main speaker at Investment Projects in Postwar Vietnam conference

For business development, Bechtel wanted me to participate in a conference organized at PG&E headquarter on “Investment Projects in Postwar Vietnam.” California Senator Art Torres, Chairman of the California Democratic Party, who had made several trips to Vietnam, was one of the main speakers. I mentioned that industrial production costs in Vietnam had the advantage of cheap skilled labor together with very laborious workers, probably because the Vietnamese belong to the chopstick culture group (Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea.)

The Senator wanted to show that he knew more about Vietnam and said that I was wrong. He was just back from Cambodia and saw Cambodians also ate with chopsticks. I had to explain that historically the chopstick group included only four countries as mentioned. The rest of the world like Cambodia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos … Arab and African states form the group eating with fingers. As a neighboring state, Cambodia was Vietnamized in using chopsticks. In fact, in addition to the mixed‐blood Khmer Khroms who originated in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta areas from the province of Sóc Trang to the province of Châu Đốc, there has been an important Vietnamese community

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living on the banks of the great Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia for centuries. So, talking about how people eat, you have to say that Europe, Australia and South America make the knife and fork eating group.

My next Bechtel project was very unusual: feasibility study of a Peacekeeper Bomb project for the Defense Department. It’s an “open secret” project: nuclear bombs were stored inside a mountain without exit. There was no possibility of launching by mistake or accident. “Do not attack us because automatically we will have a secret tunnel in three days to destroy you.” My task was to design the egress of the tunneling machine immediately after it reached the mountain surface so bombs could fly out automatically. It had to avoid detection by enemy satellite. My solution was to use rockets around the “neck” of the tunneling machine. I calculated enough rocket force to eject the equipment to the side of the mountain.

My next Bechtel project dealt with “Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS.) at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. The security clearance was very strict. My badge had in the back a chemical to detect radiation.

Bechtel Security badge for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory work 1987

One of the toughest scientific challenges was to effectively—and inexpensively—separate a desired isotope of a chemical element from the remaining isotopes for uses ranging from medicine to energy to weapons applications. Traditionally, isotope separation was performed through the techniques of gaseous diffusion in Oakridge or gas centrifuge as used by Iran right now. Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore have developed another

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high technique, fundamentally different and much more efficient, called laser isotope separation (LIS). The technique is based on the fact that different isotopes of the same element, while chemically identical, absorb different colors of laser light. Therefore, a laser can be precisely tuned to ionize only atoms of the desired isotope, which are then drawn to electrically charged collector plates. LIS was originally developed in the 1970s as a cost‐effective, environmentally friendly technology to supply enriched uranium for nuclear power plants and special nuclear materials for national security needs. Over the years, funding of about $2 billion was invested to develop the technology at Lawrence Livermore and to successfully demonstrate it with an integrated, full‐scale pilot plant. This step was achieved in the early 1990s for special nuclear materials separation and in the late 1990s for commercial uranium enrichment applications.

The work was interesting but driving to work more than 100 miles every day became time consuming and a burden. Fortunately, I had a choice to work with my good friend Joe McQuillan in San Francisco.

Challenges in a Small Company

Feast or Famine!

Stanford Hospital

After 12 years with Bechtel I negotiated my retirement package to become Joe’s associate. The workplace in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was dangerous and protected against radiation. Every employee must have a special badge with chemical early warning product. This long‐term job was technically interesting but required long distance commuting from San Francisco every day. I

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decided to take my Bechtel retirement package, invested in Fidelity and Vanguard mutual funds and joined Joe’s small company in San Francisco.

Mr. Polvi was kind enough to organize a nice farewell party in the well‐ known Engineers Club downtown San Francisco giving me a quality watch, a precision Hygrometer‐thermometer‐ barometer for comfort zone control and a very nice letter. (See letter below)

Twenty-two Years of Work for a Happy Retirement

R.L. Polvi, President Bechtel Civil. Inc. Engineers‐ Constructors P.O. Box 3965 Fifty Beale Street San Francisco, CA94119

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Mr. Dieu Khuong‐Huu 16 Riverton Drive San Francisco, CA 94132

December 9, 1987

Dear Dieu:

I would like to extend on behalf of the Bechtel organization, my appreciation for the many contributions you made during your over 12 years with Bechtel which culminated in your retirement on October 3, 1987.

Professional excellence has been a keystone of your career during engineering assignment on projects for Venezuela, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Your dedication to excellent performance in various mechanical engineering assignments in the H&CF Division, Bechtel Petroleum and Bechtel National Inc. has contributed significantly to Bechtel’s success.

I know that your many friends and associates at Bechtel join me in wishing you good health and happiness in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

Bob Polvi

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By now I had worked more than a decade in a giant international corporation in San Francisco. Looking back in time I had a completely different feeling than when I worked in Vietnam. Before 1975, my principal objective was to help develop my homeland to compete seriously with the so called “small tigers” of Asia, the neighboring countries. There was a natural patriotic spirit, a “gung‐ho” flame in my activities. Here in Bechtel, my project was to build for the king of Saudi Arabia the international airport in Riyadh, the capital city. I must always perform well to earn my salary for survival but I felt like a mercenary in the French Foreign Legion fighting overseas. It’s all about money only.

How did I meet Joe and join his small company?

While at Bechtel, I was very surprised that with my M.Sc. in engineering from MIT I could not sign my project drawings. I had to pass the Professional Engineer (PE) exam to earn my license in order to sign engineering drawings.

That was my first greatest technical challenge in the New World because I left engineering school quite a long time ago in 1957. For more than a decade, my real experience was in management not in engineering design calculation. After serious and painful review effort I took the exam in San Francisco under the supervision of Mr. Joe McQuillan, the representative of the Sacramento Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Thank God, the Sacramento head office told Joe that I had scored the highest grade ever achieved.

Once again, my “10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” formula has worked well.

Probably, on account of that special exam result, Joe and I became friends. While working with Bechtel I kept in touch with Joe and every so often we had lunch together. His office was a few blocks away. I learned from Joe that during the last decade he got contracts to modernize mechanical engineering systems of hospitals like Kaiser Permanente, Seton Medical Center, Stanford hospital, San Jose Hospital… most of them were located in the Bay Area. Joe’s personality impressed me very much. He is friendly, sincere, honest, open minded and a real professional engineer. He let me know that I would be welcome in his company.

Avoiding the daily 100 miles commute I left Bechtel and began to work the next ten years with Joe.

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Joe McQuillan MDA Engineering Inc. office, 1990

Joe came from a modest family in Montana. As a veteran of the Korean War, Joe finished his PE in mechanical engineering thanks to the GI bill. To my admiration he was also a lawyer. I started to work with Joe in a small office in the financial district. Joe had one excellent drafter Julie. The office was in a quiet tall building without sunlight in our area. Rent was very high in downtown San Francisco and with business booming, Joe decided to move to a bigger office, with more engineers, in Hayward across the San Mateo Bridge. He had a new partner Niel Davidson, added four engineers David Gateno, David Pang, Liêm Trần, Arlen Allinger, one draftsman Brian Mothershed. Neil hired Jennifer Valesquez as secretary/book keeper of the new company:

MDA Engineering Inc. 795 Fletcher Lane Hayward, Ca 94544

Joe and Neil each owned 40% of the company; I was the swing voter owner with 20%.

I learned by now that without Joe using his decade long good business network with Bay Area hospitals, the company could not find enough work. Joe acquired a reputation as expert in hospital engineering. For the heating, ventilating and air conditioning needs, most hospitals in the 80’s were equipped with inefficient fuel consumption boilers and chillers of the 60’s and 70’s. By analogy, it was similar to the American gas‐guzzler cars of the 70’s. I helped Joe implement the new “Hybrid system in hospital” similar to the popular “Prius Family” of cars.

Most 1980’s hospitals were equipped with a boiler to produce steam and hot water. Then a separate electric chiller produced chilled water for air conditioning or other cooling requirements.

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The modern Cogeneration system also known as combined heat and power (CHP) systems generated both electricity and with hot exhaust gas produced steam and hot water. The efficiency of the new CHP is approximately twice that of a standard utility electric‐generating station. The conventional hot exhaust was used beneficially in lieu of being dissipated to ambient air. Furthermore, a Trigeneration system combining a Cogeneration system with an Absorption Chiller converts fuel into electricity, heating and cooling. The waste heat from the Cogeneration system is used to produced chilled water for air conditioning, refrigeration or other cooling purposes. Cogeneration and Trigeneration thereby provided substantial cost savings, significantly improved energy efficiency and attained up to 50% lower carbon emissions than conventional air conditioning methods. The end user’s utility‐related operating costs are typically reduced by a similar percentage (as much as 50%).

Increasing interest in CHP is being driven by global energy demand, price volatility, and climate change concerns. Compared to the 45% efficiency typical of traditional separate production of heat and power, CHP systems can operate at efficiency levels exceeding 70%.

Typical Cogen system in hospital

Typical trigeneration is a three‐way central plant system employed to generate electricity, heating and cooling.

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Benefit of Trigeneration

 Produces chilled water for air conditioning or other cooling requirements  Consumes far less electricity than conventional air conditioning methods  Absorption Chillers are powered by cleaner sources such as waste heat, steam or natural gas.  Reduces carbon emissions

Double Wall Plate Heat Exchangers

The plumbing code is very specific in its requirement for double wall with an air gap AND leak paths to atmosphere. Hospitals must meet the new code requirements.

Working Principle:

The Double‐Wall plate is just as its name indicates, a double plate design.

Double plates increase safety. A thin air gap between the plates acts as a safety zone in case any one of the two plates were to fail. If any one of the two fluids would leak through the first plate it would be prevented from going any further due to the air gap and the second plate. The leak would show up as a peripheral leak to atmosphere and will be visible from the outside. The double plates in addition to the standard double gasket system offer maximum safety against cross contamination of fluid streams if there is an internal leak

Portholes between two plates are laser welded External detection if weld or plate fails

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External detection if gasket fails.

 double‐wall plate technology provides the added security of an additional safety barrier. If a pinhole or crack develops in a plate, the fluid is forced to leak into the atmosphere rather than into the other fluid stream.  eliminates product and media intermixing.

Leaks are vented externally, allowing the operator to quickly identify the problem.

Joe and I got repeated projects for Cogen, Tricogen and double vault heat exchangers. Joe also got special air conditioning projects for open heart surgery rooms.

During my ten years work with Joe, I had one serious human relations problem. Neil Davidson took advantage of Joe’s kindness and put his daughter and son on the company payroll. Neither had the requirements to work in an engineering consulting company. I had to use my 20% swing vote to stop Neil’s abuse and solve the financial problem for Joe and the company. When I started to work with Joe, we understood that I would retire at 65 to receive my Social

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Security benefits in October 1996. Joe and I continued to get together for cocktails and dinner every Thursday till the day he died in 2001.

Conclusion When I joined Bechtel in the 1970s, it was considered to be the largest engineering and construction company in the world, involved in many major multi‐billion dollar undertakings in the US and worldwide in more than 100 countries over many decades. I was quite aware of how the big companies operated since I already had several years of experience with ESSO which was at the time with IT&T the two largest American corporations. These business giants usually had the top professional know‐how in their fields of activities but much more important were their abilities to secure the most effective know‐who, the decisive element in business deals. As mentioned earlier, Bechtel was able to have annual returns of 40 billion US dollars with a working force of 40,000 employees.

The Bechtel top leadership always included many prominent and influential personalities both from outside and inside the government circles.

During my time at Bechtel, the most noticeable VIPs were Caspar W. Weinberger (a former Secretary of Defense) and George P. Schultz (a former Secretary of State) as I happened to bump into them one day in the elevator! A brief look at only George Schultz would help understand the kind of leverage that he brought to Bechtel. He was Secretary of Labor in 1969 then Secretary of the Treasury in 1972; both cabinet positions were under Richard Nixon. In 1982, he became Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan. Schultz was also a director of OMB ‐ the Office of Management and Budget, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and member of the Cabinet Committees on Federal Credit and Construction. It is of interest to note that as Secretary of the Treasury, Shultz had dealings with the Soviet Union in 1973 to arrange U.S. credit for a gigantic natural‐gas project in Russia that Bechtel was interested in. And as 0MB director he pushed for the privatization of uranium enrichment that eventually could have given Bechtel a world‐wide monopoly on the sale of nuclear fuel. Since leaving the Treasury Department for Bechtel, Shultz joined the boards of Morgan Guaranty, J.P. Morgan Company, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter‐American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

By 1978, Bechtel clearly expressed its interest in the project of post‐war reconstruction of North Vietnam with US aid. It also wanted to get me involved in the project because of my good relations with Ambassador Bunker as well as my 15 years of experience and on the ground knowledge about the problems of industrialization in Vietnam. The reconstruction project for North Vietnam would be in the order of US$3.25 billion in US aid as proposed by Richard Nixon in his letter dated February 1st, 1973 to North Vietnam's Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng. Should this project come through, Ambassador Bunker would have an important say in it and I would also be among the experts to plan and carry out the works.

I have worked 22 years in giant and small companies.

What was I able to learn?

My 12 years with Bechtel was hard work under high pressure but I was able to deal effectively with difficult problems to carry out successfully the big projects. I had job security and a comfortable life. I still think now that my option for an early retirement was a good decision. I could have just enjoyed that well‐ earned early retirement with my beloved wife, Marie. Then why did I want to continue to work with my good friend Joe McQuillan in his small business, something that I had not done before and for which I had no professional knowledge? Plenty of surprises and headaches were awaiting me! My know‐how from Bechtel did not help much!

I quickly found out that in small companies the problems were different.

The big and constant challenge was for me to find work to keep alive my small team of employees. It's either FEAST or FAMINE. In a way, I realized that it was much more difficult to survive in business with my little company than for the giant Bechtel to have jobs for its 40,000 employees!

It shows the intrigue and "trading" between government and big business.

It shows that everything is for sale!

CHAPTER 22 Gastronomy and My Life

The Chopstick Culture!

I was trained as a “nuts and bolts” engineer, so why venture into writing about gastronomy? Probably by fate or destiny, I was exposed to gourmet food all my life except for the period from 1953 to 1956 when I had to wash dishes at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and a short period of refugee life in Marine Camp Pendleton in California in 1975.

My objective to write this chapter about gastronomy is to record my personal, delightful and exceptional experiences with gourmet dishes since my childhood. On the practical side, I also want to show how to have “Gourmet menu du jour without pain.”

The nature and source of my foods were quite diversified. Being Vietnamese of Chinese descent, living under the French colonial years meant I was exposed early to the world’s best French, Chinese and Vietnamese gastronomy. I was delighted to appreciate early in life the Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée, Canard à l'Orange, Steak Pommes Frites, Éclair, Flan, Croissants, Brioche, Café au Lait…! As a member of the chopstick culture, I did not have any difficulty to enjoy the best cuisines of the East specially of China. During WWII Japanese occupation, I tasted, for the first time, fresh raw fish which only later in my life became one of my best gourmet foods: Sashimi. By the way, in their old imperial days, the Chinese thought that eating raw seafood was not civilized!

When I left my extended family in Mỹ Tho to live and work in Saigon, I was exposed to a new variety of international gourmet cuisines of the capital city. As CEO of the Industrial Development Bank with several years as deputy minister of commerce and industry, I had the opportunity to participate in many public

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relations banquets with the Saigon business community. I was also invited to dinners by the ambassadors of China, US, UK, Japan, and France… to meet the VIPs of their respective countries on business trips to Saigon. The ambassadors really showed the best of their national gourmet dishes.

I remember while in Dalat at the Lycée Yersin, my French geography professor, Mr. Convert, always thought that French gastronomy was the world’s best. He made fun of the British with their “boiled dinners,” the Germans as “eaters of sauerkraut and potatoes” and the Italians as “eaters of ravioli and spaghetti.”

In 1968, as the head of a Vietnamese delegation of industrialists to visit the UK, I was invited to a send‐off dinner at the residence of Lord MacLehose, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Republic of Vietnam in Saigon. To my great surprise, I learned for the first time the very sophisticated British protocol and cuisine. None of the so called “boiled dinners” but Smoked Scottish Salmon with Oatmeal Pancakes and Horse Radish Cream, Roast Prime Ribs with Yorkshire Pudding, Strawberry Crème Anglaise, Demi Tasse… WOW! I think the French have always underestimated the British cuisine. By the way, Lord MacLehose became the 25th Governor of Hong Kong (1971‐1982) after his Vietnam tour.

The ambassadors of China and Japan also impressed me with their elegant, beautiful and tasty dinners. I have made a selection of a few samples of dishes similar to what I was able to enjoy at their residences in Saigon.

Finally, in my job as representative of South Vietnam, I made several official trips overseas. There, my colleague‐counterparts treated me to their excellent national gourmet food. I, in turn, reciprocated with Vietnamese culinary delights when my overseas colleagues came to meetings in Saigon. There was obviously a time for hard work and a time for good food. Honestly, I did not consider those gourmet exchanges as corruption. Lavish state dinners happen all the time in the White House, at Windsor Castle or in the Great Hall of the People…

What do I mean by gourmet foods?

The qualities that characterize gourmet food vary within a narrow range.

Gourmet food is real, it’s healthy, it’s produced sustainably, it’s fair and it’s affordable. It may be best prepared at home, but if local restaurants can deliver

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those qualities, I’m all for that. By gourmet food, I do not mean necessarily expensive, refined food with elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of many rich courses.

For me gourmet food is quality meals made simply with fresh ingredients and the taste is good. Some proper choices of dishes made at home could be of equal quality to those prepared by professional chefs. For instance, I prefer to have a good Maine lobster with freshly made mayonnaise, fresh salad with homemade vinaigrette and excellent cheese cake, all prepared at home. First, it is so easy to steam a lobster with our preferred herbs. Fresh mayonnaise with quality olive oil is so easy to make and the taste is as good as if it were prepared by any chef. For dessert, the cheesecake could come from the best gourmet shop in town and for wine pairing, my cellar offers a good choice at a third of the prices.

Preparing lobsters and clams for steaming

For live lobsters and clams, I can steam them as well as any 3‐star Chef.

Besides, with live seafood there is no need for Grand Chef sauces. With fresh belons, who needs the 3‐star sauces? With time, I could have a long list of this type of simple gourmet cooking at home or from popular restaurants at reasonable prices. With that little effort, I could have gourmet food any day of the year. It’s also a good idea to follow the best chefs in San Francisco who have left their bosses at the old places to open their own new restaurants.

I lived in the food rich Mekong Delta with the alluviums and the criss‐ crossing rivers and canals. They were the source of a great variety of fish, clams and crustaceans. The long coast lines of Vietnam supplied plenty of seafood with

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the special anchovies of Phan Thiết province and Phú Quốc Island used in the production of our famous “Nước Mắm,” the Vietnamese fish sauce. This condiment is the equivalent of soy sauce of the “chopstick” cuisines of China, Japan and Korea. The sunny and rainy seasons of the tropics together with the fertile land have made South Vietnam the world’s second exporter of rice and a great producer of seafood, exotic herbs, tropical fruits and vegetables. The above diversified ingredients still form the foundation of Vietnamese gourmet cooking.

It was customary in Vietnam that middle class families had a full time cook.

I remember, when I was about 5, my mother found an experienced Vietnamese cook, "Thiếm Tư" or "Aunt Four" who had worked before for a rich Madras Indian family in my neighborhood. As a result, I often tasted her best Indian curries and specialties. Of course, she was well known also for her traditional tasty Vietnamese cuisine.

As a kid, I loved to go with her to see how she prepared the special curry paste at her former boss’s stone grinder! Freshly ground paste from a dozen spices was more flavorful than the preserved one sold at the store. She used a two‐hand held stone cylinder to grind the spices against a heavy flat stone bloc.

(See photo below) With ingredients like turmeric, coriander, cumin, dried chili peppers, black pepper, curry leaves, garlic, ginger, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, tamarind, and sesame oil, “Thiếm Tư” ground them to a yellow curry paste ready for her famous chicken, duck or goat curry with ghee (clarified goat butter) and coconut milk.

“Thiếm Tư’s” Indian curry stone grinder

According to our Confucian tradition, the extended family members get together and celebrate the annual Memorial Days of our ancestors with gourmet food. Each member prepared her/his best special dishes for the occasion. I could

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never forget the spring rolls; the imperial rolls; the salad of green papaya or daikon‐carrot strings with sliced pork, shrimp; the “nem cuốn” or cured pork sausage rolls; Madras curries… All of the above with fresh, flagrant herbs and special dipping sauces. (See photos below)

Typical Memorial Day Gourmet dishes in our family

Spring rolls Nem Cuốn or pork sausage rolls Imperial rolls with herbs

Spring rolls

This snack, to be consumed with the use of your fingers, is made from pork, shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli and other ingredients, wrapped in rice paper and served at room temperature. It’s “meat light” with the flavors of refreshing herbs erupting in your mouth. Dipped in a slightly sweet Vietnamese sauce laced with ground peanuts, it’s wholesome.

Other Memorial day dish’s selection:

Daikon, prawn, pork salad Madras fish curry Boeuf bourguignon

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Noodle duck soup Silky chicken herbs soup Crispy roast pork

Crispy pork belly Pork belly stew Crispy Squab, coconut juice

Grilled shrimp paste around sugar cane

Crispy fish served with dipping fish sauce Shrimp balls

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Other Popular Vietnamese Gourmet Dishes

Homemade “steamboat” “Shabu shabu”

Phở

Just broth, fresh rice noodles, a few herbs and usually chicken or beef. But it’s greater than the sum of its parts. Special fragrance is from mint, cilantro, lemongrass, garlic, star anise, and ginger, with long‐simmered beef bones, tear‐ inducing chilies, and the essential drops of fish sauce.

Phở

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Bún bò Huế

A spicy, lemon grass rice vermicelli noodle soup served with fresh herbs and vegetables (Central Vietnam noodle)

Caramelized fish in clay pot Sour soup

A large amount of pork belly and eggs are simmered in coconut juice and fish sauce, and served with bowls of rice. A really simple dish to cook that produces a delicious result with sweetness coming from the coconut juice, saltiness and savories from the fish sauce.

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Vietnamese crepes with interesting fillings BBQ Pork

“Cháo vịt”, Duck congee with ginger dipping sauce

“Hũ Tiếu Mỹ Tho” noodle soup Herb wrapped pork rolls

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Bánh Mì Sandwich Noodle BBQ pork Shrimp mini pancakes

Fundamentals of Vietnamese Cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine features a combination of five fundamental tastes in the overall meal: spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet. Known for the balance between these tastes, each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these effects on your palate. Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Recipes use lemongrass, ginger, various mints, coriander, cinnamon, chili, lime, and basil leaves… Dishes are admired for their freshness, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables.

Balance is again sought between the fresh herbs, the meats or fish, and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste. Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world by nutritionists.

The dishes also include five types of nutrients: powder, liquid, mineral elements, protein and fat. Cooks try to express five colors with the dishes on their menus: white, green, yellow, red and black. Dishes in Vietnam also appeal to gastronomes via the five senses: food arrangement attracts the eyes, the sounds come from crisp ingredients, the five spices are detected on the tongue, aromatic ingredients coming mainly from herbs stimulate the nose, and some meals, especially finger food, can be enjoyed by the touching.

What makes Vietnamese food special? It’s the fresh, spicy, aromatic herbs and fish sauce. These fragrant elements play an important role in just about every dish in the Vietnamese cuisine canon. Some would call Vietnamese food simple, and it typically is, but never boring. All of the food comes back to that balance of herbs, heat, sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and the all‐powerful fish sauce. It's all about the yin and yang; the sweet and salty, the cooling and heating, the soft

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and crispy, the fresh and fermented. The food of the North is heavily influenced by China with its stir‐fries and noodle‐based soups. As you move South there's more flavor of nearby Thailand and Cambodia.

It is interesting to note the kind of Vietnamese creativity found among the Vietnamese refugees who have gained great success in the US with their “Bánh Mì” sandwich by using a crusty French baguette. The Vietnamese have taken this French baguette and made it entirely their own speciality of sandwich with grilled pork fillings, fish patties, sardines, cilantro, chili‐spiked pickled carrots and daikon. Likewise, the Vietnamese soup Phở (beef noodle) has also become very popular not only in the US but also around the world.

Family Tradition

In the 30's, Vietnamese girls were supposed to know cooking, embroidering, baking, tailoring... as required for a normal housewife. High school and university education were mostly for boys. My father selected great Vietnamese chefs to come to our home to teach my sister Two and sister Four. I was the kid who took care of the charcoal oven for my sisters' baking classes. We had no western style gas or electric oven. We used a rectangular copper box 2ft. high x 2 ft. wide x 3 ft. long in lieu of an oven. There was one small glass window on each side of the oven. On the top and at the bottom of the oven there were two trays of red hot mesquite. I was responsible for that oven charcoal fire and my sisters rewarded me with tasty samples! They learned also how to cook French dishes such as Canard à l'Orange, Civet de Lapin, Boeuf Bourguignon, Ragout...

They baked lady fingers for Champagne, éclair au Chocolat, choux à la crème, buche de Noel...

Now, I must say that my sisters' best gourmet cooking recipes have disappeared with them. It was regrettable that recipes were kept secret in the family and this selfish tradition needs drastic changes for the progress of national gastronomy. I have seen in the last 40 years the fast advance of American cooking thanks to the prolific publication of cook books, innovative TV shows by Julia Childs and Jacques Pépin (French cooking), Yan Can Cook (Chinese), American Test Kitchen, Lidia’s Italy in America, Rick Bayless Mexico–One Plate at a Time…

New York and San Francisco have become cities of world class cuisine. The Vietnamese can learn a lot from the American way of teaching on TV how to cook and understand how to improve the gastronomic qualities of the traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

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Many experts claim that Vietnamese cuisine is quite exceptional by the fact that through its history Vietnam was able to receive the influences of the two greatest cuisines in the world, namely, the Chinese during about one thousand years and the French during nearly one century.

We may easily guess the kind of food that the French cuisine left behind in Vietnam. As mentioned earlier, I was already able to enjoy French food when I was in high school at the Lycée Yersin in Dalat. French cuisine was rather for the rich and the better‐to‐do. The most interesting French contribution to Vietnamese eating habits that can still be seen nowadays everywhere in Vietnam is the French baguette bread! This delicious Vietnamese baguette is so well known that the French and other foreign tourists visiting Saigon must pay a visit to the "Old Market" to buy a "French baguette" and eat it immediately on the street there! At all hours of the day, you can see dozens and dozens of them doing that at the Old Market on Hàm Nghi Street.

To appreciate the influence of Chinese cooking in Vietnam, consider that it is difficult for westerners to see the differences between Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. Even right in the US, when you go to a "Chinese restaurant" or a "Vietnamese restaurant," the food may seem the same even when the Chinese and Vietnamese dishes are served under different Asian names. Of course, a Chinese eating Vietnamese cooking knows that it is not Chinese and vice‐versa a Vietnamese eating Chinese dishes knows that it is not Vietnamese.

I can easily point out some differences between Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines. Chinese cuisine is more oily and greasy. For spicy taste, Vietnam usually mixes salty with sweet rather than sour with sweet. Both Chinese and Vietnamese have similar roast, grilled, stew, sausages…only Vietnamese prepare raw pork with salt, garlic, ground roast rice powder “thính” wrapped in “vong” or banana leaf for curing. Chinese never serve preserved raw pork.

For fish, Vietnamese use a variety of fish and prepared “Mắm” similar to western salted anchovies in olive oil. Chinese do not eat that type of "Mắm” typical of South East Asia, i.e. Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines…

For vegetables, Vietnamese eat raw herbs and vegetables. You cannot find any raw vegetables in Chinese menu. Probably for thousands of years, human fertilizer was and is still used in China.

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In short, it can be said that even under a thousand years of Chinese domination, the Vietnamese were able to preserve and develop their national characteristics, traditions, customs, and their own cuisine.

oOo

My typical Japanese gourmet dishes

Sashimi’s artistic presentation Black Cod with Miso

I was treated by my Japanese counterpart in Tokyo’s Happo‐en restaurant with a view.

I also had a first‐class experience of refined Japanese cuisine right in the Land of the Rising Sun. I was successful in attracting the Japan Yanmar Diesel Co. to built a plant in the Biên Hòa Park. I was delighted to enjoy a dinner with its president in Tokyo. The dishes were beautifully presented like colorful sculptures, simple yet very elegant.

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Shrimps Tempura Sushi Combination

Sashimi Seafood stew

A ryokan, traditional Japanese inn

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A typical breakfast at a traditional Japanese inn

The dishes included roast mackerel, Japanese omelet, rice, a paper pot of boiled tofu over a small brazier, with soy sauce and toppings (cucumber, pickling melon, turnip) and green tea. In the black cup was miso soup.

Kaiseki meals or “de Luxe Bento box�

Casual kaiseki meals: food artistically arranged in rough textured pottery and in fine patterned bowls or plates for visual effect.

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Japanese home cooked gourmet dishes

Salmon Teriyaki Tempura shrimp, lotus root, egg plant, other vegetables

Sukiyaki Tempura before cooking

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A typical Japanese meal including tempura, sashimi, and miso soup

Generally speaking, a characteristic of traditional Japanese food is the sparing use of red meat, oils and fats, and dairy products. The use of ingredients, such as soy sauce, miso, and umeboshi, tends to result in dishes with high salt content, though there are low‐sodium versions of these available.

Compared to Japanese cuisine, my experience with the Korean dishes was relatively limited although I had a very pleasant opportunity to discover them with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economic Planning Board Chang Key‐Young(1966‐77) who took the Vietnamese delegation to dinner at the famous "Blue Clouds" restaurant on the hills of Seoul. It was a privilege to learn Korean gastronomy this way. I remember asking the Minister of Health what’s good about ginseng. He said it’s not energy but a catalyst to start useful reaction.

It’s clear that the Korean cuisine has its own historical, traditional and distinctive characteristics but it must also have absorbed during many centuries various influences from Japan and China, mostly Manchuria. My first experience with Korean food made me believe that the Korean people like to combine the tastes of sour and spicy‐hot (kimchi) with most of their national dishes.

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Fundamentals of Chinese Gastronomy It is obvious that through history Vietnamese cuisine had received strong influence from the Chinese cuisine. This helps me explain how and why I enjoy the Vietnamese and the Chinese dishes.

Although world famous, Chinese cuisine is still little known for the lavishness and diversity of its dishes. We should speak of several different types of Chinese cuisine, changing according to the different regions and natural resources available, climatic conditions and even the historical, political and cultural background. After a rapid overview, we are able to categorize the following types of Chinese cuisine found in the San Francisco Bay Area: Cantonese, Mandarin, Shanghai, Hunan, Hakka, Fujian, Szechuan, Hong Kong and recently Singapore and Taiwan. Despite such diversity, certain culinary characteristics are specific to all the regions. Each menu is made up of several dishes to be shared, expertly combining hot and cold elements. Of course, aesthetics and the balance of flavors play a vital role. During the annual economic conference Vietnam�ROC(Republic of China)in Taiwan, the Chinese delegation treated us with the best of China's gastronomic delights. In Saigon, the Chinese Ambassador often invited me to dinner and showed me more spicy, diversified and delicious dishes probably because, if compared to those of Japan, the huge land mass of China, having several climatic zones, does produce a greater variety of ingredients.

The embassies of Taiwan and Japan must feel quite free to conceive their traditional imperial menus without the restriction imposed by their national budgets. The White House, Buckingham Palace or the Palais de l'ÉlysÊe must operate within the limits imposed by their national budgets as far as their entertainment expenditures are concerned.

Besides, it must be remembered that the emperors of China had hundreds of concubines in the Forbidden City. No wonder most of the Chinese imperial menus must have included aphrodisiac dishes according to the wishes and needs of the emperors. As for the French kings at the Palais du Louvre in Paris or at the Chateau de Versailles, their royal menus must have surely excelled the Chinese in quantity and luxurious style if we look at the way food was served at their banquets.

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French Gastronomy My first contact with genuine and high‐class French gastronomy was at the Ambassade de France in Saigon which was considered to represent what the French cuisine should be. The French Embassy was not supposed to treat its distinguished guests with unworthy French dishes! In our family, we used to have Vietnamese chefs who had for years cooked traditional French dishes. As a result, I had no great surprise eating at the French Embassy. However, I made two unforgettable and exceptional discoveries about French special treats.

During one of my visits to France I was invited for dinner by my cousin Hổ Khươnghữu, an MD who owned a medical laboratory in Villeneuve‐sur‐Lot near Bordeaux. He was married to a French lady and his mother‐in‐law prepared for him special homemade “blocs de Foie gras.” I had not seen my cousin for 36 years.

His friends told me that he was the “pasha” of his town. He was very proud of my successful career being the youngest deputy minister of economy of Vietnam. For this mini family reunion, he invited ten of his best French friends to meet me. It was the first time in my life that I enjoyed an evening with delicate French Sauterne wine and homemade “bloc de foie gras, figs and baguette“ in a joyful atmosphere. To make sure that each slice of foie gras had a glassy surface, he heated the knife blade with running hot water before any new cut. He used a special long knife similar to a Japanese one for Sashimi. Finally, he brought to the table a beautiful oval porcelain plate full of foie gras decorated with caramelized figs. What a delicious treat!

My cousin Dr. Khương Hữu Hổ and his family at Villeneuve‐sur‐Lot near Bordeaux

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Bloc de Foie gras served with caramelized fig and Sauterne wine

My second special luxurious lunch was in 1974. Former Minister of Education the late Ngô Khắc Tỉnh was invited by his French counterpart to visit the best universities of France. Politically, France left in Vietnam its system of education which was being gradually replaced by the American system. We visited the “Grandes Écoles” of France, ESSEC and some universities in the provinces such as Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseilles, Aix en Provence and Compiègne. I joined the team as technology advisor of the minister. We were invited to lunch at the famous restaurant in Hotel de Crillon, Place de la Concorde, Paris. This was my first 5‐star lunch in France. The surrounding was really luxurious with so many gold‐plated chandeliers. The main dish was a long appetizing salmon beautifully decorated in a deluxe plate. The style of the waiters and their uniforms were impeccable and impressive. For taste, it was probably one of the best in the western world but being from the chopstick culture, I was used to steaming, spicy hot fish and not at all cold.

During the visit in the South of France, we were delighted to be the guests of the President of Bordeaux University. Its Hôtellerie Department really showed us the best of French Gastronomy. I had the opportunity to learn about the world famous Bordeaux wine.

Back to gastronomy and the impact of Globalization

In the 21th century there is a food revolution. International tourism has created “World Cuisine.” In 1958, before returning to Saigon directly from New York, I wanted to see first Western Europe by car and camping before flying home

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by Pan Am from Paris with stopovers in Milan, Rome, Athens, Cairo, Teheran, Bombay, New Delhi, Calcutta, Rangoon, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and finally Saigon.

The wonderful part of my trip was that my classmates from Lafayette College and MIT wanted me to see their parents in those cities whenever possible and enjoy local gourmet food. In 1958, flying around the world was a luxury.

Tourism was at its infancy. Without globalization, it was rare to find regular Chinese or Japanese restaurants in Scandinavia or other European countries. I could not find any Vietnamese restaurant on my trip home. Up North, I often ate whale meat or reindeer steaks. A lot of cold fish. For a Vietnamese having cold fish and cold milk for breakfast instead of hot “phở” or congee was very unusual. Even in the 60’s, during the one month I stayed in Berlin for training in development banking, I found only one acceptable Chinese restaurant serving mediocre Germanized Chinese food. Nowadays with Globalization and tourism in the 21st century, you can find top quality ethnic cuisine almost anywhere.

To show the greatest change in world gastronomy due to globalization, I can cite the case of Paris, France. Why? Because French gastronomy was known for a long time as the best of the West. Then the fall from its high position became more spectacular. It was really a shock to me that French “haute cuisine” came down to American “gourmet hamburger” in no time.

Born in the USA, Made in France: How McDonald’s Succeeds in the Land of Michelin Stars.

Big Mac, Quarter Pounder Burger

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McDonald’s has conquered France. There are now more than 1,200 McDonald’s over there and its nick name is “McDo”. An American phenomenon has now reached Paris: Yankee Kristin Frederick has served from her food truck the long lines of Parisians waiting for their gourmet hamburgers! The French people love the American burgers to the point that McDonald’s has made the most money in France after the US. The burgers have beaten the baguette sandwiches and steak‐frites in France.

Like Vietnamese of my generation, I have enjoyed French gastronomy for eight decades and regretted to see its steady decline. French gastronomic meals used to be one of the most charming arms of diplomacy. It was a great surprise for me to learn that France has continued to be castigated in foreign press for the declining quality of her food. The French generally say all the right things about Spain’s gastronomic revolution and the culinary bustle in cities like London, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco. The present world best Chef does not live in Paris but in Barcelona. Furthermore, with the new European Union standards, it becomes illegal for France to export raw‐milk cheeses, one of the most appreciated products of France. In contrast to the wealth spawned by the Reagan and Thatcher years that helped spark the gastronomic revolutions in the U.S. and Britain, France's economic torpor of the last 20 years, with its weak growth and high unemployment, meant there was less money in French pockets to spend on restaurant meals. Neighborhood butchers, bakers, and cheese shops have been going out of business in droves, replaced by trendy clothing stores.

I remember vividly that in the 70’s, many of my friends and relatives from France visiting me in San Francisco told me that the French people ate steaks and drank good coffee; here in the US, Americans consumed a lot of burgers and drank bad coffee. Truly in most US offices, there was then in the corner of a room a Mr. Coffee pot kept warm all day long. It tasted like Chinese herbal medicine. Now other foreign cuisines climbed to a higher level aided by tourism and better economic progress. Globalization in the 21st century had a real homogenizing effect due mostly to world tourism. The French now buy 75% of their food in supermarkets, just like Americans. Home cooking or “la cuisine familiale” is in trouble.

More than one million Frenchman eat everyday at McDonald’s. The French are now doing less cooking than ever at home and spending less time at the table: today the average French meal is swallowed in thirty eight minutes, down from eighty‐eight minutes a quarter century ago.

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McDonald's in Montpellier, France, in the most prominent location in town!

Modern France McDonald’s and Starbucks shops

Starbucks, Paris

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The Starbucks at Boulevard des Capucines, Paris is a sumptuous hall adorned with velvet chairs, chandeliers and a gilt‐leaf ceiling depicting cherubs aloft in a blue sky. The French love their American cheesecakes and hot chocolates too. In recent decades, the number of cafés in France has been divided by five. Bistros have gone out of business by the thousands. These are persuasive indicators of a fading gastronomic culture. In an economy suffering from weak growth and high unemployment, people want comfort food. Another new fact, globalization has brought foreign chefs cooking really good French food to Paris and they are being accepted by the French. Now, from old time mediocre coffee, the Americans with Starbucks have made a lot of money with their good coffee overseas. By that measure the French, and by inference we as well, have become hurried, harried, undiscriminating, and largely incapable of nuanced pleasure.

Modern French Gastronomy

Modern French Cuisine will be measured by the country’s success in finding a way to improve casual, affordable daily meals in public places like airports, train stations and shopping malls. Economic dynamism and culinary dynamism often go hand‐in‐hand. The United States has a flourishing artisan food movement; a development that I believe can be credited in part to the boom times that we used to enjoy.

Many traditional French chefs have been content to rest on their laurels. “If I bought all my products fresh, I’d have to hire another staff member,” said one French restaurateur. They provided “gourmet food” using industrial quality ingredients from high grade brand names in order to reduce cost. At the same time others, including the likes of Spanish cooks, have surpassed them in some respects. Fortunately, a new young generation of French chefs becomes successful by creating tasty foods from simple fresh ingredients at reasonable prices and served in a more modest atmosphere avoiding high overhead cost. A gastronomic meal is when the ingredients are simple but the way it is cooked is elaborate, the atmosphere of the restaurant well situated, servers knowing why and how the food is made, good presentation, and if it is home cooked or not. It’s amazing that French modern cuisine presentation adopts Japanese style as shown in the following photos:

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French grilled lamb chops Shrimp

Steak

Lobster Smoked salmon, asparagus

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Red mullet “swimming in the sea.” Roasted veal loin, liver and sweetbread with radishes

Other Popular French Gourmet Dishes

France may no longer be the reigning king of gastronomy but its cuisine is still among the better cuisines of the Western World, much better than the British or German or Swiss or Nordic or Greek and Austrian ones, just to cite a few.

France’s cheeses are still quite excellent and its Champagne Dom Perignon still the best. Its Cognac and Armagnac are still unbeatable. Some may prefer Starbucks’ coffee but the French and Italian Expresso in the local bistro has a savor that one cannot find yet at Starbucks. The question of which one is better is still debatable.

Salmon Terrine Soupe à l’Oignon

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Steak pommes frites Belon oysters Escargots

Boeuf Bourguignon Confit de canard Salade Niçoise

Canard à l’ orange

Sole Meunière

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Magret de canard Confit de Canard

Lessons learned In our family, we switched quite often from chopsticks to knife and fork foods. Living in San Francisco, Marie and I made the best of our gourmet “Menu du jour” by alternating our home cooking and San Francisco cosmopolitan restaurant dishes. Obviously, we reserved the simplest with least work for our home cooking and let the restaurants handle the more complex dishes requiring special skill and labor. For instance, Dim Sum must be eaten only at the restaurant because of the great variety of dishes and time‐consuming preparation. Dim Sum should not be for home cooking.(See photo below)

Varieties of Dim Sum dishes

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Simple delicious steak for easy home gourmet cooking

We have enjoyed four decades of international cuisine in San Francisco, undeniably the gastronomy capital of the Western states. Here you can find, besides the California fusion and nouvelle cuisine, the best foods of the Pacific Rim co‐existing with the Continental cuisine of the Old World. Above all this, the proximity of Napa and Sonoma valleys vineyards has added another dimension to the excellent pairing of food and wines.

In the Bay Area, we have so many good TV stations teaching us how to cook … The last twenty years of retirement have given me the time to practice regularly my life long hobby of gourmet cooking. As an engineer, I understand well the heating of food by conduction, convection, radiation and microwaves. For instance, this knowledge has helped me control the desired doneness of a steak either on the grill, in the broiler, in the oven or on the cast iron pan. Here it’s quite simple to have gourmet foods by choosing either excellent popular restaurants like Koi Palace, Dragon Beaux, Hong Kong lounge, M.Y.CHINA, Chapeau, Le Central, Kincaid’s … and a lot of other popular places at reasonable price. I can do many simple gourmet dishes thanks to the abundant supply of fresh seafood and vegetables.

With time, I can learn a long list of tasty “menu du jour” and have gourmet food any day. It has also been interesting to follow the best chefs in San Francisco who have left their previous jobs to open their own new restaurants.

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In Chinese supermarkets, many salt and soft water aquariums kept alive wild and farmed raised fish, clams, sweet shrimps, lobsters, oysters, snails, mussels, Dungeness crabs‌ every day. Thanks to the local refugees from Vietnam, the Bay Area has an abundant supply of tropical herbs, exotic Asian fruits and vegetables. Other ingredients come from all over the world to San Francisco because of the high demand of the affluent Silicon Valley with large volumes of tourists and a preferred place of rich overseas Chinese.

Japanese typical home cooked gourmet dishes

Salmon Teriyaki Tempura shrimp, lotus root, egg plants and other vegetables before cooking

Sukiyaki

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My typical Chinese gourmet dishes

Baked drunken prawns Rice and lobster tails

Typical 9 courses Chinese Banquet

Steamed fish with ginger, Brown�Braised Pork Belly with Tofu green onion soy sauce

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Peking duck

My typical American dishes

I was often invited to dinner by Ambassador Bunker. The purpose was primarily to meet US visitors from the business sector or from both Houses of the Congress. The menu was ordinary American food; there was no sign of luxury due the politically correct war time budget! However, in town, the US Army Post Exchange (PX) gave me the opportunity to taste delicious T‐bone steaks from America with flavorful Kentucky bourbon…and delicious ice cream. Any student at MIT can remember well the gourmet food of Boston’s Durgin Park.(See photos below)

A two‐pound lobster and a platter of prime rib.

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Durgin Park lobster

Prime rib au jus, with Boston beans, asparagus

Fried chicken

Honey glazed Corn sauce, fried okra goat cheese

Lamb chops, arugula Salad, couscous

Clam and corn chowder

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Dry rub spicy BBQ Chicken Wings! American Cheesecake

Lamb chops minted zucchini, Bacon wrapped Alaska salmon mignon parsnip mashed potato

Veal medallions Roast venison loin with pinot noir�dried cherry

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Salmon roe ‐ orange (front), black flying fish roe (back), reddish (left)

Buttermilk Pancakes, Berry, Sweet Vanilla Butter Pot‐au‐feu with a rich sauce

Every weekend, farmers markets supplied fresh produce in the neighborhood. Common or inexpensive ingredients would work, *if* they were of good quality, or cooked in a way that made them exceptional.

Conclusion Among the four chopstick cuisines, in my modest opinion, the most simple, elegant and artistically presented is the Japanese cuisine. The most complex and diversified in taste is the Chinese, probably because of its huge land mass and eight regional cuisines. I have observed that you cannot find any raw vegetable in the Chinese menu. Korean cuisine seems to be less complex than the Chinese probably due to a limited supply of ingredients from the shortage of farm area. I

remember most the famous fermented Kimchi in any Korean meal. Shockingly I am very surprised by the serious consumption of dog meat. The BBC claims that in 2003, approximately 4,000–6,000 restaurants served dog meat: 8,500 tons per year, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic.

The Vietnamese cuisine varies from North, Central to South. Next door to China, the North inevitably had some influence from its vast neighbor. The Red River does not have the rich alluviums of the Mekong Delta in the South and supplies limited quantities of food. Similarly, Central Vietnam rivers are mostly sandy and rocky and do not supply enough fish and crustaceans. Its cuisine reflects somewhat the imperial style. Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam. The cuisine of the South gets the benefits of an abundance of ingredients. Its tropical climate and rich soil have produced plenty of rice, soft water fish and crustaceans, seafood, exotic fruits, vegetables and herbs. The Southern cuisine also has good influence from neighboring Cambodia and Thailand. In the old days Saigon was the “Pearl of the Orient” on account of its excellent French food.

It is undeniable that food and drink make up a vital aspect in our life. There is a saying which claims: "Tell me what and how you eat and I tell you what kind of a man you are." That has also been the history of our human race since the early cavemen began to learn how to use fire to cook their food. Since then cooking has become a refined art, even more basic than painting, music, dancing or the movies in our existence...

Talking about food and drink at home, I cannot fail to mention Marie, my cooking mate who has remained by my side and shared all the ups and downs of my life. In the full sense of the expression, Marie has been more than my "better half" in the kitchen during more than half a century. I am a lucky guy and so grateful for it.

Marie knows much more than I about Vietnamese and French cuisines and has taken care of the cooking in our San Francisco home over the past four decades. She is very meticulous while I am cutting corners preparing our meals.

With my knowledge of American, English and other foreign cuisines such as Italian and Spanish etc, I have been able to contribute meaningfully to our everyday food and drink for ourselves and also to the delight of our relatives and friends. Marie's excellent skills in traditional Vietnamese cuisine have blended successfully with my concepts of cosmopolitan gastronomy. I am happy to say that, in this important aspect of our life regarding food and drink in San Francisco, the cooking process of "East meets West" has gone quite well in the American Melting Pot.

CHAPTER 23 Retirement with Health, Happiness and a Good Quality of Life

Spring in the Golden Age!

San Francisco, my Dream City: The Best of the West!

Golden Gate Bridge

Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean

My retirement has been everything that I possibly could have hoped for. I am happy, healthy, physically and financially comfortable � and old! In this book, I have shared my life experiences with you, including all of its trials, tribulations and joys. Now, having successfully reached this stage in my life, I feel compelled to outline my beliefs and philosophy on how you also can attain this blissful state of retirement. Think of this chapter as my personal manual on how to achieve good health and a high quality of life. With my faith deep rooted in Confucianism and Buddhism, I believe that a supreme power has kept track of my activities and

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behavior on earth. The result of that divine record will continue to influence the quality of my life during retirement.

Although I am now past 86, I think that I still have a long life ahead of me.

From a scientific point of view, there is strong evidence that individuals with parents who lived to an advanced age tend to attain a similar track record. My bio‐parents were both quite old when they breathed their last: my father was 93 and my mother 99. Additionally, according to IRS Minimum Required Distributions, I still have enough money in my 401K account to last me for many years, that is, until I reach the age of 101. I feel lucky to have inherited good genes from my parents, and I intent to carry on our family legacy of longevity.

Like most people, I faced retirement with mixed feelings and apprehension of both relief and regrets. My first day of retirement was on Tuesday October 8, 1996, a memorable milestone marking an end to my rather tortuous journey and unpredictable itinerary over a period of 65 years. It was a happy day and I was grateful that after a long and arduous journey, the “flight of the eagle” had made a soft and comfortable landing in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was no longer subject to the daily stress of running a consulting engineering company.

Retirement gives one plenty of time for contemplation and my greatest disappointment is to know that my native country still remains very underdeveloped compared to other Asian “tigers” in the region. I regret that my technical know‐how was not put to use as I had once hoped. I could not, for example, help establish a Vietnamese MIT or another high‐tech institution to make my native land a more competitive nation like Taiwan or South Korea. I missed the chance to train leaders in the development of my homeland. It is obvious that the reason for this wasteful dead‐end is the communist leadership in Vietnam that has been either near‐sighted or blind. It has been said that most of the communist leaders themselves lacked proper education. They were afraid to govern well educated citizens, and as a result the national education system suffered from the lack of support of its leaders. Vietnam did not even follow the example of communist China which used the wealth and the talents of those educated abroad to launch its economic expansion about 40 years ago. With millions of capable Vietnamese around the world, the regime in Hanoi never created incentives for them to make positive and meaningful contributions to their country. On the contrary, many goodwill missions to Vietnam from overseas have failed miserably in recent years, setting an undesirable precedent for any future cooperation. It has been a waste of gigantic proportion.

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At one point, I actually did have the chance to return to Vietnam.

Unexpectedly, in 1991, my doorbell rang and I was surprised to see one of my old friends from the pre‐1975 Saigon days with another Vietnamese stranger. I opened the door for both of them. My friend introduced the other man as a trusted associate of the then Vietnamese Prime Minister Võ Văn Kiệt. They asked me to go back to Saigon to work for the government. They told me that international financial institutions had committed billions of dollars of soft loans to Vietnam for development projects, but the money was not disbursed due to the lack of qualified project managers to implement the loans. As an incentive, the prime minister promised to return my former Saigon home to me with my choice of new paint colors. They said that I didn’t have to decide immediately, because it had been sixteen years since I’d left Vietnam. I was asked to simply visit Saigon with them for about ten days, and then return to San Francisco to think it over.

They explained that the new prime minister was leading a return to the world arena for the communist government of Hanoi, after decades of war and isolation.

He was trying to follow a model similar to the national innovation policies of the Russian federation.

Frankly, I knew enough about communist regimes to have already made up my mind about their proposition. In a friendly mood, I listened to their explanation, and joined them for a picnic at the Hacienda Winery in Sonoma. Two days later they went home. I asked them to pay a visit to my mother in Saigon and give her some money from me. I remember telling them: "I am a farmer with good seeds, insecticide, fertilizer, and irrigation, but I know that sowing the seeds on communist soil is like farming on a cement tennis court where nothing can grow anyway!"

Picnic at Hacienda Winery with trusted friend of then P.M. Võ Văn Kiệt

A few months later the same man called me from the Bangkok Sheraton to let me know that he had seen my mother. Again, he insisted that I should come

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back to Vietnam to work. As a last appeal, he told me that my mother said that she would like to see her youngest son again before she died. Of course, I knew well that my then 96‐year‐old mother had not said that! My Sister Seven told me that from Saigon.

But I have digressed. To get back to my golden years, I would like to share with you what have I learned in regards to physical, mental, spiritual health, and financial independence. It is certainly true that “Health is the real wealth and not pieces of gold or silver.” I also give credence to the saying “Health needs wealth, and wealth needs health.”

Upon researching ways to improve longevity and the quality of life, I was surprised to see that the recommendations of American doctors for achieving this objective has not changed much over the past half century. In fact, the modern check‐list is very similar to the list that I still keep in my wallet from the Saigon French newspaper “Journal d’Êxtreme Orient” dated July, 1960. I was always very conscious about good health. It is comforting to know that the guidelines for longevity that I have followed since 1960 have proved to be correct.

1960 Checklist for Longevity, Journal d’Êxtreme Orient 1960

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Translation from French text:

“Based on observations by a group of American doctors on the habits and lifestyles of their patients who achieved exceptional longevity.

1. Get plenty of sleep 2. Exercise regularly 3. Eat slowly 4. Eat a lot of proteins (meat, fish, and milk products) 5. Drink lots of… water 6. Go to the toilet each morning 7. Consume very little alcohol and tobacco 8. Do a job that you love 9. Take lots of vacations 10. Have a hobby 11. Have interest in an art 12. Have a circle of friends 13. Be frank and honest 14. Accept responsibilities 15. Have savings 16. Believe in something

After more than half a century, only point #7 “Consume very little alcohol and tobacco,” is in need of correction. We now recognize the many ways that smoking can be harmful to your health. Unfortunately, this was concealed from the public by the tobacco companies for many years.

This checklist encompasses the most important aspects of physical, mental and spiritual health; personal responsibilities; and financial health. To expand upon these points, I can also share some of my own experiences.

Physical Health

As I mentioned earlier, the importance of exercise was instilled upon me early as a young child. In addition to the early morning walks and swims that my

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father insisted upon each morning, he also took us to the countryside each week‐ end, under the pretense of bird hunting but mostly to surround us with nature and fresh air. My hobby at that time was to catch fighting fish and crickets in the village rice fields. To encourage more exercise, my father installed a swing, parallel bars and a sectional beam in a corner of the garden. When I was ten, I began kung fu lessons with a friend of my father. Through the years, with all the attention given to physical health in my youth, I have found it easy to maintain the discipline of exercise as I age.

Camping in high Sierra Mountain

Up to age 75, I maintain camping to be exposed to the roughness of nature in the high Sierra for physical fitness. We went even to the Canadian Rockies.

Camping in Canadian Rocky Mountains

My doctor warned me that people frequently make excuses for not exercising regularly. My own solution for this problem has been to pay my daily two hour “health taxes.” Since retiring in San Francisco, my health taxes have consisted of playing doubles tennis for an hour each morning, and taking walks each afternoon.

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My Tennis Club near my home, 1999

My tennis doubles team in front of my home just before our brunch, 2014

At 85, with extra precaution, I continue to play tennis practically every day.

Sometime ago, three friends about my age dropped dead on the tennis court.

Concerned that this could happen to me, I consulted with my heart doctor who scheduled me for a treadmill test and an echocardiogram. Luckily, he found that

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my heart was strong enough to play tennis which requires a heart’s MET number 10. Thank God, mine is 13.5. To make sure that I could play tennis regularly, I organized my own little club in the Sunset district to ensure that there are always at least four players ready to start a game of doubles at 7:30 each morning. The friendships, along with the exercise, have made this morning ritual very enjoyable.

In the afternoons, I usually walk along the beach or on one of the many trails in the neighborhood. On lazy days, for motivation, I resort to a special treat and walk to Trader Joe's for gourmet food or to a Chinese supermarket for my special “menu du jour”. So far my efforts have paid off, for over the past 20 years I have successfully avoided any kind of hospitalization.

Golden Gate Coast Trail

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Lands’ End trails in San Francisco

Ocean Beach ‐ Fishing Striped Bass Twin Peaks trails

My foggy city “Great Highway” trails

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My home is about I Km east of this Ocean Beach Great Highway. The fog cleans all the dust of the ocean fresh air. It’s a very colorful and picturesque walk along the beach trail at sunset.

Birds’ late dinner at Ocean Beach

v

Pacific Coast Highway

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In regards to food, I really enjoy gourmet cuisine and consider good eating to be a part of being civilized. But to maintain good health, I try to eat healthy foods and avoid those that can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol problems. To learn more about healthy eating, I took a course entitled “Diet for Health” from a nearby medical center. Every day I enjoy creating a delicious yet simple “Menu du Jour” and hunting for the freshest and best foods at the farmers markets. For variety, San Francisco also offers a wealth of world class cuisines.

Along with good food, I also appreciate good wines and liquors, in part due to the French colonial influence on Vietnam during my youth. For alcohol consumption, I try to restrict myself to the recommended two servings of wine or equivalent per day. Additionally, I try to incorporate fruit and vegetable juices into my diet, and of course I always remember to drink a lot of water to help my kidneys and other cleaning process.

Mental and Spiritual Health

The middle part of the longevity checklist addresses mental and spiritual health. In essence, it is telling us to enjoy each day, have fun, be happy, and give thanks. To celebrate my retirement, my wife and I invited more than forty friends to our San Francisco home. It was an unforgettable reunion for all of us. I felt like a runner crossing the finish line of a very demanding and challenging marathon, with both arms raised in celebration of the final winning steps. What a gift to be able to enjoy the rest of my life in beautiful San Francisco. The special occasion was so joyful, and exciting that one of our close friends, the late Dr. Đỗ Bá Khê suggested that we form a club. We did just that, and that was how our Mekong Club of retirees got started in 1996.

These years of retirement have been the most enjoyable time of my life.

This feeling is primarily a function of my positive attitude, but it is also the result of concerted planning and self‐reflection. Yes, I have less worry and stress than before, but I feel fulfilled because I have made new choices with myself as a priority. Indeed, with proper preparation and forethought, I have been able to realize my full potential and enjoy an astonishing quality of life. My choices have included volunteering, traveling, writing, learning and many other simple pleasures that have helped me feel secure, joyful, independent, valuable and carefree. The idea of putting “myself as a priority” was certainly not the case in

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1958 when I first came back from the US to work for the development of a war‐ torn Vietnam. At that time, that concept would have seemed selfish and unthinkable. But now, that guilty feeling seems to have disappeared. I guess I have paid my dues, and I can now enjoy this deserving phase.

At 86, I am old, but I don’t feel old. I’m full of beans. Between my energy level, my view of life, and the many active, fun and cultural activities that I enjoy each day, I simply ignore my age. Of course, the actions that I have taken during the pre‐retirement years have helped get me where I am today. Once again, the checklist has come into play, and I have always paid attention to my mental and spiritual health.

I understand that being mentally and emotionally healthy is more than just being free from mental illness. It implies strengthening one’s resilience to life’s ups and downs, and learning how to handle stress and unexpected circumstances.

Mental health also means having positive feelings, a zest for life, a sense of purpose, and laughing as much as possible. Besides being contagious, laughter spreads joy to others, and is good for your health. With these ideas in mind, I have always made plenty of time for family and friends. After all, we are natural social beings with the need for companionship and a sense of belonging.

Camping with my grandnephew Tâm, MD from Bordeaux

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My niece Dung & husband Jean Michel from Soissons, France

Fort Funston, my niece Dung & husband Jean Michel from Soissons, France

It was real fun to have friends from far away France to drop in for a few days.

A mini reunion at Domaine Chandon, CA with Âu Trường Thanh, Paris, Hồ Tấn Phát, Beaverton, OR, Huỳnh văn Hưởn, San Lorenzo, CA

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Same group visiting mutual friends Đỗ bá Khê at his home in Walnut Creek, CA

Visiting the Ortons in San Luis Obispo with Sang & Renaud, France

I have also found that activities such as yoga promote a sense of mindfulness and decrease anxiety and stress. Practicing healthy habits everyday has led to an improvement in my mental health over time, and finding quiet moments daily has improved my spiritual health. I attempt to see other’s points of view. Being open minded and non‐judgmental allows me to gain valuable knowledge and understanding. To avoid Alzheimer’s disease, I choose activities such as writing memoirs, doing crossword puzzles, and other mind exercises to keep my brain active.

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Vacation, Clear Lake, Ca

Lots of vacations, such as those that I mentioned earlier in this book, have also contributed to my mental health.

Family reunion Phi Vân, Bordeaux; Sang & Renaud, Reims; Dung & JM, Soissons, France

Reunion at S F Hilton Top : Dung & JMichel, Thanh, Hưởn

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Family at Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival, San Francisco

In retirement, I have had plenty of time to organize trips to visit friends and relatives across the US, enjoying many of Amtrak’s scenic routes along the way.

Amtrak along California Coast scenic view

We have also taken cruises from San Francisco to Alaska in the summer and to Mexico in the winter with our friends from the Mekong Club. These cruises have been a fun way to spend time together, having dinner every night at the same table for twelve, and exercising in the gym to burn off all of the delicious food we ate on board. In California, we have also gone on many week�end trips, staying in bed and breakfast inns near the many vineyards. Over the years, Marie

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and I also did a lot of camping trips in our VW Westphalia camper along the California coast line all the way north to Super Natural British Columbia, the polar circle and Homer in Alaska at the northernmost end of the coastal highway.

Camping to Alaska with our VW Westphalia van 1987

Homer, at the north end of Alaska coastal highway

Each trip was carefully planned and we loaded the camper with a good selection of gourmet foods, wine and liquors. At Homer, the fishermen unloaded thousands of pounds of live Dungeness crabs each morning, so we stocked up on fresh crab meat for the return trip home through the wilderness at the cost of only ten dollars for three big crabs!

The longevity checklist also mentions the importance of hobbies and art.

For me these are almost one and the same since my hobbies, including gardening,

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are a form of art. From childhood days, my father taught me how to care for and enjoy singing canaries and talking birds. He showed me the technique of trimming bonsai, and growing tropical herbs and flowers. In fact, in Saigon, I was the founder of the Flower and Garden Association. I learned also to design landscapes and miniature rock gardens. My home had an integrated third floor roof garden with a pool, fruit trees, herbs and vegetables. A koi pond graced my front garden, with the fish illuminated at night using underwater lights. The koi pond was built in the shape of Vietnam, complete with its own 17th parallel bridge.

In California, my love of gardening continued. Here, for 40 years, I have had the opportunity to collect beautiful drift wood along the beach up to Alaska especially at the estuaries of rivers, which I have used to create unique wood sculptures with cacti and bromeliads.

Driftwood Sculptures

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One of the most important elements of longevity is having a circle of friends.

Making time for friends and family has helped me stay connected. It has given me the opportunity to share laughter, good food and pleasant conversation.

Naturally, I can turn to family and friends when in need, and I am also there to support them.

I actually have two circles of friends. My first circle of friends includes my blood relatives in the United States, comprised mostly of cousins, nephews, nieces and their families. As the most senior member of the extended family, I try to make everyone’s birthday an occasion to get the family together.

2010 Family reunion

My second circle of friends is made up of old friends from Saigon, all members of the Mekong Club and new American friends. Besides meeting for a gourmet lunch every month or two, we also discuss many interesting topics at

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each meeting. It has been a good way to keep ourselves informed about what is going on in the world and in our own society. Our club includes people with experience in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, including non‐government executives. The last 20 years of club activities have confirmed that we did things right from the start.

Mekong club members at regular meeting: L to R: Bảy, Trang, An, Chánh, Hưởn, Mỹ Hạnh, Bình, Thủy, Phát, Chánh, An, Hoa, Marie, Châu, Điểu, Bình

My “dream team” family reunion at home, 16 Riverton Dr., 70th birthday, 2000

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L to R: “former IDBers” Tưởng, Cường, Điểu, Nhã, Khôi

Frequent Bay Area IDB ( Industrial Development Bank) members’ mini reunion at home

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Reunion with friends L to R: TvChơn, VvLộc, TtKhiêm, KhĐiểu

L to R: TtKhiêm , NtVũ, KhĐiểu

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Reunion with friends Nguyễn Khắc Bình, Nguyễn Thượng Vũ, Khương Hữu Điểu and Trần Thiện Khiêm

Our checklist also states the importance of being frank and honest, accepting responsibilities, and believing in something. These are all things that have come naturally to me. As my friends will attest, I am transparent almost to a fault. With me, what you see is what you get. I have never been afraid to say what’s on my mind, and I have never had the tendency to shirk responsibility. I also have strong beliefs. I believe in the power of honesty and integrity, and with my family background in Confucianism and Buddhism, I believe in God, the divine power.

Financial Health

The longevity checklist includes aspects of the body, the mind, and the wallet. Having savings is included on the list. I always paid heed to this advice and tried to live within my means and put money aside for my retirement. That planning has paid off and it has given me the financial independence necessary to retire comfortably. There are three vital aspects of financial security that I needed to achieve before I could make a firm and realistic decision to quit working at the age of 65. I needed a secure retirement income, contingency reserves, and comfortable savings. After much sweat and tears, and financial planning, the stage was set for Marie and me to enjoy the quality of life we longed for during our retirement in our own home in San Francisco.

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As I have described in this book, my road to financial independence had to start again from scratch in 1975 when I walked out of Camp Pendleton with just $150 in traveler’s checks to my name. Finding a job was challenging. While I waited for an opportunity to get back into engineering, one of my fellow refugees gave me a job as project manager of a French restaurant, La Cabane, on Union Street in San Francisco with the salary of $500 per month. The restaurant became a huge success with the help of an excellent review from the San Francisco Chronicle, but within six months, I left the restaurant for a real engineering job with Bechtel Inc. as an assistant project manager in 1975. I had a good salary, and by being frugal and living well within my means, I saved about $10,000 a year.

After three years I had enough money saved to make the down payment on a $100,000 home.

San Francisco home near the Golden Gate since 1978

About five years before retiring, I started to prepare my “landing strip” for a soft, comfortable retirement by upgrading and modernizing my home. I knew that the upgrades would be much easier to manage while I still had an income from work, rather than having to withdraw money from my retirement savings for construction.

I spent about $20,000 a year on each of the following five projects: 1. Modernizing the kitchen, 2. Adding a sunroom, 3. Adding a downstairs bathroom, 4. Upgrading the guest room on the ground floor, and 5. Building a redwood deck, a greenhouse, and tool shed in the backyard.

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I completed all of these upgrades in five years. The end result was a very comfortable home � my own little castle that was set for Marie and me to spend the rest of our days. Now, after having enjoyed the comforts brought about by the renovations for the past 20 years, I can appreciate each and every upgrade that I made to our home.

I thank my father for stressing the importance of living thriftily. As a child, he made me earn my pocket money by doing various tasks. As a result, I understood the value of money coming from my own sweat, and I spent that money wisely. I continued to spend my money cautiously over the years. In 1976, I bought a modest, economic car, a Vega Station Wagon, at the end of its production phase. For recreation, I used this car for camping on weekends to enjoy outdoor pleasures, such as I had done with my parents as a child. This life style was healthy and cost very little.

Camping with friends: our Station Wagon Vega 1976

Furthermore, it was fun to get away from the crowded and polluted big cities, and the stress of work.

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In addition to living thriftily, I saved money by setting up a 401(k) tax deferred retirement account. While working for Bechtel in San Francisco from 1975 to 1987, I chose to deposit the maximum allowable part of my earnings into this account. Bechtel also made matching contributions to the 401(k). I could invest this money into stocks and mutual funds that I did not have to take out until I reached the age of 70½ years old. The resulting compound interest, along with delayed taxation, led to substantial savings over a long period of time.

I followed the progress of my financial independence with the above graph.

Being analytical by nature, I started a graph in 1980 to follow the progress of my financial independence. On this graph, dollars in $1,000 units are shown on the Y‐axis, and the X‐Axis represents the years between 1975 and 2027, the year I will turn 96 year old and presumably the last year of my life. As you can see from the graph, on the third year, after I made a $30,000 down payment on the house my savings dropped to zero. In this graph, I assumed that inflation was 3% a year and my average return on investment was about 6% a year. I began to withdraw funds for my retirement at age 65. Theoretically in 2027, at 96, I will run out of savings. Since my house is already fully paid for, however, I could continue to

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survive on the value of my house, were I to live longer. The actual curve of the retirement savings is above this assumed theoretical curve. Therefore, I am on the safe side of the financial planning. This road to financial independence was bumpy when the economic bubbles burst twice in the first decade of the 21st century. But when the dust settled down, the actual curve was still above the theoretical one.

So, in summary, for Marie and me, everything seems to be in good order with the body, mind, and wallet! We continue to live in the same house which has been our cherished home for four decades now. We have no worrisome health issues other than the common conditions of old age. Our minds are still quite clear and we regularly share good times and lots of laughs with friends. I have found that in retirement I have to be careful not to indulge in doing new and crazy things, be realistic and practical within my means, and making the necessary efforts to discipline myself physically, mentally and financially. Retirement has actually allowed me to be my own self, take it easy, kick away the anxieties, share the good life with my relatives and friends, and above all spend more time with Marie, my beloved wife of the past 57 years. She has taken such good care of me and our home. Thank you, Marie!

CHAPTER 24 Anecdotes from the “Dream Team”

The “Fighting Roosters”!

After ten long years of arduous work, now is the time for me to give the final touch to my book. Half a century ago, in the period of 1964‐1975, I was fortunate enough to assemble a team of young and gifted technocrats working for the economic development of South Vietnam. I often used the term “fighting roosters” to refer to our competent, hard working team members. The popular Saigon slang for a low performance worker was “frozen or dead chicken.”

Some of my team members had moved on to assume positions such as cabinet members or deputy ministers in the government. Others had become heads of organizations like the Investment and Development Center, the Biên Hòa Industrial Park, the Vietnam Bureau of Standards, the Vietnam Agency for Petroleum and Minerals, the Export Processing Zone, Vissan (Saigon modern slaughter house,) and the Institute of Management. On account of my close relationship with the “Young Turks," a friend of mine living in San Jose gave me the rather high‐sounding title of “The Godfather” of the “Mafiosi.”

At the age of 86, forty years after the 1975 “Metamorphosis” that befell our nation, ten thousand miles away from our former nest, my true joy is to be still around my former team members. Together we can appreciate each other’s company, enjoy the food, and raise a few glasses accompanied by merry laughter in this beautiful City by the Bay. In 2000, after 25 years of separation, about forty of them organized a total surprise party for my 70th birthday at my modest home in San Francisco. By using the Internet, they made all the preparations under absolute secrecy and I only learned about it at the last minute. They brought an undeniably precious birthday gift to my life.

In 2010, they gave me a “Magnum of Champagne” with all their signatures on the bottle for my 80th birthday. Thank you for making me a lucky guy.

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A lot of champagne on a small table!

Again in October 2015 we got together for the triple celebration of happy events of my life: our 55th wedding anniversary, my 85th birthday, and the presentation of the only book in the Khương‐Hữu family.

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Better yet, I began to receive the much appreciated anecdotes they wrote about the good and bad times we had together. And I will use them as a logical and appropriate end for my book. Those heartfelt and unforgettable contributions have touched me deeply. They are true reflections of the thinking of their authors free of any editing or “coaching” on my part, except for an occasional “reminder” to send in the works.

Our “Dream team’s” signature in 2000:

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My “Dream Team” year 2000 reunited in a total surprise party for my 70th birthday at my San Francisco home, 25 years after our separation!

The Alma Maters of the team included Lafayette College, MIT, Stanford University, Columbia University, NYU, Phú Thọ Technical University, Saigon University, Dalat University, California State University, Sacramento, University of Arizona, Colorado State University, Georgetown University, Purdue University, Oklahoma State University, Pittsburgh University, Carnegie Mellon University, Bowling Green State University, Laval University, Asian Institute of Technology, École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux‐Arts de Paris, Université de Montpellier, Université de Nantes, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Monash University, Melbourne Australia, University of Western Australia Perth, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ, Massey University NZ, London School of Economics…

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Left to right‐Seating: Chị NĐKhôi, Chị Bích Lan (bạn HĐNhã), Chị Quách Anh, Anh PKNgọc, A/C KHĐiểu, Chị NĐCường.

Standing: NĐKhôi, TPhong, PLQuang, HĐNhã, NTHoan, NTường (VQTHuệ), LHThịnh, PMTâm, TQMinh, Võ Hùng, Chị TQMinh, Chị Hằng, Chị PLQuang, LTTạo, NĐCường, NDTưởng, Chị VHùng, Chị NDTưởng, Chị Đoàn Mộng Hoàng, NĐChiến.

My “Dream Team” 2016 reunited for my 86th birthday and 56th wedding anniversary.

Here are their anecdotes:

1. TRẦN VĂN KHỞI, University of Arizona

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Twenty five years after leaving Vietnam, many of us got together for a party for Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, a surprise party that will live long in the memory of those in attendance. On this occasion, we collaborated closely to put together an IDB 2000 Year Book, including pictures of all of us and our families, as a gift to him and his wife. In the introduction, I tried to encapsulate everyone’s thoughts and sentiments:

In our minds, the Industrial Development Center IDC, The National Company for the Development of Industrial Zones SONADEZI, and the Industrial Development Bank IDB are not just development institutions of South Vietnam, but they are also places where the basic characters for growth and advancement in our professional are nurtured and promoted: integrity, dedication, and collegiality or openness toward colleagues. From the very first days…until years later, many of us have made achievements in our works. Along the way, we have striven to uphold the basic characters integrity, dedication and collegiality… This IDB 2000 Year Book is put together to mark the 25 years’ time since separation from our beloved institutions; it is also to note the passing or coming of a millennium. But the real reason for the Year Book is to celebrate the attainment of 70 years of age by Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, our team leader, whose long professional life has ceaselessly embodied and exhibited integrity, dedication and collegiality.

I worked for Điểu since 1964, in many capacities at different times, and have maintained contact with him since 1975. After these years of collaboration and friendship, I have learned “to work” is not just work but “to tackle”, and with Điểu what you see and hear in him is what you get – and you usually hear him before you see him.

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In September of 1964, after returning home and still uncertain as to where to work and what to do, I met Vĩnh Thúc who had been on the same scholarship group with me; he had just joined the Industrial Development Center a few months earlier. He said: “We have a technical chief, an MIT guy who is so cool; you should come here.”

I immediate went to see Điểu, and joined IDC just a week later. At that time he was Assistant Director for Engineering to Mr. Bửu Hoan whom he replaced in 1965 when Mr.Hoan went on assignment abroad. My main task in the beginning was to study and prepare specifications for a modern slaughterhouse. In addition, I worked on some light industry projects such as caustic soda, glass tube, and animal feeds. These industrial projects were all on a turnkey basis: the manufacturers of machines and equipment also provided detailed technical help in construction, installation, testing, and startup operations of the factories.

In 1996, together with a couple of colleagues, I followed Điểu to work at The Ministry of Economy when he was asked to be deputy to Minister Âu Trường Thanh, in charge of trade and commercial issues. It was an entirely different environment to me: dealing with US aid issues and officials and reviewing applications for imports using Vietnam’s own foreign currency, in a deep seated bureaucracy. I remember an occasion when I joined a US Army colonel in leading a convoy of trucks full of cement, from Saigon Port to the factory in Thủ Đức – in a massive publicity campaign to show that we had no shortages but plenty of supplies of cement. The job was very interesting and not too hard, requiring mostly Điểu’s full confidence and long hours.

After Mr. Thanh left his post, Điểu came back full time to his IDC job, but he left me on assignment at the Ministry of Economy, first to work directly for the incoming Minister of Industry La Thành Nghệ, and later for the successors.

In the middle of 1968, Điểu returned to the Ministry of Economy – this time as deputy to Minister Âu Ngọc Hồ and in charge of the industry sector. In my capacity as head of the investment section, I worked directly with him again.

During this time, as a result of the Tet offensive, a general mobilization had just been enacted. Điểu immediately realized the impact on industrial and investment activities and spent much time to push for the creation of “special reserves”, deferring services for key technical personnel in both the public and private sectors. He met days after days with the Ministry of Defense, telling his counterpart ‐ a colonel assistant deputy minister ‐ and all those who listened “We just can’t send fighting roosters to rotisseries”. He “tackled” every issue and left no stone unturned; indeed, he helped prepare and personally wrote a letter of

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recommendation for the colonel’s son’s admission application to MIT. He also facilitated the early offshore geological surveys, and pushed for the preparation of a petroleum law.

Another government change took place near the end of 1969. Điểu returned full time again to IDC, now in process of growing into an industrial bank. I continued to work in the investment section. After the petroleum law was passed in late 1970, I was tasked to implement the law, and go look for oil. I no longer worked directly with Điểu, but I continued to remain in touch with him and the IDC colleagues. From time to time, I also attended their Tuesday “highly strung” morning briefings.

In the middle of 1974, the Petroleum and Minerals Agency was created as an autonomous body within the Ministry of Economy. Although I had successfully led the oil exploration program from the beginning, and had crafted legislation to set up the organization, it was rumored that some authority wanted to bypass me for the top job of Director General of the agency, in favor of an engineer working for the oil conglomerate Shell. Điểu heard of the rumor, and immediately called me, as I noted in my book “Petroleum in Vietnam 1970‐75: The Days Still Remembered (page 118):

“Always frank and direct, Điểu loudly told me over the phone that he had heard about the Agency story, and that that was a really silly thing to do. He told me not to worry, nobody would do a dumb thing like that. In a colorful language that was so typical of him, he shouted over the line: “Our fighting rooster is doing so well, why replace it? Bringing in a chicken without spurs – how can we expect it to fight? And it will be disaster if it turns out to be a frozen or dead chicken”. He promised to get to the bottom of the story, and again told me not to be discouraged.”

I will never forget his words and sentiments in our phone conversation that day.

Trần Văn Khởi

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2. VŨ THỊ LOAN, Laval University

MEMORIES OF THE PRODUCTIVITY DEPARTMENT, IDC/ IDBVN Industrial Development Center/ Industrial Development Bank of VN)

1967: It was the year I left the Cold Land of Quebec, Canada to return to Saigon, my sunny and warm homeland. Once back, I joined as a “new recruit” the staff of the Productivity Department, Industrial Development Center (IDC), the precursor of the Industrial Development Bank of VN (IDBVN).

At that time, the Productivity Department was the “Big Brother” of the other IDC’s departments because it could make money by providing services to factory owners, namely, organizing equipment bids and preparing feasibility studies of industrial projects. That financial aspect, notwithstanding, I thought the

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main reason was that it had a large group of engineers trained in various foreign countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and the National Technical Center of Vietnam at Phú Thọ.

The head of the Productivity Department was Mr. Đỗ Kim Thức. Despite his heavy build and generous waist, he projected the image of a soldier: constantly alert and resourceful. A peculiar thing with Mr. Thức: more often than not, we always knew he was about to arrive at the office because he was announced by his brass‐and‐rolling voice before he made his appearance. The person who worked closer to us was Dr. Nguyễn Phước Du, a doctor in engineering trained in France. He was small in stature and spoke with a soft and gentle voice. Although advanced in age, he stayed sharp and ready to advise any of us about any subject.

He never failed to bring me along to his lectures at the Industrial Management Seminar/IDC so that I could upgrade my knowledge in Management skills. The third senior member was Mr. Bùi Thạnh who came from the Center of Viet Nam. He liked to tell us jokes and was given an especially strange nickname “Ông Bành Tổ”. To this day I still do not know the circumstances behind it! Next, we had the trio “Xe Pháo Mã” of three US‐educated engineers: MM. Nguyễn Đăng Khôi, Chu Tam Cường and Lê Trọng Mưu. True to the meaning of his name, Mr. Khôi always looked smart and handsome while Mr. Cường appeared quite serious with his thick glasses. As for Mr. Mưu, he was known as “Mr. Milk” on account of his milky white skin. This “Trio” was the Department’s top “fighting roosters”. In later years, as the economy developed and the need to fill high‐level management positions grew, they were promoted to new positions: Mr. Khôi to the Investment Development Center, Mr. Cường, Tổng Cục Gia cư/ Department of Housing and Mr. Mưu to the Saigon Export Zone. Besides, other “top‐notch roosters” were also “exported from the stable” during this time. There were MM. Lê Thanh Nhàn to manage Vissan (Saigon modern slaughter house), Phí Minh Tâm to “set standards” at the Bureau of Standards, Trần Văn Khởi to “find oil” for the Vietnam Agency for Petroleum and Minerals, Nguyễn Đức Cường to “assume economics” at the Ministry of Economy and Mr. Hoàng Đức Nhã on “special assignment” to the Office of the President. Now looking back, I see that the Productivity Department/ IDC was actually the training ground to form the high caliber professionals of our society.

We also had a “made‐in‐Canada trio”: White‐face‐scholar Trần Bình Minh, “Le petit Francais”, Nguyễn Hữu Thư, (a nickname he earned from the time he studied in Canada), and me. The three of us attended Laval University, a time honored university in Frozen Quebec. Quebec City may be freezing in the winter but, on the other hand, it is an ancient and romantic town. The local people speak both French and English. So, at the end of their study, the foreign students could

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master these two languages. Our group was awarded scholarships from the Colombo Plan to study different majors: Mr. Minh: Electrical Eng., Mr. Thư: Chemical Eng., and me: Foods Eng.. Because I had come to the university before them, I became their de facto “elder sister.”

The most memorable gentlemen who graduated from the Phú Thọ National Technical Center (NTC) were MM. Nguyễn Văn Chưởng and Nguyễn Thành Ngưu.

Mr.Chưởng, tall and thin like a bamboo spear, always executed every task “seriously”. Mr. Ngưu could be described as heavy set and as gentle as the people of the Southern rice fields.

Next was the group of young technicians, all graduates from NTC. First was Ms. Quách Anh with a gentle and kind demeanor; Ms. Võ Quý Thanh Huệ, rotund; Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hai who was always whirring around Dr. Du to learn new things; and “twiggy” Ms. Đoàn Mộng Hoàng. The latter was also known as “Hoang Huyền” which is a nickname derived from a play on her name. She was so thin then and one had the impression that the lightest whiff of wind could blow her away. Her face, in addition, to being cherubic and intelligent made her resemble Audrey Hepburn. The last two members in this group were MM. Nguyễn Văn Hòn and Nguyễn Văn Quan who looked so young they could be mistaken for “teenage” students.

When IDC became IDBVN, the Productivity Department was reorganized into Credit Teams. Our staff became larger and more competent with the infusion of new members. First, there were MM. Thái Vĩnh Khiêm, very polite and handsome; Vĩnh Thúc speaking with a light Huế accent; Từ Văn Minh noted for his “honey donut” skin; and Lưu Phong Lợi we good‐naturedly called Mr. “Lợi phong lưu” or the “well to do Mr. Lợi”, which is a punt on his full name when you read it backward. MM. Ngô Văn Thành, Khấu Văn Viện were always gentle and cheerful. We cannot omit two other lovely stars: Kim Cương, the “Queen of Egypt”, so named because she looked so much like a “Modern Cleopatra”, and Bích Thủy with a long hair stream which swung to the rhythm of her steps. Last but not least were the three young friends, MM. Phạm Tiến Nam, Trần Tấn Lộc và Bùi Việt Long.

Since I did not leave the country in 1975, I became a living witness to the dramas of “who stays” and “who flees”. Things were changed to their roots! But, anyway, time also went fast. Events that unrolled more than 40 years ago appeared as if they just took place yesterday. However, there was a unique impression I still keep in my heart. That is: the boss of IDBVN aimed to build up a group of qualified professionals who could develop the economy and turn the

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country into a prosperous one. He was always ready to recommend young skilled experts to higher positions than his own in order to promote the nation’s development. Meanwhile, he continued to train the remaining technicians for future needs.

I still remember the weekly Tuesday lectures at IDBVN through which we were introduced to thorny technical and economic problems we seldom studied at school. They were intended to help us learn from each other, enrich our knowledge, and upgrade our public speaking skills. The General Director usually chaired the lectures. Normally, the host or the chair sat on the first row but to our sorrow he took a place at the back of the room, right in the middle alley. At exactly 7:30 a.m., like a whirlwind he entered the meeting room and the entrance door was closed immediately after. If someone came late even for a few minutes, he/she had no choice but return to his/her desk and "hold the fort" in the company of old secretaries! So, every Tuesday morning, I "frantically" tried to get my makeup and hairdo done in five minutes then rushed to the office just to "ceremoniously" march into the conference room before Him! At this point, I would like to describe "our General Director." In the Northern style of writing, he would be portrayed as not very ... handsome and walked with a preoccupied and hurried gait! But those who had the opportunities to know him had to acknowledge he was a very charming and strong‐willed person. With a loud southern accent and a broad knowledge in many fields, he always went straight to the point and even used "body language" to express his ideas. He easily captured the attention, interest and admiration of his audiences. Now I understand why besides his nicknames "the Big Brother” or “the Leading Bird", he was also known as “the Coach". With such a dynamic and exalted Coach, any business he managed could only be “nổi đình nổi chùa” (Vietnamese idiom for "top flagship")! In later years, the experiences that I learned from those lectures, helped me a lot in my job of "teacher" without having to go through any pedagogic training! Thank you, Mr. the General Director. Thanks to all the lecturers.

And please, let me cut my stream of memories here. I wish that, in reading these lines, IDBers might rediscover the image of their friends and of their own travelling together on a segment of the road in life when we all were still strong, good‐looking and our hair was still black...

Saigon, December 2015

Vũ Thị Loan

Industrial Development Center Industrial Development Bank of Viet Nam

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3. HOÀNG HUYỀN, Phú Thọ Technical University

IDB: The Good Old Days

Dear Anh Thư:

As you know, our Big Boss is planning to publish his memoirs, so on this occasion, I would like to relate a little story about the good old days – at that time we were so young in the late twenties ‐ that we had together under the roof of the IDB office at 40 Nguyễn Huệ Blvd Saigon. This location was an ideal place for escapades from the office, since it was right at the center of bustling downtown Saigon, once nicknamed the Pearl of the Orient.

Anh Thư, do you still remember?

Just across the boulevard, there was Mai Hương Ice cream, Passage Tax. Speaking of Mai Hương, I thought of Thái Vĩnh Khiêm who took advantage of my naivete and betting inexperience and I always ended up buying ice cream for everyone in the room including Bùi Việt Long, Khấu Văn Viện …

Behind Nguyễn Huệ Blvd was Tự Do street with a lot of cloth and fabric stores such as Tân Cương that Hoàng and Loan passed by and peeked into so many times during the work week.

Walking a few blocks from the IDB office, you arrived at the old market ‘Chợ Cũ ’ with well known restaurants such as the one selling the best fish congee in town – I could not remember its name – at the corner of Hàm Nghi and Tôn Thất Đạm streets near the Directorate General of Treasury. In this neighborhood you

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also found Chí Tài and Tài Nam restaurants. The famous Thiên Nam restaurant at the corner of Hàm Nghi and Công Lý streets – which still exists today – offered Chinese and European foods.

On Võ Di Nguy street there was Le Mekong restaurant, while on Tự Do street we found Brodard, Givral, La Pagode. Opposite the Rex movie theater, on the Eden building side there was a woman of northern accent selling first class ‘bú n oc’ (rice vermicelli and snail soup). You could find good ‘pate chaud’ at Nguyễn Thị Trước restaurant or Givral Café. Lê Lợi Blvd had Pole Nord, Bạch Đằng ice cream, Thanh Thế and Thanh Bạch restaurants selling first rate ‘bú n suông’. If you preferred a simple Vietnamese lunch, you could get it at Bà Cả Đọ i’s.

You could spend the night dancing at Bong Lai or Olympia or have deep fried noodle at Phó Đức Chính street next to Chú Hỏa villa. If you preferred northern dishes, you just went to the Pasteur little alley leading to the various stalls behind the Casino movie theater. Then on Pasteur street was the famous Viễn Đông shop selling sugar cane juice, and in front of it on the sidewalk, a Chinese man with his stall offered spicy pork entrails.

Oh, too much digression since I got carried away by the thought of so many culinary delights. I must return now to our main subject.

What I am going to tell now had happened 40 years ago. As I am about to cross over the 70 years old threshold, I do not trust my memory well, so Anh Thư please correct me for any inaccuracy. I solely rely on you since you are the only witness left of what had happened.

In fact the incident was actually not so nice with respect to the IDB or rather the Big Boss, and every time I thought about it I felt embarrassed.

Do you still remember? Probably by the end of 1974, our Boss organized a year‐end party at his villa on Kỳ Đồng street and all IDB employees were invited.

This was the first, the only one, and also the last party of all employees, if I remember correctly. At that time, it was very rare to have a party for all employees. Most of the time, the party was for big shots only, but that year, it was an exception, the party including big and little guys was so crowded and lively.

Little guys like us – Trần Bình Minh, you, Bông and me – retreated to a little quiet corner outside the view of other people so that we could mess around. I remember during that evening, wine and spirits were served. After a few rounds of drink, the men were more talkative and cheerful, no longer looking grave and serious as when they sit behind their office desk. It seemed that everyone relived

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his/her childhood life and became playful. Suddenly Minh intensely looked at me and challenged:

‐ “Hey Bà , do you dare stealing this grapefruit and bring it to the office tomorrow?”

‐ “Of course, I sure do”, I immediately answered.

Bông and I we were so different in character: she was demure and tactful, while I was impetuous and playful, but we were very close friends, always together in work or play. That evening we were sitting next to each other, but Minh had keen eyes and it was me that he chose to challenge.

Since I already showed off my audacity, I gathered all my inner strength, furtively looked around, and trembling inside but still awkwardly managed to complete my mission. The next day, remembering what had happened last night, I realized how stupid I had been: if I had been caught red handed …oh my God …

I could not bear with continuing the thought.

That prank – which was really stupid at that time – has now become a sweet memory. We were so ‘innocent’ weren’t we?

40 years have passed, but it still remains in our memory and every time we reminisce about it, we can’t help smiling.

Among the 4 four of us, Minh and Bông are gone forever, and you and I are thousands of miles apart. Other IDBers are dispersed among the 4 or 5 continents – I am not sure if there is anyone in Africa. Luckily in the Bay area in California, the leader of the pack has settled there together with some other IDBers.

Therefore every year we still have big or small reunions, mostly at the Boss‘ home in San Francisco, to reminisce about the past, discuss the future, and they all have the effect of warming up our hearts remembering the good old time. I hope you will be able to fill in the gaps for me.

Thanks,

Hoàng Huyền

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4. HOÀNG ĐỨC NHÃ, Oklahoma State University, University of Pittsburgh

Hoàng Đức Nhã’s family and his son Hoàng Đức Phú’s family (2016 Rome Prize Winner)

A defining moment

A popular saying claims that your success in life is due in a small part to what you know and for the most part to whom you know and the opportunity they give you. It was true in my case.

I came back to Saigon with my BS in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University at the end of January 1965, after three years of study. Like most Leadership scholarship holders at the time I tried to “overstay” and do my Masters but was ordered to come back to work at the Directorate General of Telecommunications, an agency of the Ministry of Interior. The US Government had set up a modern telecommunications system for the Vietnamese government to link all the provinces and to monitor communications in the country, and the Saigon USAID Mission wanted to have a US‐trained electrical engineer to work alongside the US team. Little did I know that the service was in a way the precursor of Viet Nam’s National Security Agency.

It was a most interesting work in a trying time, flying to the provinces and remote outposts at a moment’s notice with the team, but in the process, learning the culture, norms and fads, and most importantly, the food, of the area. However, the hardship gradually set in because four days a week I had to go by Vespa from my apartment in the Chợ Quán area, one block from the headquarters of the US Military Assistance Command Viet Nam (MACV), to the Technical Center of the

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Directorate General, located just outside the ARVN Thủ Đức Infantry Academy, a distance of around 25 miles, each way.

In those days the Saigon ‐ Biên Hòa Highway was always clogged with US and Vietnamese military traffic and lots of little cars and motorcycles. The diesel fumes from the military vehicles did a number on my clothes, not to mention my facial features, so much so that I had a hard time convincing the parents of my future wife that I am a Vietnamese and not a Filipino!

I recall that during a 1966 trip home to Nha Trang to spend Tết with my mother I bumped into Từ Văn Minh, a fellow Leadership scholarship holder as well as a fellow resident of Nha Trang. At the time Minh was working in the Credit Service of the Industrial Development Center IDC (Trung Tâm Khuếch Trương Kỹ Nghệ) under the leadership of Director General Khương Hữu Điểu.

Minh must have taken pity on me after hearing what I was doing in the service of the Government and asked me to check out the IDC and get an appointment with Director General Điểu. I did just that a few weeks after the Tết holidays.

The first meeting with our Boss went unexpectedly well because after a mere 30 minutes of me telling him about my work and my wish for bigger challenges he just said “when can you start”. I think that Từ Văn Minh must have sold him a ton of goods about me beforehand! But I still hang on to my belief that the Director General had thought that he could safely give me an opportunity and see how I would seize on it.

Shortly after that I joined IDC as a Project engineer in the Productivity Service (Sở Năng Suất), working alongside other US‐trained engineers as well as those trained at our Phú Thọ Polytechnic School, Canadian and Australian universities.

Every Monday all the engineers would have a staff meeting with the Boss in which we discussed the projects we were working on. The Boss would challenge us on our project assumptions and methodology, and he would always listen to our arguments on the projects’ economic viability and social impact on the locality where the project was going to be implemented. He would have very insightful comments, especially with regards to those social and cultural issues that might hinder the project realization as well as the tangible and intangible benefits that the project would bring to the people in the area. In a way he made us aware of the critical importance of those issues so that we could have a well

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thought out project rationale and well modeled project economics before it could be submitted to him and the Board for approval.

Many a times I would argue with him because I thought I had a good rationale, good facts and a sound project plan with attractive financials. He would always agree when he saw that my analysis was sound and would give me the benefits of the doubt.

I had a wonderful time working in that environment and was thrilled to be working for a manager who was willing to not only give his staff the opportunity to succeed but also to provide the necessary inputs for us to keep improving.

Six months into the job I was told by our Boss that he had decided to second Nguyễn Đức Cường and me to work in the office of then Minister of Economy Âu Trường Thanh at the latter’s request for US‐trained personnel from IDC. Minister Thanh knew that the Director General of IDC had a pretty well stocked stable of racing horses or fighting roosters as he would lovingly call us.

Neither Cường nor I knew Minister Thanh nor did we know what in the world we would be doing at the Ministry of Economy. I could see that I was going to miss the working environment and the camaraderie at IDC, and especially those shoot‐the‐breeze sessions among us during and after work. Little did I know that the new assignment at the Ministry of Economy would be the defining moment in my career and service to the Government.

I owe a big debt of gratitude to big brother Khương Hữu Điểu for giving me the opportunity to serve the country at a different level.

At the Ministry of Economy Cường worked on US economic assistance programs with experts from the US Embassy and USAID, and the lessons and experience he accumulated in that assignment would prove valuable when later he became South Viet Nam’s Minister for Commerce and Industry.

I ended up working for a Professor of the Faculty of Law who was advising Minister Thanh on macroeconomic policy that South Viet Nam needed to implement a bold development program. At the time I barely understood economics – you see, engineers did not have to study Economics 101 in college ‐ let alone macroeconomics!

Upon the resignation of Minister Thanh, Cường went back to IDC and I somehow got a 4‐month training scholarship on Management of Economic

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Development Projects. So, off I went to the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), University of Pittsburg, in late April 1967, one month after I got married.

One day at GSPIA I attended a seminar on econometrics featuring among others the Dutch Professor Jan Timbergen who later was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1969. I was thrilled to have further discussions with Professor Timbergen after the seminar and would later reflect on that encounter as the singular event that got me interested in macroeconomic modeling and economic policy, and how governments would need to control the key variables of Targets and Instruments in order to have a rational and feasible economic development policy.

On the way home after the training at GSPIA in late August 1967 somehow I got a two‐week on‐the‐job training at Puerto Rico’s Export Processing Zone in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

When I rejoined IDC in mid‐September 1967 I had hoped to be the given the assignment to map out the plan for Viet Nam’s Export Processing Zone. I was going to lobby big brother Khương Hữu Điểu for that assignment.

However, whether it was fate or luck, I joined President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu’s brain trust soon after he took the oath as the first President of South Viet Nam’s Second Republic in October 1967.

As an expert (chuyên viên) in that office I had the opportunity to put into use what I had learned at GSPIA to help develop a number of economic strategies and plans, chief among them were the reduction of economic and social inequity through the Land To The Tiller program coupled with the Agricultural Production Acceleration and the sound economic development through a market economy.

My career and service to the Government took another route when I was promoted to the post of Special Secretary (Bí Thư) to the President after 1968 the Tết Mậu Thân offensive and later Cabinet Minister of Mass Mobilization & Open Arms, assignments that would take me completely out of the engineering field and economic development promised land.

However, as the Bí Thư to the President and later a member of the Cabinet I continued to be the strong advocate and at times, the change agent for the implementation of those economic and agricultural development policies I had helped formulate.

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Later on, in my work at three big US corporations and after retirement, as the CEO of my own company, I was able to still use what I had learned at GSPIA. The defining moment and the benefits I had garnered from that would never have happened if Big Brother Khuong Hữu Điểu had not given me the opportunity that would become the career and life changer for me.

Hoàng Đức Nhã

5. NGUYỄN ĐỨC CƯỜNG, MIT

Why we had to work in the dark and waddle in ankle‐high water

I joined the Industrial Development Center (IDC) in July 1965, fresh off the Pan Am jet, and just 4 months after the first US combat troops landed in Da Nang.

My direct boss was Mr. Lãng, an amiable old man with the title of Chief of Sở Năng Xuất aka Productivity Section Head. My big boss was Mr. Điểu, sometimes known as Mr. God, depending on where you stand and what language you speak.

However, that was the least of my concern. Having a weekly meeting with the big boss was also the least of my worries. What I was somewhat unprepared

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for was that I had to work in candle light for a few hours a day, and waddle to the back door of the building in ankle‐high water following a heavy downpour

I was told there was not enough power for the whole city. The utility company had to resort to rationing by rotation. I talked with Tô Ngọc Sử, a civil engineer and Nguyễn Đăng Khôi, an electrical engineer, to see what we could do about this. They told me our big boss had already talked to the big boss at the electricity company, a certain Mr. Phát. A week or two went by. Power shortage was still the way of life.

I forgot under what circumstances I got to know a US Army engineer, who was happy to meet someone who could speak and understand English. This US Army engineer happened to work for the US Army Corps of Engineers. They were bringing into the country tons and tons of material to set up military camps across the country. He had access to rows and rows of electric generators of all sizes. This friend told me that he could make available to the IDC building a 15KW backup generator on the pretext that it was critical to keep this IDC office running smoothly given its importance within the government hierarchy of things. I accepted this line of argument, worked with Khôi to arrange for the transportation of the generator to the building, managed to get it up and running that same afternoon. However, little did I know that I also needed to keep feeding it with gasoline every other day or we would go back to the dark age again.

Nevertheless, the IDC staff seemed very appreciative that I could resolve the issue of having to work in candle light.

There was nothing I could do about waddling in ankle‐high water after a heavy down pour. The IDC was in the process of building a three‐story (or maybe five‐story?) extension in the back; the contractor was digging the foundation, and we were in the middle of the rainy season. Following a heavy downpour, the backyard of the IDC building would fill up with water. You had no choice but to waddle through ankle‐high water if you wanted to exit by the back door. The situation resolved by itself as the contractor completed his foundation work and the dry season began.

August 2015

Tomorrow, tomorrow … the sun will come out tomorrow

Barbra Streisand’s rendition of “Tomorrow” is among my favorites. I could not get over the way she ended the song. No wonder it topped the chart in 1978.

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When I joined IDC in July 1965, my expectation was that I would work there for a long while, and that my long‐term career pretty much would be tied to the long‐ term future of IDC. Tomorrow was not in my vocabulary to be included with my overall scheme of things.

Little did I know, many years later, that I was totally wrong on both counts.

“Tomorrow…tomorrow”… some forty years later, at one of those gatherings at Khương Hữu Điểu’s house in San Francisco, I finally made the connection between “Tomorrow” Mr. Điểu and my personal life. He told me that thanks to him I was able to proceed with the wedding and marry my future wife. I had no idea that he had known my future father‐in‐law since the early 50’s. My father‐in‐ law had some misgivings about the marriage so he asked Khương Hữu Điểu for his opinion about me since I was working at IDC. His daughter would have to leave her comfortable life in New York City, a good job with Pan American Airlines, return to a country at war, live in Saigon in the middle of the Mậu Thân offensive, marry a guy who speaks with a Northern accent, and who was about to get drafted. However, Điểu told me he did put in some good words for me and our wedding went forward as planned. We got married in the summer of 1968, at the height of the second round of the Mậu Thân offensive. We had to learn fast how to duck SAM rockets.

Since we did not have “ông Mai” to introduce us as per our custom, Điểu in effect was our “Mr. Tomorrow” or “ông Mai” and he would not let me forget that.

Of course, I have no way of verifying what actually was exchanged between my father‐in‐law and Mr. Tomorrow.

In our culture, ông Mai normally is entitled to a “heo quay” as rewards for his service. In my case, the ông Mai has been rewarding himself with his own “heo quay” every time the IDB’ers get together at his place, quite an unexpected side benefit for me and my wife, some forty seven years later.

October 2015

From a one‐year stint…

I had been working as a project engineer at IDC for about one year when one single event ended my career at IDC for good. Khương Hữu Điểu had accepted the position of Vice Minister for Commerce under Minister of Economy Âu Trường Thanh and he needed staff at the ministry. So he asked some of us to join him, among them Trần Văn Khởi, Hoàng Đức Nhã, and myself. I decided to say

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good bye to project engineering and hello to economics, although I had no idea of what I was getting into.

The upshot was my career with IDC was over after about one year, but my relationship with IDC continued on, to this day.

Minister Au Truong Thanh lasted about 10 months. Khuong Huu Dieu returned to his old job at IDC, but left me there at the ministry on special assignment while allowing me to draw IDC salaries. The new minister Truong Thai Ton also needed staff, especially someone who could speak English and work with the USAID people. The Americans were at the height of a massive military build up in Vietnam.

Minister Trương Thái Toôn sent me to attend an international conference in New Delhi called UNCTAD, held during the Tết period of 1968. The top brass wanted to stay home to celebrate Tết and sent a golfer to attend the conference.

Instead of a two‐week trip, it turned out to be a three‐month long trip. No government official was allowed to leave the country during the Tết offensive.

A few months later, Minister Trương Thái Tôn quit and was replaced by Âu Ngọc Hồ, who lasted about 10 months. Âu Ngọc Hồ was replaced by Phạm Kim Ngọc, who eventually became the longest serving minister of economy in the history of the republic.

Throughout all those changes, IDC continued to pay my salary until 1971.

They also gave me the use of an appartment at Cư Xá Lò Heo (mine was next to Lâm Hổ’s I recall), until Hà Xuân Trừng, when he was Minister of Finance, granted me the use of an apartment at Cư Xá Đoàn Thị Điểm in 1971. Mine was in the same compound as Nguyễn Hải Bình, Vũ Đình Thịnh, and Trịnh Quang Bình. I still keep in touch with all those guys although they are scattered all over the place.

How little did I know than a one‐year stint at IDC would turn into a fifty‐ year relationship but no career. Today, some fifty years after that first meeting in July 1965, and some ten thousand miles away from the location where we first met, the relationship with my Big Boss, also known as my Mr. Tomorrow, continues on.

We are still able to get together and share a good laugh.

Nguyễn Đức Cường San Jose, March 9, 2016

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6. The late John PHẠM TIẾN NAM, Saigon Technical University, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand

Nam, first from left Nam in the middle of the photo

Old stories revealed only today [2013]

I. THE TUESDAY MEETINGS

The meetings unfailingly started very early in the morning. Anybody who came after 7:00 AM was barred from attending. They were held on the initiative of Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, the Director General, who left it to the Bank’s staff members to take turn and make presentations on a topic of their choice. For that very reason, the presentations touched on a wide range of issues and were usually quite interesting. The speakers had a whole month to prepare extensively for it, yet they all felt tense and anxious especially while listening to the Director General give his final evaluation and comments.

The surprising thing was that while doing so, the Director General was always able to point to both sides of the issue as well as to any inconsistency in the arguments offered by the speakers. All the while, everybody in the audience knew he was not briefed beforehand on the details of the presentations. His voice typically sounded very loud giving the listeners the impression that he was admonishing the speakers. I, however, took it differently. The way I see it, when you make a presentation and have somebody comment on the various angles of the topic under discussion or the discrepancy in your logic then I would consider it constructive criticism not a reprimand.

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Having a good grasp of the objectives the Director General intended to achieve in those presentations, I decided to do mine on the topic “The exploration and exploitation of oil” and I succeeded in capturing the attention of the listeners.

Though it was “an old story being rehashed” I provided a comprehensive summary of the subject matter and referred the audience to the drawings, graphs – and most importantly photographs ‐ to support the points being presented in each subsection.

My speech was followed by a 20‐minute period for Q&A (questions and answers). However, this time my colleague Nguyễn Đức Cao did not raise any questions as it was often the case. The Director General, in particular, simply nodded in approval. It was not until I was appointed Chief of the construction site of the new Bank office building that I came to appreciate the full meaning of that “gentle nod.”

II. LOAN TEAM B

I joined the Bank around September, 1973 and was assigned to Loan Team B. My main duty consisted of calculating the construction costs of industrial plants so that the other team members could decide on the loan amounts and preferential interest rates for specific projects in order to promote the country’s industrial development.

At first, I worked with Loan Team B. Later on, the other teams also faced the same need leading me to work out a standard table of building costs to allow the Directors of the other loan teams to also determine the loan amounts accordingly.

III. ANCIENT VESTIGES – THE BETEL SPIT MARKS

At this point, I would like to remind the readers that the Director General emphatically looked for accuracy, competence, and concrete results from the people who worked with him. It was that thought that motivated me in my later works.

As I recalled it, around September 1972, I still worked with Loan Team B when anh Minh, the Team Director, sent me to Điện Bàn in Quảng Nam Province, 19km from Đà Nẵng, in order to evaluate the costs of fixed assets of an ice‐making factory. Upon arrival, I was greeted by anh Trần Mạnh Hiệp, the Director of the Bank’s Đà Nẵng Branch. I suggested that he went along with me to the plant in

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Điện Bàn the next morning. However, anh Hiệp declined saying he had some family matters to attend to and offered to have a chauffeur drive me to the site.

Early in the morning, the chauffeur showed up but also tried to excuse himself with the same pretext. Totally surprised, I asked: ‐ Why! Are you scared? I’m going with you, why such reluctance?

Eventually he agreed to come along. After driving 8 km on the road, we came upon an earthen mound put there by “the other side” to block the way. The chauffeur said: ‐ Anh Nam, the road is blocked we cannot go any further.

I insisted: ‐ Just follow the old tire tracks and go around that earthen mound.

Seeing my determination, the driver plucked up his courage and sped around the earthen mound. We arrived at destination several kilometers later.

The Director of the ice‐making factory met us at the site and showed me the documents pertaining to the plant buildings as well as their estimated costs. After I pored over the documents I was satisfied that they were all in order matching those in the file at the Bank. I congratulated the owner and assured him I would report it to my superiors so that the Bank could approve the loan amount he needed.

Before leaving, I invited the plant owner to take a photograph with me in front of his factory to show the Bank that I have actually visited the site. I took him by the arm to walk him to the gate. As we approached, I noticed some reluctance on his part and tried to reassure him: ‐ You have been very honest and everything checked out. I have verified it with you. Why do you still show such reservation?

After some hesitation, he eventually joined me for the photograph. I noticed several dark spots on the ground I assumed to be chewed betel quids left there by the careless peasants and avoided to step on them as I got ready for the camera.

We took leave of the place as soon as the photo session was over.

On the way back, the earthen mound was gone. Several kilometers after we drove past the spot, my driver opened up: ‐ Do you know why the Director of the plant was so reluctant to take the photo with you near the gate? The “betel quids” you saw were actually blood stains of the victims who were executed earlier this morning and people did not have the time to wash them away yet!

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I told this story so that, for a brief moment, it would revive in our minds painful memories of the tragic war in recent past.

IV. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW BANK OFFICE BUILDING DURING WAR TIME.

Around mid 1974 I was appointed Chief of the construction site of the Bank’s new main office building on 4 Thái Lập Thành Street. This assignment came to me in complete surprise because as a new expert of the Bank I did not expect to be promoted to a rank equivalent to Chief of Service. In the Vietnam of 1974, it was rare to see a 27 year‐old young man like me hold such a position.

Was this the gracious manner the Director General chose to reward me for the way I conducted the weekly presentation when I was still a staff member of Loan Team B?

V. THE LIGHTNING INQUIRIES OF THE ENGINEER IN MISSILERY FROM MIT

It was during the weekly interdepartmental meetings for the construction of the Bank’s new main office building that the demanding work ethics of the Director General became most apparent and inspiring. Just one example:

One day, during a visit to the construction site, the Director General, like usual, headed straight to my office. He stopped just long enough to say “Hello” then walked briskly toward the fence. Being used to his work habits, I did not wait for his orders but immediately followed two steps behind him. Once at the fence, he inquired: ‐ How long ago was this fence put up? ‐ If somebody threw a stone from the other side, how much force can it withstand? ‐ How long is the perimeter of this fence? ‐ When was the work on this fence completed? Etc. etc…

And I must answer him as fast as his questions came. Afterward, he quickly headed toward the piling machine, then again, in rapid succession, asked: ‐ How many piles do we have here? ‐ Since when? When will the job be done with? ‐ How many can you do a day? ‐ How long does it take to finish each one? Etc. etc…

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His questions came at a dizzying speed and I had to give him an answer right on the spot. His preferred method was to use the last answer I gave to verify, cross check the previous ones. As soon as he was done with his questions, he turned around and left for his office in complete silence. It seemed as if his mind was totally absorbed with work. I learned a lot from his management style especially his way of posing questions.

He did not waste any time to walk back to his car and I followed closely behind to the gate of the construction site constantly at the ready for any additional rapid‐fire questions!

VI. PRECISE AND SCIENTIFIC

The two most renowned architects of the time were MM Huỳnh Kim Mãng and Lê Văn Lắm. The Director General entrusted them with the construction of the new Bank’s office building. During their weekly meetings, time and again, he demanded that they provide him with the full technical details of the building materials under discussion. For instance, when referring to the colors of the glasses, he would not be satisfied with the vague description of dark brown, shellac or reddish brown… what he was looking for was the color code and technical specifications of their manufacturing process.

VII. ROOFTOP GAZEBO

On another occasion, architects Hùng and Mãng designed a rooftop gazebo and the Director General asked the two: ‐ Is there any chance for rainwater to splash? ‐ No, I guarantee it won’t happen. ‐ What makes you so sure it won’t splash?

The two architects were left speechless. He then turned to me and said: ‐ Go back to your office to find out if this is the case or not.

At first, I felt dumbfounded at his order but had to find an answer to his question. The design showed that the rooftop gazebo faced South. When I looked into the statistical yearbook I learned that the rain volume was the lowest in the South and the speed of the wind was also the weakest. After I input those numbers into the formulas to compute the horizontal thrust of the wind on the raindrops I was able to come up with a table showing that each year only 10% of the time the rainwater would splash more than 3 meters sideway.

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After he carefully examined my report, the Director General smiled and told the architects: ‐ You assured me that there wouldn’t be any splashing of the rainwater but couldn’t substantiate it. However, you’re right. I approve the design.

VIII. FAIRNESS

During my time at the Bank, I discovered that the Director General and I shared the same sense of fairness. We did not want to see anybody being shortchanged.

While reviewing the bids for the fence, a minor job at the construction site, I saw that the contractor Phạm Văn Hoán submitted an offer that was 20% below that of the second lowest bidder. In principle, according to the rules, he won the bid. Nevertheless, I was afraid he would not be able to do a good job due to lack of funds so I asked him to come and explain to me how he could submit such a low bid. He explained he had a warehouse full of unused iron bars and needed a project to use up his surplus stock and recuperate his capital. I knew that during that time, many contractors faced the same situation but still asked for the address of his warehouse. Unannounced, I paid a visit to the place. I verified to my satisfaction that Mr. Hoán was the real owner then inspected the quality and quantity of the iron bars. Using the current market price of the iron bars I came up with a new cost amount for the job and recommended that the Bank adjust Mr. Hoán’s bid to an amount that was still the lowest bid. To my utmost surprise, my recommendation was approved by the Bank’s Management Board without much ado or request for clarification.

IX. “WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME TO HAVE A PEEK AT IT TOO?”

At the construction site I worked with engineer Ngô Đức Chiến and architect Quách Văn Hà. The Director General frequently dropped by to keep abreast of the construction works. One day, when the three of us were intensely peering at the PlayBoy Magazine the Director General unexpectedly showed up.

Understandably we were caught red‐handed with the compromising evidence still lying conspicuously on the table. On seeing it the Director General slammed his fist on the table with a loud “bang” and said in a thunderous voice: ‐ Your first offence is that you’re reading this during working hour. Do you realize that it’s now working hour? The second is you didn’t call me to have a peek at it too!!!

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oOo

Did it really happen that way? Everybody knew that the Director General is a very strict person! In later years, in October, 2013, I had the chance to see him on the occasion of his 83rd birthday. While listening to me recounting the above anecdote, his first reaction was total disbelief. He looked perplexed, trying his best to verify in his mind if what I had said did take place. The rest of the group showed extreme consternation for they all knew how strict a person he is.

Well, it turned out that Nam only “dreamt up” that humorous tale in order to relax after tense hours at work

7. LÊ TRỌNG MƯU, Colorado State University

Escape from Viet Nam

With the fall of Ban Mê Thuột city to communist troops in March 1975, an atmosphere of pessimism prevailed our daily life. The news of communist taking over Phnom Penh, Cambodia made it worse. I tried to contact my college friends in Pnom Penh without any success. Bad news came daily with the fall of one city after another in Viet Nam. Pleiku, Huế, Đà Nẵng, Qui Nhơn and Nha Trang one by one fell into the hands of communist troops.

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We tried desperately looking for ways to get out of Viet Nam. A few people that we knew had left Saigon discretely one by one. We were given leads which hopefully could help us, but nothing materialized. Communist troops continued moving south toward Saigon, bad news came daily. Concerned about the communist shelling of the city, we built a bunker with several hundred sand bags right in our living room so that we could use it as shelter. Bác Nguyễn Đăng Khôi, my good friend since high school, and I continued looking for ways to get out of Viet Nam. Since we were government employees and we were in the draft age, we could be arrested by the government if we leave. In fact, one of our friends, a former Minister of Economic Affairs, was arrested when he tried to leave Viet Nam. Both Bác Khôi and I worked closely with the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Embassy; we were promised that they would help us to get out. Since I was in charge of the Saigon Export Processing Zone Authority, USAID said that if I left early, chaos would happen to the organization.

They told me to wait and they would get me and my family out later.

On April 28, I got the news that the US Embassy would help us to leave the following day. But the communists heavily shelled the Tân Sơn Nhất airport in the evening of April 28 making it no longer usable by air planes. Early morning of April 29, streets of Saigon were empty since the government imposed a curfew throughout the city. Bác Khôi and I had a special permit, so we went to the US Embassy Commercial Attaché’s office. The office was nearly deserted; fortunately the Commercial Attaché was still there. He told us to go to a house on Đoàn Công Bửu Street, and the US Embassy would arrange to fly us out. Bác Khôi and I went home, picked up our two families and went to this house. I sent my driver and my car home, but Bác Khôi kept his car.

When we entered the house on Đoàn Công Bửu Street, my face turned white and for the first time it dawned on me that this was the end of the Republic of Viet Nam. Waiting in the house were about fifty high ranking government officials, senators, congressmen and generals. With so many VIPs here, is there anyone left in the government to run the country and to defend Viet Nam from the communists? We waited and talked with a few people and learned that the US Embassy would send buses to this house around noon to pick us up.

Noon time, nothing happened. One o’clock nothing happened. At two o’clock we heard helicopters flying overhead picking people from designated locations.

Three o’clock, still no bus. At four o’clock Bác Khôi got a phone call from the US Embassy saying that the plan fell apart; we should go to the port and jump on anything that floats!

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Our two families crammed in Bác Khôi’s car and drove to the Port of Saigon.

The streets were chaotic, with military vehicles, civilian cars, scooters, cyclos and people walking, driving aimlessly in all directions. The entry gate to the Port of Saigon was locked, guarded by soldiers. A soldier slammed the gun on the hood of our car, refusing to let us in. I went down, humbly talked with the soldier that the Deputy Minister of Industry (Bác Khôi) was in the car and begged him to let us in.

The soldier reluctantly opened the gate to let our car in.

The Port of Saigon was chaotic with thousands of people pushing, shoving. I was really scared since a few weeks earlier a similar scene happened in the Port of Đà Nẵng, and a lot of people were crushed, trampled on and died. We wandered around and found a barge nearby, and people were clambering, trying to get on.

This was a large barge, tall as a three‐story house, that was used to transport ammunition on the Mekong River to Cambodia. There were rope ladders hanging on the side of the barge. Bác Khôi’s family who were all adults climbed on the barge. I helped Tina (four years old) and Lou (two years old) climb the rope ladder into the barge. At that moment, the barge pulled off, and my wife and my mother were still on shore. Bác Khôi quickly jumped down from the barge trying to help my wife and my mother, but the barge kept on pulling off, leaving Bac Khoi, my wife and my mother ashore at the port. On the barge were Bác Khôi’s wife, parents, brother and sisters, Tina, Lou and me. We were numb!

The barge continued to float down the ship channel. On the barge were more than 300 people, shell shocked. It was raining and there was no cover. Bác Khôi’s sisters helped Tina and Lou, keeping them comfortable. Tina and Lou each had a small back pack, with the Guigoz powdered milk, that was their food to survive on. The adults were hungry, without food. Tina and Lou asked about Mommy. I had to tell them a lie, saying that we used to go to the Vũng Tầu beach by car, but this time we are going by boat.

The barge passed the city of Vũng Tầu the next morning and continued going offshore. People on the barge were confused, fearful and wondering what would happen to us. There were rumors that during the night when the barge sailed down the Saigon River, there were communists who jumped onto the barge and the boats of the U.S. Seventh Fleet would not pick us up because of the communists. The barge moved around aimlessly, back and forth. Rain fell intermittently. Another night of fear and despair. On the third day, the barge was finally allowed to approach a boat chartered by the US Navy and we were allowed to get on the boat which I vaguely recalled was named Sgt. Miller. As we left the barge, we heard that the Republic of Viet Nam had surrendered to the communists. Tears were in our eyes, our beloved country was lost.

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One by one we climbed on the Sgt. Miller. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Bác Khôi, my wife and my mother already on the Sgt. Miller, meeting us. It was a miracle, God saved us! I am forever grateful to Bác Khôi for his kindness and heroic act when he jumped down from the barge to help my wife and my mother. Later, we learned that the barge which I was on was next to the last one, and the one which Bác Khôi and my wife and my mother got on was the very last barge.

The Sgt. Miller must have picked up several thousand people. There was only room for standing or squatting on the floor, but there was no room to lie down. When we were on the barge I told Tina that when we get picked up by the US boat, we will have our own cabin like on a cruise ship! Looking back I could not resist laughing at my naivety.

Three days later the ship arrived at the Subic Bay in the Philippines. We stayed at the US Navy Facilities for a couple days, then got on a US military plane and flew to Wake Island. After one month, we were flown to Camp Pendleton in California. We stayed in military tents on the hill, with military cots. When Tina saw this facility, she said that this is not the U.S. which I described to her, this is the nanny’s home in the rural area.

One day Jim Grattan from San Clemente visited the Camp Pendleton refugees and kindly accepted to sponsor us. Jim, Jan, Sean and Brian brought us to their home and provided everything for us. Their neighbor, Jim and Lynn Avery also joined the Jim Grattan family to sponsor us.

After three weeks my wife, who was a former employee of Esso in Viet Nam, found a job with Exxon in Houston and we moved to Houston. Exxon was very kind, they let us stay at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston when we first arrived. Since we lost everything during the escape from Viet Nam, all we had was a card board box containing a few clothes that we got from Goodwill in California.

Must have been quite a contrast between our card board box property and the luxury of the five star hotel.

Before we left Viet Nam, I packed one business suit in the hand bag to wear when I went for job interviews in the US. During the chaotic escape, I lost the hand bag. Therefore as a typical refugee to the US, I came with the Goodwill clothes on me.

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It has been forty years, I am grateful for God’s blessing to our family, for the kindness of all the people in the US who opened their arms to welcome us, and for the kindness of our good friends.

Project Engineer

After I joined the Industrial Development Center, I was assigned as a Project Engineer. This title was totally unfamiliar to me. When I was in college, I knew about Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical engineers, but not Project Engineer.

Industries in Viet Nam were in the initial development stage, therefore projects were relatively basic. Feasibility studies for projects in Viet Nam could be typically performed by one person covering market study, technical evaluation, manufacturing process, equipment specifications, capital investment, product cost, profit and lost, and financing options. With a major in electrical engineering, I focused solely on technical aspects and innovations; therefore I was surprised by the relative “low tech” industry projects in Viet Nam. This was a shortcoming on my part, with a lack of transition from theories in universities to the reality of industries, in particular the developmental stage of industries in Viet Nam. Gradually I learned to accept reality and made the best of the situation.

After graduation from MIT, Anh Điêu worked at Ebasco, a well‐known engineering company. With this experience he established the position of Project Engineer in IDC and IDB. After graduation from Colorado State University, I did not have the opportunity to work in the U. S. industry. However, I was initiated to project engineering at IDC and IDB.

In 1967 the American Management Association sent three specialists to help IDB set up management training for industries. I learned personnel management from Mr. Henry Winter and assisted him in the training program. In college I was only interested in technical aspects of engineering, therefore I felt that personnel management was OK, but not extremely interesting.

In 1975 I joined the M. W. Kellogg Company. This is the engineering company in charge of technical projects, one of them was the production of heavy water required for the development of atomic bomb in World War II, not the Kellogg cereal company. Looking at my experience with practically no relation to U. S. industries, M. W. Kellogg assigned me as a paper shuffling engineer, pardon me, I mean Administrative Engineer. In 1976. M. W. Kellogg executed a contract

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with Sonatrach worth a billion dollars to design, procure and construct a liquefied natural gas plant in Algeria. The contract was signed in French, and not many people knew French, therefore Bob Wright, one of four project engineers, asked me to help translating the design basis so that engineers can perform the design.

Since Algeria was under the French influence, the technical specifications required that hydraulic design be based on a French law dated back to the time of Napoleon. M. W. Kellogg searched many places in the U. S. but was not able to locate this law. I contacted V. T. Binh, my brother‐in‐law who was a university professor in Lyon, and Binh found for me a copy of this 200 page thick regulation.

The design for the project moved forward; Bob Wright was so happy and he proposed for me to be a project engineer, but M. W. Kellogg was a conservative company, to be a project engineer you need 20 years of experience. So the company assigned me as a Staff Engineer on the project (another engineer title!).

After two years based on my performance, the company promoted me to Project Engineer. From there over the years, I gradually worked as Engineering Manager, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and Program Director managing domestic and international projects for companies such as Exxon, Shell, Chevron, Total, BP, NOVA, Petrobras, Yukong, Aramco, Sinopec, Sonatrach and Westlake.

When I was in high school, I did not like French so my French language was at the “hand to mouth” level. It was impossible for me to imagine that one day French would open the way for my career!

Looking back, little did I know that the two areas which I initially did not like ‐ Project Engineering and Personnel Management ‐ plus the MBA earned in 1979 provided the tools for me to manage mega projects with multitudes of engineers from diversified specialties. When I was in school, I did not enjoy chemistry, but all projects which I managed are for chemicals: liquefied natural gas, ethylene, olefins, methanol, ammonia, and urea, etc. Looks like fate sticks you with what you like the least. The topics of electrical engineering which I spent four years to learn were hardly utilized. Right now, what I remember from electrical engineering is that electricity runs on two wires, sometime three.

Lê Trọng Mưu November 2015

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8. NGUYỄN VĂN CHÂU, Saigon University, University of Southern California

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF VIET‐NAM A dynamic, flexible, and innovative environment

Shortly after graduating from Saigon School of Law in 1966, I began working at the General Directorate of Taxes, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance of Viet‐Nam. There I had a few opportunities to attend free seminars organized by the Industrial Development Center, later renamed as the Industrial Development Bank of Viet‐Nam. I was deeply impressed by one particular seminar in March 1967, the group of lecturers included Professor Denise Nguyễn Phước Dư, Mr. Lâm Hổ, and Mr. Đặng Đức Tự. These speakers were highly sought‐after experts from the Industrial Development Center, but besides giving in‐depth presentations on economics and finance, Lâm Hổ and Đặng Đức Tự were also attentive to the comfort of the audience in attendance: when it became obvious that size of the audience outnumbered the pre‐arranged seating, they took it upon themselves to gather additional chairs from nearby rooms to ensure that there would be sufficient seating for all those who came. Their willingness to just jump in and do the work themselves, eschewing formality, struck me as a sign of their responsiveness and dynamism.

After I returned to my desk at the Directorate of Taxes, I became determined to engineer a plan to join their ranks. I brought up the issue with my boss and he advised that I stick with the Directorate of that I should continue going to the seminars given by the IDC.

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Half a year later, I joined the IDC and saw first hand the stark differences between two agencies within the same government. Perhaps out of necessity, the Directorate of Taxes had become a very formal organization led by aged and respected administrators. In contrast, the IDC was younger and more dynamic and as a member of the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), had ties to other development groups throughout Asia and that helped foster internal and international innovations. There is no doubt that this spirit at IDC was attributable in large part to the leadership of its director, Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu.

Nguyễn Văn Châu

September 15, 2015

9. NGUYỄN DUY TƯỞNG, University of Western Australia

November 2015 (IDC/IDBVN, 1968‐1975)

“Are you talking about national economic development during this devastating war time?” “Yes Sir, I truly am”.

When Mr. Điểu (Khương Hữu) asked his former staff members to contribute something to his Memoir in the form of a special chapter of anecdotes, I was caught by a sweet surprise. It is quite unusual that the big boss asks his former agency’s staff to write something about their life/experience when they worked with him half a century ago. First, and it is almost a consensus, a staff member seldom says a nice thing about his/her former boss, and second, how

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many can remember what should be remembered. Time flied so fast. We were all in the twenties or at most in the thirties, and the youngest ones are now very close to the seventies. However, I supported this idea which would certainly add some special flavors to his Memoir, something I have not seen in other memoirs.

So much for the introduction, my big boss always had some new and innovative ideas, and it seems to me his invested energies in something he cares for are the same, be it now or 50 years ago.

I was a bit hesitant to decide what impacts me most in a short time span of just a little over 7 years I was with him under the same roof of the Industrial Development Center (IDC) and then the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam (IDBVN), and finally I chose his first action/deed that struck me pronouncedly with the memorable lasting effects to all of us staff members of the IDC/IDBVN.

“If you have to prepare the curry chicken dish, please use the regular chickens, and leave the fighting cocks as the last resort”. This was the statement Mr. Điểu addressed the Chairman of the National Mobilization Committee, Brigadier General Bùi Đình Đạm in one of a series of meetings with him to discuss about the call for general mobilization of all after the Communist Tết Mậu Thân Offensive in early 1968. This very statement becomes famous and was the talk of the town, most often mentioned in our gatherings after the signing of a decree by the Prime Minister of Vietnam to specifically state that the “fighting cocks” to be drafted into the army only for a short military training of 9 weeks and upon the completion of the military training would go back to their work places to continue working in projects of national economic development.

Long after this event and even now, some of us may wonder how effective is our boss’ statement to the Chairman of the National Mobilization Committee which led to the exemption of the “cream of the crop” cadres from the general mobilization to enable them to focus on the national economic development right in the war time. But there are few things we are almost certain, one of which is the content of the decree of the Prime Minister which states that (literally translated from the Vietnamese version) “These specialists from the Ministry of National Economy will go back to their own offices after the short military training of 9 weeks because they are of the critical need for the national economy”. This must come from the report of General Bùi Đình Đạm to the Prime Minister because the language sounds familiar: These specialists are the fighting cocks, not the regular chickens, the cream of the crop. How proud we were to see our names mentioned in this exemption list, and how committed we promised ourselves to work for the country to pay back their trust in us, and last but not least how much we owed our boss for his efforts and time to successfully fight for

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us. For those who are not familiar with the structure of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam: Administratively, the Bank belongs to the Ministry of National Economy; financially, it is autonomous; and for professional banking services, it is under the supervision of the National Bank of Vietnam There were more than one reasons that I am exultant to work in the IDC/IDBVN and these reasons, more or less, come from the top leader of the agency himself for his commitment to the development of the country via the development of human resources, the nurture/training of a young generation who is capable of catching up with the more developed countries in the region such as Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan. Under his leadership, IDC/IDBVN was able to recruit many talented graduates from well‐known domestic higher educational institutions as well as from famous universities around the world, notably from the US, Australia, England, France, Canada, Japan, to name just a few.

Many of these graduates were valedictorians of high schools in Vietnam, and scholarship holders to study in the above‐mentioned universities. In an amiable/warm‐hearted sense, it may be somewhat inflated to call them the fighting cocks, the cream of the crop but it is not far from the truth. I believe in this and have always been proud to be a member of the IDC/IDBVN, my only true employer in Vietnam.

Nguyễn Duy Tưởng 2015

10. PHÍ MINH TÂM, MIT

October 2015

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Something to remember about Mr. Khuong Huu Dieu

When Anh Điểu (Mr. Khương) asked me to write some anecdotes to be attached to his memoirs, I hesitated a little because I did not remember much of the past, especially the events before 1975.

Before 1975, Anh Điểu was a superior to most of us. In work, he was demanding, but straight forward, honest and good‐hearted… We respected him as a big brother although we were not close and friendly at that time as we are now.

Almost every time I met Anh Điểu, it was to discuss work or work‐related. As I remember I had not invited him to dinner even one time, given him a present or visited him at his home at 11 Kỳ Đồng Street in Saigon. Not because of that distance, did I feel targeted or mistreated in work. On the contrary, in several occasions, Anh Điểu gave me encouragement, protected me from mistreatment by others, and provided me with ways and means to complete my work… Thanks to his support, I had an opportunity to develop and progress in my professional life.

In each person’s life, meeting, knowing, working with someone is more than a fortunate coincidence. For me that auspicious coincidence happened a second time when, after the 1975 event, I met Anh Điểu again in a job interview in the US. After this fateful meeting, I had many occasions to be closer to Anh Điểu and to understand him more like a friend rather than a boss. In 1981 about 2 months after I set foot in the US from a refugee camp in Malaysia, Bechtel Petroleum Inc., San Francisco granted me a job interview.

At the end of the second interview, Mr. George Triantaphyllos (Manager of Project Engineering) invited me to lunch at an upscale restaurant. After lunch, we returned to Bechtel office where I could wait for the ride to SF airport to fly back to Orange County. When passing by the company library, Mr. Triantaphyllos told me to wait there; he was going to send someone to meet me. After about 10 minute wait, I could not believe my eyes when Anh Điểu walked into the room.

Anh Điểu was as surprised as I. Meeting old acquaintances in a foreign land, needless to say we were joyful and shocked to the core as, a few minutes earlier, none of us could even imagine meeting in such circumstances. We had less than 1 hour to talk. I do no quite remember what I told Anh Điểu but as usual, Anh Điểu advised me how to deal with the new job which gave me the feeling that I had already been accepted to work for Bechtel.

After a couple of days, I received a letter from Bechtel offering me a position as Senior Engineer. The start date was after Labor Day. My wife and I came up to San Francisco a week before Labor Day to search and rent a place to live. It was not easy to rent a decent place for a refugee without good credit in the US. The

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week was almost gone and we could not find a place to live. Fortunately for us, Anh Điểu had a vacant in‐law apartment on the first floor. He told us we could live there until we found another place. From that day on, we lived in a warm home full of love and friendship from Anh Chị Điểu. Each morning, I went to work with Anh Điểu and in the evening, I also came home with him. In almost everything, I received advices and help from Anh Điểu. For that reason, my integration into the new life was quite smooth.

Anh Chị Điểu would not accept rent from us, but allowed us to share only half of the cost of utilities. They advised us to save every month to make a down payment for a house. Although their home was heated by a good working gas heater, our first winter as refugees in the US was really cold. My wife and I bought an electric heater and run it day and night for more comfort. I did not know that the cost of heat from electricity is several times more than from gas.

The electric bill for the December month of that year shot up from below a hundred to a couple of hundred dollars. I immediately understood the cause of the high electric bill and offered to pay that month bill, but Anh Chị Điểu did not agree and accepted only half as agreed. Without any further saying, after that incidence we put on warmer cloths and the electric heater ran more sparingly.

On weekends, the 2 families often shared dinner together. On Saturdays / Sundays, Anh Chị Điểu enjoyed hiking and picnics, leaving home and returning the same day. We almost always joined them in such outings. On holidays with long weekends, we went camping farther from home. Thanks to Anh Chị Điểu, we learned to love nature and found pleasure in living outdoor. Camping outdoor, sometimes in wind and rains, we shopped for fresh produces, cooked and ate together. On sea sides, we steamed clams over Heineken beer. We ate on porcelain settings instead of paper plates. We drank wines in crystal glasses brought from home. I adored Anh Điểu pâté and his cocktail of different fruits marinated in red wine for a few hours. At that time, I was not yet a dedicated vegetarian. Only after I took refuge and Buddhist precepts, did I stop eating meat and drinking alcohol. I poured down the sink all liquors I had at the time, with the exception of the bottle of Dom Pérignon which I bought earlier for Anh Điểu birthday present. As a Buddhist, I did not regret missing sharing that champagne with Anh Điểu. Nowadays, I only missed Chị Marie salad and dressing.

Anh Điểu commands great respect from adults as we all can witness; however not many know that he also has authority over little kids. In a camping trip on Lake Siskiyou, while the adults were busy setting up tents, my about one year son Tôn was left alone in a play pen. He began to fuss and cry out loud for attention. Seeing that we did not attempt to calm him down, Anh Điểu approached

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the play pen and strangely enough, the kid stopped crying and began to play by himself. We did not know what Anh Điểu told him. Now at 31, Ton still enjoys the story. Last year on Anh Điểu 85th birthday celebration, we were in Florida. Tôn came to wish Bác Điểu happy birthday with a bottle of Italian wine. When I told him about the good time we lived in Anh Chị Điểu home, Tôn came to a simple conclusion: “Bác Điểu helped you buy our house!”

In my life, I have not met anyone with optimism and outlook at events as positive as Anh Điểu. What happened that day and his words are still fresh in my mind. That morning, we were on the bus on the way to work, Anh Điểu suddenly turned to me and said: “He, Tâm! I lost my wallet.” While I was still worrying for him and asked where and when he lost it, he continued calmly: “Thing goes away in place of the owner.” He did not say anything further for the rest of time we got to the office. The next day, again on the bus, Anh Điểu happily told me he found his wallet, which happened to fall under the bed. He considered himself very lucky. To celebrate finding the wallet and more important not losing an irreplaceable memento, a checklist of 16 things to practice for healthy and long life that he cut out of the journal d’Extreme Orient in July 1960, Anh Điểu treated me to lunch.

The apartment we lived in had as previous tenants a young refugee couple.

They had moved out to their new home in the neighborhood. After almost a year, we also decided to move out to make room for another refugee family who were coming. Sometime later we bought a house in Richmond, about one hour drive from Anh Chị Điểu. Although we live in Anh Chị Điểu home less than a year, that time was a very happy time full of laughs and memories. Professional relationship, friendship, family love intertwined to give us a flavored and meaningful life. We are still I contact with Anh Chị Điểu by phone. Sometimes Anh Điểu still wants to know my thinking about certain small events which gives me the feeling that he trusts my sincerity. He asks for a Vietnamese translation of the attached poem, which someone wrote for him.

If the first time I met Anh Điểu in Vietnam was a good beginning for my successful professional career, the first time I met him again in the US has greatly influenced my outlook and life until today.

Phí Minh Tâm October 14, 2016

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11. HÂN HUỲNH, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)

Dec 4, 2015

November 1968 ‐ Freshly returned from New Zealand, I joined the Research and Training Division to promote the application of Training‐Within‐Industry Program, together with Bùi Hồng Cẩm and Lê Quang Long. Little did I know that the whole IDB management training operation became the precursor of the Management Association of Viet Nam and eventually the Viet Nam Management Institute.

1969‐1970 ‐ After being fully trained as an officer for the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam, you took me back to IDB and sent me to APO‐ Low Cost Automation Seminar in Japan to equip me with more industrial development insights. The industrial development needs for Viet Nam were limitless then.

1972 ‐ You directed me to take a delegation of businessmen and industrialists to Taiwan and Japan to learn on site the advanced industrial development practice under the guidance of Asian Productivity Organization.

1973 ‐ You sent me to New Delhi, India to attend the International Business Management conference, as a further enhancement in the development of the Management Association of Viet Nam.

1974 ‐ You assigned me to the Ministry of Trade and Industry to assist Nguyễn Đức Cường and Nguyễn Đăng Khôi in the cabinet office. It was then that I was involved in the creation of the very first Saigon Export Processing Zone

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Authority with Lê Trọng Mưu, and the beginning of the off‐shore exploration in Vietnam with Trần Văn Khởi.

April 1975 ‐ Men proposed but God disposed. We all had to say farewell to arms! I am always very thankful for the advice and opportunities you offered to us, to form us who we became, professionally and personally.

Huỳnh Hữu Hân

12. NGUYỄN HỮU THƯ, Laval University

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Just Some Reminiscences About The Industrial Development Bank Of The Foregone Years

The Director General who came from a famous family in Mỹ Tho was a good‐natured man, but very strict, quick tempered and rarely smiling; when he chastised someone, most young faces standing nearby would have turned green.

Every week on Tuesday – that we called the Dreadful Tuesday – we had to take turn presenting a topic related to our work before the bank leadership and other professionals. After the presentation and discussion, the speaker was evaluated as to his/her knowledge and experiences.

The Director General used to say: “In order to be effective, you should thoroughly understand the industrial sector that you are providing loans to”; for example, if we were lending to the textile and apparel industry, we had to do extensive research on that industry to find out its favorable and unfavorable aspects.

After the presentation, the speaker was faced with questions from the audience, especially from the Director General until he/she provided a satisfactory answer. We usually used the metaphor of a cricket being turned around a few times before a fight to describe the way the speaker was bombarded with questions. The gestures of the speaker were also important: scratching the head or turning the back to the audience were “strongly” criticized. As fresh graduates from college, we were scared of this presentation, since the prospect of being turned around like a cricket with all these questions loomed ahead on each Tuesday.

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We remember a special Tuesday when a colleague addressed the topic “The sugar cane industry in Vietnam” as he was extending loans to some sugar factories. Naturally he was well prepared for the seminar. At the end of the presentation, the Director General said: “I would like to ask you only one question, and your answer will show whether you are on top of everything in this field. Which province in South Vietnam has the highest productivity of sugar cane?” Our colleague gave the wrong answer (he probably said Tây Ninh, but according to the Director General it was Quảng Ngãi at the 1970 period) and he got a good lecture afterwards. Suddenly we remembered that our Big Boss once had been assuming the position of Technical Director of the Hiệp Hòa Sugar Company for some time. The lesson we drew from this incident was to avoid subjects that the Director General knew well. Thus when my Tuesday turn came, I selected the topic “Prospect of oil refinery in Vietnam” since in 1970 there was talk about the possibility of finding oil off the Vietnam shores.

But every time it seemed we were in trouble, there was always help coming from a gentle, soft spoken professional whose name was not so gentle, Lâm Ho, literally translated as “Forest Tiger”. He was the Boss’s deputy and was always ready to intervene with the Boss in our favor to calm down the situation. His title was Deputy Director General, but he actually managed the internal operations of the Bank (commenting on loan applications before submitting them to the Director General, reviewing the hiring of new staff, and especially coordinating the operations of various Services of the Bank), while the Director General took care of external affairs such as meetings with other department heads, with foreign visitors or attending receptions organized by other departments. We rarely met with the Director General, except on that dreadful Tuesday, but had many opportunities to see the Deputy Director General who often showed concern with our work and was always willing to help. He acted as an effective bridge between the employees and the Director General in all the operations of the Bank. There might have been issues that we did not dare discuss with the Director General, but that we could have brought up openly with the Deputy Director General since we often met with him as tennis partners, at wedding parties, other social gatherings, and especially because he was living in the Bank housing complex with us (his condo was opposite to mine).

This is some memory of the past that I would like to share with you.

Nguyễn Hữu Thư

PS. I personally as well as other IDBers always have high respect for the Boss, and thanks to him we have much improved our knowledge and professional skills.

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13. LÂM HỔ, Georgetown University

I arrived at Tân Sơn Nhứt airport on December 8, 1964. I realized there were a lot of changes after being away for almost six years. There were more cars, more motorcycles, and other means of transportation. More hustle bustle than before.

After resting for a few days I contacted The Industrial Development Center (IDC) where I had accepted a position as Financial Analyst in the Credit & Investment Department. IDB’s main mission was to foster industrial development by providing financial assistance at low interest rate and technical know‐how. I reported for work some time before 1964 Christmas. My job was to review applications for term loan financing industrial projects in accordance with IDB’s mission. Most manufacturing plants were mainly in Saigon area, and a few in the provinces.

I occasionally travelled to the provinces visiting the site of factory that applied for financing its expansion programs. The countryside of South Viet‐Nam in the years 1965‐66 was relatively safe in the day time. Most of the trips were one‐day visits. If the visit requires more than one day we would spend the night in the near‐by town.

On one visit my colleague and I failed to show up on time at our designated meeting point with our driver. As sundown drew near, our driver became scared

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and worried. He was supposed to wait for us at the other side of the ferry and to take us to a hotel in the provincial town. Because of the location of the plant our visit took more time than we planned. As a result my colleague, an engineer from the Productivity Department, and I took the last ferry and barely made to the other bank of the river when it became dark. I will never forget our driver’s radiant face when he saw us debarking from the ferry. He intimated to us later that he kept praying that nothing would happen to us knowing the area of our visit was not safe at night. At that time it would take almost a whole day to travel by car from Saigon to Cần Thơ because of traffic jam caused by the crossing of the two ferries – Mỹ Thuận and Vàm Cóng ‐‐ (today replaced by Mỹ Thuận bridge and Cần Thơ bridge).

I first met Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, at our IDC Executive staff meeting in January 1965 when he came to IDC to assume the position of Managing Director from Mr. Bửu Hoan. Mr. Bửu Hoan was then the Managing Director of IDC and just elected Director by our Government to represent Viet‐Nam at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Manila, Philippines.

Like other Section Leaders I was apprehensive about the changes in leadership. Recognizing the situation Mr. Điểu put everyone at ease by introducing himself and sincerely asked everyone for guidance and cooperation.

He then restated IDC’s mission and discussed his ideas and plan of actions to accomplish his goals. He asked us to work hard. He committed to support us and provide necessary assistance in this endeavor. Over the years I believe he continually kept his promise.

Encouraged by his strong leadership and with the guidance of hard working and dedicated advisors including the late Dr. Denis Nguyễn Phước Du we were able to keep the Bank running smoothly especially at the time when Mr. Điểu had added responsibility at the Ministry of Economy. Despite being busy Mr. Điểu often gave me sound advice and suggestions to solve problems in the Bank, very much like a big brother in a large family.

Under his leadership, and after years of relentless efforts, the IDC, established in 1957 with limited scope, had been transformed into a large Industrial Development Bank (IDB) in 1972. IDB continued to grow by strengthening its operations and developed into a real development bank of international standards in 1975.

"Mr Khương Hữu Điểu was instrumental in helping his former senior team members establish basic foundations for a developing economy: Bureau of standards, Investment Service Center, Bureau of Petroleum Exploration, Export

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Processing Center… by providing financial resources, offering encouragement, good leadership and teamwork. Unfortunately events following April 30 ‐ 1975 forced these economic activities to temporarily stop. They subsequently were resumed by current authorities, however, operated under different name. We were proud that all the efforts led by a dedicated group "IDC/IDB alumni" are not futile.

The experiences obtained during those 10 years working closely with Mr. Điểu as deputy helped me later secure a job at JPMorgan where I worked until I retired in 2002.

My wife and I appreciated his attending our daughter’s wedding (one of the happiest days of our life) in 1999. Mr. Điểu (in the company of one of his closest friends, Dr. Hưởn) took the Amtrak train to Chicago (because he hates to fly).

We were also grateful for his memorable speech which drew laughter and applause. After 25 years, Mr. Điểu resumed his role as teacher and mentor (now as an uncle) by providing wise advice to my daughter and her new husband. I would like to quote:

‘Coming from California, I would like the young couple to know that lately the trend of wishing the young couple is this way:

‘‘Satisfaction guarantee. . . . Joint Account. . . . . No refund. . . . No return. . .”

For me, from the old generation, I would like to wish Thanh Phương and Tony the old fashion way from South Viet Nam, I wish you:

“Đồng vợ đồng chồng tát Biển Đông cũng cạn”

That is in English:

‘A couple in harmony can empty the South China Sea.’

Lâm Hổ

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14. NGUYỄN ĐĂNG KHÔI, Purdue University(1963), Stanford University (1965)

How Meeting “Mr. God” Changed My Career

My career at IDB started purely by chance. It was April 1965 and I had just finished my Master Degree in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. The Ministry of Education, citing urgent national priority, ordered me to return to Vietnam immediately to teach at the Phú Thọ National Technical Center. To help prepare me for the job, it was arranged for me to stopover at the University of the Philippines in Manila to visit their Engineering School. It appeared that the course of my life was set for a teaching career, with the goal of training much needed engineers for a budding nation. It was an important mission, and I was ready to give it my best.

With a sense of urgency, I immediately reported for work at the Electrical Engineering School at the National Technical Center in Saigon. But things did not turn out the way I had expected. Not only the School knew nothing about my “assignment” there, the nonchalant reception from the Director gave no hints of any urgency for my service. I was instructed to fill out a job application then go home and wait; if all went well, I could expect to start my job in about 6 months. I could not believe what I heard, for I did not need a job; I could have continued my study at Stanford and not returning home. I was also told that I was fortunate to have a Baccalaureate Degree (Bằng Tú Tài) before going to study in America,

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because with it my salary would be at the Index of 510. Without it, a Master Degree from America would be paid at the lower Index of 470. I thought that made absolutely no sense, but I was in no mood to find out why.

Leaving the Engineering School, in deep frustration, I went to visit my friend Trần Văn Khởi at the Industrial Development Center (IDC) on Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard. Khởi, along with Lê Trọng Mưu, were 2 of my classmates at Chu Văn An High School who had received the same scholarship to study in America like me, but had returned about a year earlier. After listening to my frustration, he consoled me that most of our friends ran into some sort of disappointment upon returning home. He suggested that I consider joining him at the IDC. At the moment his team was tasked with drafting the specifications for a modern slaughterhouse which would be sent out for international bidding later that year, and they could use my engineering help. He added that normally such job would be contracted to an engineering consulting firm, but his new Director wanted to do it in house. He took me to meet the head of his Productivity Department, Mr. Nguyễn Bá Lãng, a congenial engineer trained in France. With a radiant smile, Mr. Lãng suggested that Khởi take me to meet “Ông Trời” (Mr. God). My friend explained to me that it was the nickname people called the Director, Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, who simply signed his name “Điểu”, which means “God” in the French language. That was how I met “Mr. God”, and that short meeting had changed my career path completely. But more on that later.

I met Mr. Điểu in his modern air‐conditioned office on the second floor. In sharp contrast to my cool reception at the Engineering School, Mr. Điểu, a solid man in the mid thirties, clean cut and dressed in neat business suit, gave me a warm handshake and got right to business. He asked me about my study in America, and then told me he himself had studied Engineering in America, holding a Master Degree from MIT; he had worked at EBASCO, an engineering firm in New York before returning to Vietnam. One of his goals at IDC was to build a team of qualified engineers that could work at the international level. He then proceeded, in rapid‐fire fashion, to tell me about his visit to the Chánh Hưng slaughterhouse and the incredibly unsanitary and inhumane conditions that he saw at this main supplier of meat for the Saigon population. Seeing the urgent need for something better, he quickly sprang into action, secured German funding for the project and was in the process of drafting the engineering requirements for a modern slaughterhouse that would meet international standards. He added, if I wanted to join his team, there would be more projects of this scope and scale, there would be opportunities to work with international engineers and consultants. My salary would be $12,000 a month, and I could start working the

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very next morning. With these last words, he shook my hand as I walked out of his office.

I was blown away by his enthusiasm, straight talk, and no nonsense business style – short, to the point, and ended with a closure, leaving no loose ends hanging. I had little to say; so much happened so fast! Appropriate to his nickname, “Mr. God” exuded a sense of total self‐confidence, total conviction and total control. I mentioned this later as I was leaving the office, Mr. Lãng commented: ‐ “Mr. God” is short on patience but straightforward.

The next day I showed up for work at IDC, without having to fill out a job application. And I never looked back.

Working with a team of engineers under the guidance of Dr. Nguyễn Phước Du, we finished the draft in English of the requirements for a Modern Slaughterhouse (Lò Sát Sinh Tân Tiến) and had it handsomely printed in a format suitable for international bidding. I remembered Trần Văn Khởi and I spent many days poring over the galley proofs to correct typos since the type setters were not familiar with the English language. A Danish company ended up winning the contract to supply and install the equipment. The completed facilities, later named VISSAN, were inaugurated by Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm in 1974.

My 10 year career at the IDC, which later became the Industrial Development Bank (IDB), has taken me from a project engineer in 1965, through many successive steps, to the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1974, representing the Ministry of Trade and Industry. During that time, I had the opportunities to meet, work with, and learn from many talented people, and made quite a few good friends along the way.

The Training Ground that Was IDC/IDB

People often talked about IDC/IDB as a sort of training ground for fighting roosters. In fact, the analogy was a good one. Both process involved selecting candidates with good potentials, trained them, and motivated them to perform at their best. The selection of candidates was given highest priority by Mr. Điểu. He either interviewed and selected the candidates himself or had final approval authority in the recruitment process, at least in the selection of engineering and financial staff. They came from a variety of background, from North Vietnam, Central Vietnam and South Vietnam. They included graduates from Universities in Vietnam as well as prestigious Universities all over the world, from the United

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Kingdom, France, the United States, Canada, as well as from Australia and New Zealand.

From the moment they joined the IDC, everyone was on a growth path. I started my job at the Productivity Department where we received on‐the‐job training, and gained experience through working with consultants from various countries that came to help. First there was Dr. Nguyễn Phước Du, an engineering advisor sent by the French Government, whom we all respected and regarded as our “Teacher”. In fact, he also taught at the Phú Thọ National Technical Center where many of our engineers had come from, among them Nguyễn Văn Chưởng, Tô Ngọc Sử, Nguyễn Thành Ngưu, Nguyễn Sáu, Ung Văn Hổ and many more. A very knowledgeable and kind man, Dr. Du, whom we called “Bác Du” (Uncle Du) treated us as members of his family and we had a very close relationship. Every Friday afternoon, when our work was done, he would gather us together for a little celebration of our accomplishment of the week. We would drink beer, munch on half‐hatched duck eggs and pickled pig’s ears, and talk about our work, our bosses, our co‐workers, or anything on our minds. We built strong teamwork and camaraderie that way.

Gradually, the IDC/IDB reputation as an organization offering progressive work environment and growth opportunity spread, attracting more and more talents. They included Hoàng Đức Nhã, Nguyễn Đức Cường, Lê Trọng Mưu, Chu Tam Cường, Vĩnh Thúc, Từ Văn Minh, and Trần Quốc Bảo who had studied in the United States under the same Leadership Training program with me and Trần Văn Khởi. Others were graduates from prestigious Universities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Among the people in the Productivity Department, two stood out in my mind. These two, almost inseparable, shared many traits: both were rather petite, almost always wore white “áo dài” which made them resemble 2 high school girls, both were very witty but seldom said anything in public, their eyes and ears however noticed everything. Were they secret agents like 007? If you haven’t guessed by now, let me tell you.

The first was Miss Vũ Thị Loan, a graduate from the prestigious Laval University, the oldest University in Canada. Her enigmatic Mona Lisa smile seemed to say: “Watch out! I have surprises for you.” And surprised me she did, even 30 years later, when I was compiling the “Kỷ Yếu IDB 2000” half a world away. I could not believe my eyes when she surprised me with the photos taken at work when we were young, including a most beautiful one of her likeliness taken in front of our beloved building on Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard which ended up

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gracing the cover of our Kỷ Yếu IDB 2000. Thank you Cô Loan for those invaluable memorabilia.

The second was Miss Đoàn Mộng Hoàng, a graduate of the Phú Thọ National Technical Center. Even with a wonderful sense of humor and a ready smile, no one should underestimate her hidden power. Just take a look at her personal page in the Kỷ Yếu IDB 2000 to see how IDB managed to control the Central Bank! She later earned the reputation as Z29 and accomplished many “Missions Impossible”, including one for “Mr. God” when he was writing his Memoirs. Today she is one of the “movers and shakers” on the “Thân Hữu IDB” Forum and we all enjoy her postings. Thank you Cô Hoàng for your cheerful and lively spirit.

When a group of consultants from the American Management Association (AMA) came to IDC/IDB to teach Business Management classes to the Vietnamese business community, Mr. Nguyễn Duy Tưởng, a graduate from the University of Western Australia, was assigned to help Mr. Hoetzel conduct various classes in Accounting. Also, three engineers ‐ Lê Trọng Mưu, Chu Tam Cường and I ‐ were “borrowed” from the Productivity Department to work with Mr. Henry Winter to conduct several classes in Personnel Management; we dotted‐line reported to Mr. Đặng Đức Tự, Head of the Economic Studies and Management Training Department. Mr. Tự, an economist trained at the renowned London School of Economics, reminded me of a typical English gentleman, complete with a British accent and many flowery expressions. He often referred to the 3 of us engineers as the “Triumvirate”. In this assignment, we learned not just Personal Management but also many aspects of Business Management from Mr. Winter, who had been a former President of Pepsi International, and had years of experience in international business management. From the enthusiastic response to this program, the Vietnamese Management Association (Hội Quản Trị Xí Nghiệp Việt Nam) was born under the aegis of the IDC/IDB. Mr. Winter was so helpful that later on he was retained as advisor to help me set up the Investment Development Agency (Tổng Cuộc Phát Triển Đầu Tư) and the Investment Service Center (ISC).

After Mr. Đặng Đức Tự moved on to Manila to work at the Asian Development Bank, I was promoted to fill his job. In this capacity I had the pleasure of working with a trio of engineers who had studied in New Zealand, Huỳnh Hữu Hân, Lê Quang Long and Bùi Hồng Cẩm, who conducted a number of very well received classes called “Training Within Industry”. I also assumed Mr. Tự’s role of Liaison Officer at the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) headquartered in Tokyo. Together, IDC/IDB team organized the Productivity Fair (Hội Chợ Kỹ Nông Công Thương) under the sponsorship of APO to celebrate the

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Asian Productivity Year in 1970. The Fair, inaugurated by President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, was a big success. We also produced a feature film “Kỹ Nghệ Việt Nam” (Vietnam Industry) which debuted at this Fair. The film, directed by the National Movies Center (Trung Tâm Quốc Gia Điện Ảnh), highlighted the many industrialization achievements even while the war was raging in the countryside.

Thank you Miss Lê Trúc Lâm, who was instrumental in the production of this film.

As APO Liaison Officer, I also helped send a number of Vietnamese managers and business owners, as well as members of our own staff, to the many training programs offered by APO in Japan to study various aspects of small and medium business management. I myself attended a 3‐month training as visiting engineer at Pioneer Electronics in Tokyo, while my friend Trần Văn Khởi attended the same program at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

APO also sent many technical experts to IDC to help in many different areas, such as Mr. Kobayashi (nicknamed Có Bà Già Si to those not familiar with Japanese names), a very knowledgeable industrial engineer retired from Japan National Railroad (JNR) and Mr. Kaneko, president and owner of an electroplating company in Japan. My challenge was to be able to communicate with these experts in spite of their limited English. I learned a lot from them, not just in their areas of expertise, but also very valuable lessons in human interface which I thought they were masters.

Last but not least, who could forget the weekly IDC staff meeting in which members were required to make presentations about his/her projects. I found this experience very helpful to me later, when, as Secretary‐General of the Board on Investment, I had to make presentations and recommendations to the Board about projects submitted for investment privileges under the Investment Law. Even much later, during my second career in the US, this skill set proved to be invaluable.

The training approach at IDC under Mr. Điểu emphasized hands‐on experience. He often challenged us to do our best rather than handing us the solution. As an example, when IDC was to become the Industrial Development Bank, a few of us approached him with a request that IDB provided housing for its staff, similar to other banks at the time, he responded with a challenge. He told us that IDB would not give us a living quarter (Cư Xá) like other banks. He would be willing to request funding from our Board of Directors, but the rest would be up to us. He said IDB staff included architects and engineers of all disciplines, so if we could not build our own housing then we did not deserve it. We rose to the challenge, and starting from scratch, we purchased a lot in Gia Định, designed and built a four‐story apartment building with 16 units, each unit having 2 bedrooms,

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complete with living room, kitchen and bathroom equipped with modern amenities that we were proud of. With the success of Phase 1, we added a second building, providing a total of 32 apartments that we happily shared with the foreign experts from the UK, US, and Japan who came to help IDB. The building of the IDB living quarter not only gave us hands‐on experience, but also boosted our self‐confidence and pride. In addition, living as neighbors strengthened the bonds among staff members. Looking back, we were grateful for the challenge from our leader.

One common theme while working at IDC/IDB was changes, follow by more changes. As soon a one felt comfortable in his/her job, something changed. A new and bigger challenge was thrown at you and forced you to grow to meet it. It happened to almost all of us IDC/IDB staff. Phí Minh Tâm was tapped to set up the National Institute of Standardization (Viện Quốc Gia Định Chuẩn), Nguyễn Đức Cường, Hoàng Đức Nhã, Trần Văn Khởi and Lê Thanh Nhàn were tapped to help the Ministry of Economy dealing with new challenges on the trade and industry front. Nguyễn Đức Cường and Hoàng Đức Nhã eventually rose to the rank of Cabinet Ministers, heading 2 important Ministries of the Government; Lê Thanh Nhàn headed VISSAN, which until today remains the main modern meat processing facility for Saigon; Trần Văn Khởi headed the National Petroleum and Minerals Agency (Tổng Cục Dầu Hỏa và Khoáng Sản), Lê Trọng Mưu headed the Export Processing Zone (Khu Chế Xuất). As for myself, Mr. Dieu was very generous to let Chu Tam Cường and Đỗ Duy Lâm go with me to set up the Investment Development Agency (Tổng Cuộc Đầu Tư), which would assume the responsibility for the Office of the Board of Investment and the Investment Development Department, two functions spun off from IDB as it became a financial institution. In addition, he also granted us sufficient funding for getting started. Within a year, we submitted to the National Assembly a bill for the country’s first Investment Law and got it approved, which President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu signed into Law in June 1972.

Unfortunately, time ran out for the country in 1975, before these development agencies had time to mature and produced significant results.

However, all of us were, and still are, proud of our IDC/IDB heritage.

The IDB Culture and Legacy

The IDC/IDB Team worked well together, learning from one another, helping one another. Remarkably, there were practically no conflicts or discriminations among different groups, regardless of their origins (Northern,

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Central, Southern), genders (male/female), or education systems (Vietnamese, French, British, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand). I attributed this success to 2 major factors:

a. The autonomous status of the organization, which generated its own income and hence was allowed more freedom of management and not subjected to the limitations and idiosyncrasies that plagued many Government agencies funded by the national budget. The development agencies that were spawned off from IDB later (mentioned in the previous section) were mostly created with the same autonomous status.

b. But most of all, it was the leader, Mr. Điểu, who set the tone for and enforced the IDC/IDB Culture ‐ a culture of integrity, enthusiasm, openness and fairness toward one another ‐ that permeated throughout the entire organization.

People who do not know him well might have thought he was cold and unfriendly, but underneath he deeply cared about his mission and his team. His staff considered him a big brother, strict and disciplined, and a coach, helpful but very demanding of everybody, including himself.

Presently Mr. Điểu is enjoying his well deserved retirement, living happily with his lifelong wife and constant company, Chị Marie, in their beautiful home in San Francisco. Fifty years later, no longer working together, his IDB Team still have meetings with him at his home, and they still consider him a big brother and a well respected coach. This enduring relationship is rather unique, and many people have wondered why. There are several reasons, many of which have been mentioned above. But to me, the one reason that set him apart from other leaders is his selflessness, his willingness to share. He put the interests of the country above his and his organization. Who but he, having gone through the pain of selecting and developing his staff, would let them go to do bigger and better things for the country? Who would fight for and won the creation of the Special Reserve Corps (Biệt Đoàn Trừ Bị), just so the country could have the qualified personnel to keep its economy afloat? While the measure would not benefit him personally, he truly believed that indiscriminately sending trained engineers to the battlefield would be a wasteful use of national resources, not unlike sacrificing fighting roosters for a pot of chicken curry! The words from a respected Scout Leader during the Dalat Summer Camp of 1955 came to my mind: “Younger brothers, as you go through life, you will find that you are most likely to succeed beyond your dreams when you act selflessly – not for your own good, but for the good of others.” Later on, I learned the difference between managers and leaders: managers do things right, leaders do the right things. In my book, Mr. Điểu is definitely a leader.

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For myself and on behalf of our IDC/IDB colleagues if I may, I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to our leader, big brother and coach; we wish him and Chị Marie good health and happiness every day for the rest of their lives.

Nguyễn Đăng Khôi

15. NGÔ ĐỨC CHIẾN, California State University, Sacramento

Of all the members of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam (IDB), I probably was the youngest one. In 1973 I earned a B.S. and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from California State University in Sacramento. After that I worked as an assistant engineer for John J. Kasner Consulting Engineers Company in Manhattan, NYC before returning to Vietnam in January 1974.

After returning to Vietnam I looked forward to applying my knowledge of Civil Engineering to the rebuilding of the infrastructures of the country. Through the introduction of a friend, I applied for a position at IDB without knowing what I would be doing at the bank (IDB) as a civil engineer. As it turned out, IDB was going through an expansion phase and planning to build a new office building, which was intended to receive foreign dignitaries and to house all of its employees. This planned new building was located at 6 Thái Lập Thành Street, next to an Indian Mosque and right behind the Caravel Hotel, about 5 minute walk from the existing IDB Office at 40 Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard. Fortunately, I was invited for an interview and then was hired on the spot. The personnel manager told me to start working in the very following week.

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Two years prior to my coming home, the management of IDB had decided on the expansion and already selected a work team whose task was to design the new office building. The team members were architects Lê Văn Lắm & Huỳnh Kim Mẫn and engineer Hồ Văn Chấn. By the time I returned to Vietnam, the design had been completed and a contractor had been selected. A scaled model of the new building had been built and displayed prominently at the center of the first floor of the IDB office at 40 Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard

I was assigned to assist Mr. Phạm Tiến Nam, the Project Manager. A few months later, Mr. Quách Văn Hà, an architect, was added to the team. Hence, three of us were responsible for the management of the construction of this “huge” project.

As far as I can remember, this building had a very unique look. It was a round structure (approximately 75 meters in diameter) and ten stories high, designed of reinforced concrete with a basement, and a penthouse with a helicopter landing pad on the rooftop. Because of its circular shape, there were no square rooms in this building. Therefore, it was a big challenge for us to design the support beams and girders. For the foundation, due to the underlying soil, mostly alluvial deposits, clay soil and high groundwater table, the engineer decided to use friction piles made of reinforced concrete and individual footings to support this massive structure. There were approximately 50 individual footings, of which each footing was supported by 25 to 50 concrete piles that were driven to 150 feet below ground surface.

My duty was to manage the construction and did the on‐site construction quality control. Honestly, I could handle the construction management but struggled with the quality control. The reason was that the engineers and the architects were using European standards for their design whereas I was trained with the U.S. standards. The building was designed with reinforced concrete and I knew there were two key parameters I had to control, the compression strength of the concrete and the ultimate yield strength of the steel. To do this I had to rely on the material testing laboratory but it was not a simple task at the time to find a material testing laboratory that performed testing in accordance with the U.S. standards in Saigon.

The project meeting was held every Monday morning to review construction progress as well as to resolve any construction related issues. The attendance at this meeting was mandatory and the regular attendees were Mr. Phạm Tiến Nam (the Project Manager), Mr. Lê Văn Lắm and Mr. Huỳnh Kim Mẫn (the architects), Mr. Hồ Văn Chấn (the engineer), and myself (the resident

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engineer). The meeting was chaired by Mr. Khương Hữu Điểu, the General Manager. Despite his busy schedules, he always attempted to attend this meeting for this was the time he dedicated his full attention to the progress of the construction and to solve any issue that came up during the course of construction. It was interesting that at our weekly project meeting, when it came to dealing with technical matters, Mr Điểu often conducted the discussion in three languages, French to the architects and the engineer; English to me and the project manager, and Vietnamese to the secretary. It was at this weekly project meeting that I met Mr. Điểu in person for the very first time. Similar to the famous monthly “Tuesday morning personnel training meeting” also chaired by Mr. Điểu, at this meeting, he demanded nothing but the best from each of us. He expected us to be accurate in our work products and thorough in our investigation, and always backup our conclusions with scientific documentation.

His famous saying was “you must học thuộc bài”, meaning you have to be as thorough as you could be and to own your work product. I learned a lot from working for him on this project.

My tenure at IDB ended on Wednesday April 30, 1975, fifteen months after I started. During that time we managed to complete the foundation, the parking structure in the basement and were ready to pour concrete for the main floor. In 1989, fourteen years later when I came back to Vietnam, I decided to stop by this site for a visit. To my surprise, the place looked very much the same as the day I left; nothing changed except that the rebars were all rusted. The temporary building constructed for my field office was still there but now occupied by the military guards. I stood silently in the middle of the site, reminiscing those great old days and imagining how meaningful it would be if I were able to continue the project. Today, this place is a Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers.

Ngô Đức Chiến Garden Grove, California

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16. VÕ VĂN HUỆ, Universite de Nantes

MEMORIES OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF VIETNAM

THE INTRODUCTION OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING INTO THE INDUSTRIAL SECTORS OF VIETNAM

Souvenir of my “boss”:

For over a decade or so and through various periods, I have worked with many of my colleagues at the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam. Though most of them were fresh university graduates they proved themselves to be good fighting cocks”. They had to be when working with such a “seasoned Big Boss” like Mr. Điểu. There was no way for them to fool around at work!

Many of our staff were educated from overseas and only stayed at the Industrial Bank of Vietnam for a short time before moving on to work at more important offices but they were groomed at the Bank first.

With the benefits of hindsight, I can say that our “fighting cocks” were of a caliber higher than those at other institutions we stayed in contact with! Working as a team, we each had our assigned task. So we rolled up our shirt sleeves and gave it our best. Since there were so many things that needed to be done, we

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could instantly watch the results of our labor taking shape before our very eyes.

The country’s “industrialization” program was then at its initial stage and the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam was charged with laying the vital groundworks on which to build the next phases.

Strictly speaking, I did not belong to the IDB’s staff but I constantly worked closely with its personnel from the time of its inception. They always extended to me a warm welcome and full support, especially the members of the “Research and Development Office’’ headed by Nguyễn Đăng Khôi during the time I was in frequent contact with Mr. Điểu. He was well known for his stretched out gait, punctuality, and a sonorous voice that could easily persuade people with his reasoned out arguments. For that reason, I always ended up with the short end of the stick in my dealings with him! I usually went “well prepared” to the meetings but when the time came for us to discuss business, Mr. Điểu invariably gained the upper hand because he could always point to shortcomings on my part! There were many people working in my office but they rarely had to deal in person with Mr. Điểu ‐ except me. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, it always fell on me to go see him on a daily basis!

Probably, because I had been trained in such a way in Mr. Điểu’s “boot camp” – in the long run – it left indelible marks on my work habits and even lifestyle up to this day!

It is impossible for me to recall all the memorable times I spent with him because we met at his office very often over more than a decade.

Likewise, my colleagues surely had shared with him countless memories at the Bank too. On my part, I wish to refer to an outstanding and positive legacy that came out from his own initiative: I want to refer to the introduction of the teaching of Management in Vietnam. He was the real trail blazer and, at the same time, the main “bulldozer” behind it. Over the years, the other active contributors to the program included: Nguyển Đăng Khôi, Huỳnh Hữu Hân, Bùi Hồng Cẩm, Nguyễn Duy Tưởng,Lê Quang Long, Đổ Duy Lâm, Chu Tam Cường, Lê Trọng Mưu, Từ Văn Minh, Miss Trúc Lâm...

Today, looking back at the first half of the 1960’s, I can say that it was not an easy task to introduce the modern science of management into a country where the manufacturing sector was still in its infancy and factories or businesses still few and young! Managers were groping in the dark trying to formulate a workable management policy for their newly established enterprises. Such

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endeavor proved to be quite challenging, strewn with obstacles, and time consuming. It required a committed participation on the part of many!

With the active coaxing and the financial as well as technical support from IDB, a good number of new factories began to appear. However, as far as endowing them with a “smooth operation”, the new owners found themselves at a loss. They all “got stuck”! This pressing question then arose: “At repayment time, how could they earn a profit to pay back their IDB loans, their creditor?”

The bottom line in the operation of a factory is organizing its production and sales! From the production all the way to the sales phase, everything must fall into place for it to work. Judicious use of manpower, machinery, materials, capital, and most importantly product sales must be implemented…one must adopt a good business strategy in order to earn a profit and recuperate the investment cost!

Quite a few investors at the time were well educated and trained at famous French universities like Dr. Bùi Kiện Tín; the couple Nguyễn văn Trang – Nguyễn thị Hai, pharmacists; Mr. La Thành Nghệ, pharmacist; Mr. La Thành Trung, pharmacist; Mr. Nguyễn văn Hải, engineer; Mr. Phạm văn Hai, PhD in Chemistry from France. The list goes on and on. As a group, they found themselves clueless when it comes to managing a large scale industrial enterprise. Gone are the days of production at a handicraft scale!

REVISITING THE SPECIALIZED MANAGEMENT TRAINING AT THE TIME: THE TRAINING PROGRAM AT FRENCH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:

More than a half century ago, people who were educated in France were revered as celebrities by the rest of the population! They represented “the cream of the cream” of society!

By rights, they held high positions in society and had demonstrably achieved fame and fortune. With the advent of the industrial development era, they also became pioneers in this nascent trend.

However, when confronted with the harsh challenges of production on an industrial scale they realized that the science of management became indispensable: they found out that the experience and training they have acquired thus far were applicable to their field of expertise only!

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Take my particular case as an example: I remember that the educational system in France only sought to make you a specialist in the field you chose to study. In those days, there was no class to teach you how to organize and manage the production process that could be applied to your field of study!

Consequently, a typical class such as Marketing conducted by Mr. Winter who had been a former President of Pepsi International, and had years of experience in international business management ‐ would be attended by well‐ known personalities, the intellectuals and elite – “the best and the brightest” of society. They were all owners of firms that normally employed hundreds of workers. The attendants on that day included Dr. Bùi Kiện Tín, pharmacist Nguyễn Thị Hai, Mr. Phan Đăng K., pharmacist Đặng Quốc Cơ, industrialist Mr. Trương Khắc Cẩn… everyone in the group marveled at the knowledge, the management methods that offered them the “key” to operate successfully an unit of production. This is a “tool” that they could not do without while running an enterprise.

“Bác” Tín kept on clucking his tongue and commented that after attending the class he became a new person, completely transformed! He would also apply the recently acquired knowledge to his daily life!

Mrs. Hai continued to shake her head and made a clucking sound while regretting that she could not digest everything that was presented in the class at the same time. She went on to confess that, in spite of her apparent success, she now realized that during all those past years she was so “ignorant” in the conduct of her business and only acted according to her personal judgements.

Mister Đặng quốc Cơ, in particular, sounded extremely serious and solemn in his pronouncements. He pointed to the notes he jotted down in his notepad and enthusiastically elaborated or reinterpreted in details the fascinating points he learned from the class. He explained how he would apply them in the management of his pharmaceutical firm…!

The earnestness he displayed showed how much he appreciated the “new tools and assets” he just learned. He called them “the new medicine” he would use in the management of his firm! He left the deepest impression on me to this day! I, myself, was much enthused by the class that proved to be so practical and scientific in the analysis of each act that we made not only in the workplace but also in our daily life!

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THE WORD “MARKETING”:

The class was conducted in English but it did not appear to create any problem to the participants except when it came to the word “Marketing”.

Everybody understood its meaning but no one could come up with an acceptable translation of the word into Vietnamese. After much time and discussion, I remembered clearly that it was Nguyễn Duy Tưởng who suggested the Vietnamese word “TIẾP THỊ”! A plausible solution was found and the entire class voted in favor of using that Vietnamese word. It was thought that the word “TIẾP THỊ” would be used for the duration of the class only. Surprisingly, it is still being used to this day in Vietnam. This is a memory I kept about my long involvement with the teaching of management that I along with many of my colleagues helped introduce into our country. With time, the course’s popularity grew and it is being more widely taught to keep pace with the country’s fast economic development.

REVISITING THE OLD EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN VIETNAM:

In the old days, the education one received from the “learned scholar/ ông đồ” consisted mainly on how to become a “good” man because people led a relaxed, leisurely existence that revolved around agricultural activities: they just planted enough rice, enough vegetable and fruit trees to live on. The fish and shrimps could be caught from the pond in the garden.... Later on, under French rule, other goods would be imported from France like milk, fabrics, medicines…

During that time, the entire country was ruled by French administrators and the instructors also came from France!

With such a system of education, the main objective was to help the students understand the bare bones of French culture. There existed no schools to prepare the indigenous people to work for the development of their country. They were able to take care of their own food needs while the imported manufactured goods were reserved for the well‐to‐do class only!

As time went by, the French relaxed their controls, opened institutions of higher learning to prepare the locals to help the colonial rulers run the country. In the first phase, they trained enough local cadres with the adequate knowledge or technical skills like clerks or technicians to assist the French administrators in the provinces. As they gained in seniority, those Vietnamese civil servants were either further be trained or promoted to higher positions like “District Chief” or Đốc Phủ Sứ!

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Judging from the above‐mentioned process, we can easily see that the educational program was geared mostly for the formation of a class of civil servants not at all trained to work for the country’s development. In those days, wealthy families would send their children to study in France since no institutions of higher learnings were available at home. On a practical note, the country did not possess a large number of big factories and the need for manufactured goods was adequately met by imports from the mother country. Consequently, the existing economic situation did not warrant the establishment of technical schools or universities.

A REVIEW OF THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR PRIOR TO THE BIRTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF VIETNAM:

When the Industrial Development Center of Vietnam was reorganized into the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam, there arose a pressing need to revamp the scope of its operations. The new objective of the Bank was to modernize the existing out‐of‐date handicraft production activities under the French era as well as establish new factories. A case in point was the soap manufacturer “Xà bông Việt Nam” with the product “soap Việt Nam 72% oil/xà bông Viêt Nam 72% dầu” used for both bathing and washing clothes ‐ you could see it being advertised anywhere you turned. Another soap especially intended for bathing “soap aunt Ba/“xà bông cô Ba” was later introduced into the market. It was sold in a green box, with the picture of “aunt Ba/cô Ba” in the traditional “áo dài” and her hair pulled up in a chignon printed in the center. It was rumored that it was the picture of Mrs. Trương văn Bền, the wife of “city councilman Bền/Hội Đồng Bền”, the owner of “Xà Bông Việt Nam” at the time!

Another product, in question, was the toothpaste “KOOL”. I do not know its meaning, but the owner of the factory was Mr. Huỳnh văn Xinh who lived and worked at the plant site across from the An Đông market. The paste was contained in an aluminum box. Once you removed the lid, you’d see a pink cube similar to a soap bar. All you needed to do was to rub the toothbrush against it to produce some foam and you’re ready to brush your teeth! Under French rule, until the day the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam went into operation, all medical drugs were imported from the mother country. That explains why the Vietnamese called them by the name “thuốc tây/French drugs” and it is still being used nowadays!

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This was the case not only with medical drugs but also with other manufactured products like fabrics, sugar, condensed milk…which were also imported from France!

Whether it was by design that the colonial French rulers wanted to enslave our country and make our economy dependent on theirs or because they were too preoccupied with fighting the local insurgencies, the fact remained that the issue of Vietnam’s economic development was never raised by them!?

THE COUNTRY’S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE TIME THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF VIETNAM STAYED IN OPERATION

Thanks to the nation’s economic development program coupled with the support provided by the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam in the areas of financial funding (i.e. preferential loans) or technical guidance in the choice of machinery or methods of production… the various sectors of the nation’s industry went through a rapid rate of expansion!

The population size grew at a fast pace and the national economy inevitably was impacted by the growing presence of the Americans.

Nevertheless, the government of the Republic of Vietnam instituted a policy of economic self‐reliance that encouraged the immediate production of import‐ substitutes for the basic products that used to be entirely imported from France or paid for with American aid.

The Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam was entrusted with the task of establishing the types of factories that conformed with the industrial model of the time! This is really a historic endeavor as far as the economic development of the country is concerned. We need to take a review of the industrial expansion that took place under the instigation and guidance of the Bank in order to fully appreciate the contribution made by its staff. Undeniably, this accomplishment was done in conjunction with other supporting agencies like the National Bureau of Standardization headed by Director General Phí Minh Tâm, the Investment Service Center led by Nguyễn Đăng Khôi... another “adopted child” of the IDB that also played a role in this general effort was the Management Association of Vietnam. This institution was the “brain child” of Mr. Khương Hửu Điểu and supported by Vietnamese industrialists, entrepreneurs and business communities. Mr. Điểu was elected to serve as its Chairman from the time of its inception in 1967 until the fall of Saigon in 1975!

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A CHARITY OFFICE:

The Board of Directors of the Management Association of Vietnam consisted of many top personalities like Mr. Trương Văn Quí –Chairman of the Association of Craft and Industry of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyển Văn Khải – President of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce… particularly there were also many government officials holding ministerial positions like MM Trương Thái Tôn, Âu Ngọc Hồ, Hổ Tấn Phát, Trần Qúy Thân, Võ Văn Nhung, Phạm Minh Dưỡng..., other members were chairmen or general managers of the country’s leading enterprises ; the Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm was the Honorary President of this Association since its inception!

The Management Association of Vietnam was an autonomous entity with a staff that expanded to almost 30 at the time, it was officially recognized by the Ministry of National Education as the Management Institute of Vietnam with the express purpose of setting up a school teaching management in Vietnam.

It goes without saying that each staff member must be fully qualified for his or her assigned job. The same could be said of the three disabled persons in the group. Two of them were attending the university to finish their bachelor program. The first one was Từ Văn Minh’s nephew and the other the son of a secretary in the Bank. They both came down with polio. The third one, the nephew of Ms. Dương, Mr. Điểu’s secretary, lost one of his eyes. All three had difficulties moving around and were assigned to jobs that did not require much mobility but they performed well at their assignments. I felt quite glad and proud that they joined us and continued with their education at the same time!

In those days, the Executive Committee held its weekly meeting at the office of the Management Association of Vietnam. One day, Mr. Điểu arrived earlier than usual. He made the tour of the place and said to me: “I come to your office and have the feeling I am visiting a charity!” At first, I was taken aback by his unexpected remark but then I understood what he meant was that the three disabled members represented a large proportion of the staff he saw at the office.

I was struggling for words to say when his lips blossomed into a very radiant and happy smile. It made me feel happy and satisfied. I knew then that by jovially comparing the office to a “charity” he agreed with my decision to welcome our three disabled members into the team.

When the people of the new authority (communist) came to take over my organization, they branded me a leader who exploited his subordinates and used the organization to help enrich the capitalists and sabotage the revolution !

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Those 3 staff members were the ones who demonstrated the most vehemently against that accusation. Probably they came to my defense trusting that their physical condition shielded them from any harsh retribution and consequently they had nothing to lose. It was thanks to them that I escaped the punishment those new people had condemned me! Otherwise, I might be sent for an “extended stay” at the “reeducation camp” like so many other friends!

I took advantage of the opportunity Mr. Điểu offered me to write some of the memories I shared with my colleagues during the time we worked almost daily at the office. There are so many that are still left untold. Hopefully, we’d be able to meet one of these days so that, in person, we can relive them again together.

I wish you and your dear ones good health. At our age, exchanging good wishes is probably the thing we can easily do. My only regret is that occasionally we also have to send out a “sympathy card” to the family of one of our group!

Võ Văn Huệ

17. THÁI VĨNH KHIÊM, Bowling Green State University

Today, as I am writing these lines I relive the years of my life over four decades ago – beginning with the 1970s to be more exact. After learning that I have met the requirements of the graduate program in Business Administration and obtained the promise from the school to send the diploma to my address in

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Vietnam, I decided to skip the graduation ceremony so that I can go back home sooner. I went to thank and bid farewell to Mr. Lương Nhị Kỳ the Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco because at that time I worked as a locally‐hired member of the Consulate. He wished me a good trip home and issued to me a multiple re‐entry visa valid for six months to allow me to return to the United States in case I so wished. Mister Kỳ was a very kind‐hearted, straightforward and down‐to‐earth person toward whom I always hold a lot of respect and admiration.

After one week of rest and visits with friends and family, I had to think about looking for a job. Still undecided on what to do, I learned from my younger sister who had a colleague whose husband was working at the Industrial Development Center of Vietnam that it was hiring. I applied and was interviewed by anh Lâm Hổ who offered me a position in the Loan Department. I have to confess I would feel more at ease addressing him as “ông Lâm Hổ” or “Mr. Lâm Hổ” since I was very young then and he was my superior. Nonetheless, he told me he preferred to be called “anh Lâm Hổ” or “older brother Lâm Hổ” because he was only a few years my senior. I had no choice but oblige.

At first, I was assigned to Loan Team B/Đoàn Tín Dụng B led by anh Từ Văn Minh and later transferred to the newly established Loan Team D. As implied by its name, the Industrial Development Bank only specialized in financing the building of new industrial plants or the expansion of existing ones. Unlike commercial banks, it did not accept deposits from the public. We could safely assert that the lion’s share of the country’s large industrial projects was financed by the Bank. To review a loan application, the bank’s staff must conduct a feasibility study covering the various aspects of the project like finance, machinery and equipment, labor, marketing…the work might prove difficult and time‐consuming but, on the other hand, very challenging and instructive.

When the Bank launched the Program for the Development of Small Industries/ Chương Trình Phát Triển Tiểu Công Nghệ, to promote the building of small‐scale plants mostly in the provinces, I applied to join believing that it would be a good opportunity for me to learn new things. My wish was granted.

Indeed, the new assignment allowed me to travel to many places in the country: visit the immense rice fields, cities and towns in the Eastern as well as Western regions, navigate on the Tiền and Hậu Rivers, set foot in cities like Huế, Quảng Trị of Central Vietnam… on the one hand there were cities like Long Xuyên, Cần Thơ that enjoyed relative security while on the other we had Quảng Trị, Hậu Nghĩa… that knew nothing but the miseries of war.

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I just shared with you my feeling about the land, as for the people, they left a much deeper impact on me. With the passing of time, I became more and more convinced that with our bountiful land, our gentle and honest people should deserve a much safer and more comfortable existence.

I still vividly recalled the time when our team took leave at the end of a working session with a client in his house located in the middle of a rice field. It was high noon and he insisted that we stay and have lunch with him. His sincere hospitality left us with no choice but accept gracefully. To our astonishment, it took no time for the family members to bring to the table platefuls of fresh fish, shrimps and chicken. The gentleman simply explained that all the food we saw came from the garden and small stream in the back of the house. What’s more, to a Northerner like me, the word “qua” or “I” coming from the lips of an older person of the South sounded so sweet, warm, and full of caring love to the ear!

A sad memory came to mind the time I led a delegation of foreign visitors to the city of Quảng Trị after the communist offensive of 1972. All that were left of the place were piles of rubles and cement poles with unexploded mines, bombs, and ordinances scattered all over. Not a single street was left intact. For our safety, we had to rely on a Jeep driven by a Vietnamese Marine to lead the way through that maze.

Then there was the time I came in front of a dilapidated thatch hut with a light wind chasing the dust rolling along the surface of a parched field reminiscent of a scene in the western film “For A Few More Dollars” or “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”. I could not remember the name of that place but it was there that I met an elderly couple whose only son had served in the military for several years already. They no longer received news from him and believed he probably had been killed in action. The thing that touched me the most, however, was when the old man said he had no need for a coffin at his funeral because his skin was thick enough to bury him in. Only then did I notice that his skin was not only thick but also looked as rough as an elephant hide. He explained that each day he had to wade deep in saltwater to reach the forest and collect firewood to sell. Then, under the burning sun, the water dried out leaving only salt on his skin and made it thick like that!

In a trip to Hậu Nghĩa to work on a project for a small sugar mill our group heard mortar or canon shells explode nearby. As we talked, the owner asked me to tell anybody who inquired that we came not from the Bank but to evaluate the prospect of becoming his business partner. He feared that, otherwise, somebody might pay him a visit and ask for some kind of “tax payment” afterward. At the

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end of the visit, I suggested to our driver to go to the market and have lunch at a local restaurant. He advised our team to head straight back to Saigon because though our car bore a license plate with a fictitious number, the local Vietcong already took notice of our presence and it would be much safer if we left as soon as possible.

On another occasion, as we were driving along the highway we came to a dead stop because of an ambush ahead. I went into a stall by the roadside to wait it out. As I was sitting I felt somebody slap me on the back and call my name. I turned around and saw a high school friend who was then an army captain leading a convoy on a mission. He was also waiting for the way to be cleared like me.

The Director General later called me into his office and advised me to show more caution in my travel because should anything unfortunate happen it would be difficult for him to face my relatives and those of my companions. Only then did I realize that he kept a vigilant eye on the safety of his staff.

I felt so happy and fortunate I was able to do useful and meaningful works in an environment that was dynamic, open‐minded, non‐bureaucratic and free of office rivalry or politics. Another outstanding point was that the Loan Team never felt any pressure coming from the top even though our group was dealing with very large loan amounts coupled with favorable interest rates and extended loan terms.

I would like to cite two examples:

We were then working on a project located in the Industrial Park of Đà Nẵng in Central Vietnam. This region frequently experienced flooding and an inadequate supply of electricity. Consequently, I proposed that the plant’s cement foundation be built higher and a standby generator system installed. The industrialist disagreed with my proposal and for some unusual reason the case was sent to a meeting attended by representatives of several government ministries for review. The day before, anh Lâm Hổ informed me he would also attend the meeting with me. While waiting for it to start, I picked up a copy of the project report done by another agency to read and noticed that the power supply cited in it was higher than the one we had in our file. I drew anh Lâm Hổ’s attention to that point and reassured him that before we left the Bank I called anh Hiệp, the Director of the Bank’s branch in Đà Nẵng, to verify the power supply there. Anh Lâm Hổ made his presentation and cleared the issue under discussion.

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The second project involved one of the largest loan amounts submitted to the Bank. Its principal drawback was that it required a considerable amount of foreign exchange to import the needed raw materials for its operation while failing to make any provisions to replace them in the future with locally produced ones. Almost 40 years later, when I had the opportunity to meet Mr Điểu in Orange County, he only asked me: “Why didn’t you propose that project for a loan?”

As mentioned above, in both cases, our team never felt the slightest pressure from above. On the contrary, our team members always felt we were given the freedom to do our job according to our own best judgment.

By the way, I would like to share with the readers the case of a project that pertained to the event of April 30, 1975. Around the start of the year, the owner of a saw mill in Ban Mê Thuột came to the Bank to apply for a loan to expand his plant. It was approved and our team made repeated attempts to invite him to come sign the contract to no avail. Finally, he showed up to explain he could not go ahead with the loan because when his employees went into the wood to fell the trees they encountered large concentrations of Vietcong and tanks. He believed they were about to attack Ban Mê Thuột and as his saw mill lied on their way to the town it would undoubtedly be destroyed leaving him with no means to pay back the loan. Indeed, soon after, the town fell into the Vietcong’s hands followed by the collapse of South Vietnam itself.

In brief, I feel very fortunate to be able to work along with my colleagues at the Bank in such a special and unique work environment!

Thái Vĩnh Khiêm

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18. ĐỖ NGỌC PHƯỚC, London School of Economics and Political Science

In 1966 I left ESSO Standard Eastern where I have been working in senior management positions for more than 6 years in order to joint SONADEZI and the Industrial Development Center [IDC] with the hope and expectation that I would be able to, as a professional, do meaningful works in the field of industrial and economic development, a field of endeavors which I love and have been trained for. I was highly fortunate that I was given the opportunity to work with Mr. Điểu, a man of high integrity, a dynamo in work ethics and at the same time a leader

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with high efficacy, with complete commitment to work and full engagement with colleagues and friends. It was also a break of luck that I was able to cooperate with other colleagues, those able and aggressive professionals whom Mr. Điểu used to laud as “fighting cocks with sharp spurs “.

Mr. Điểu has contacted me and suggested that I write something about the highs and lows, the anecdotes, happy or otherwise, of our time working together, endeavoring with enthusiasm and high spirit towards the aims of increasing the levels of industrial and economic development of our country, this to be included in his Memoires Book to be soon published. To my thinking the stories and anecdotes our colleagues have written are abundant enough, some very moving, some with a sense of humor, but all veering towards a spirit of teamwork which is very laudable.

In here I just want to write about a factual story, professionally elevating in spirit but has to be concluded with a lament.

The spirit boosting part of my story is that as we reminisce about the works and efforts we have been doing in the 60s and haft of the 70s we must feel proud and recognize that we have adopted and followed a path of industrial economic development, from concept, organization and operating procedures, which is not only correct but could offer enormous impact on the economic well being of the people. Moreover as the chronological review of industrial and economic development works in the developing world, including China, attests, we were well ahead of most other developing countries, again including China, by more than a decade.

Here are the facts. According to statistics from respected organizations, in 2015 there were 4,500 Special Economic Zones [SEZs] operating in 140 countries in the world, employing approximately 66 million workers [The Economist,2015], 30 million of which work in China. The world’s SEZs produce above US$200 billion in exports. The concept of SEZs has been eagerly absorbed, adopted and implemented in big scale by developing countries as an economic development strategy in the 70s and the 80s. The total numbers of SEZs in the world has increased from 9 in the later part of the 60s to 107 in the developing countries at the end of 1987 [Amado,1989].

Now, all of us know that SONADEZI concept of Industrial Zones encompassing the special assistance of the Industrial Development Center in technical, financial/credit, and management to entrepreneurs and investors, together with the policies of reducing to the bare minimum all the red tape

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hindering development and growth, all of this have rendered our Industrial Zones in fact if not in name Special Economic Zones and not simply industrial parks.

Take a look of the concrete case of China. In 1980 China officially inaugurated the SEZs program and start implementing 4 Special Economic Zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen. Among these four SEZs, Shenzhen is the most special one. In 1980 Shenzhen was but a small fishing village with 30,000 inhabitants just across the river from Hong Kong. And here are the astonishing facts: from 1980 to 1984, the total annual increase in GDP for the whole of China was 10% while Shenzhen registered an annual increase in GDP of 58%. In between the mid 1978 and 2014 the GDP per capita in Shenzhen has increased from RMB 606 to RMB 149,000, a dizzy rate of increase of 24,569% [Liwack and Qian,1998; Wong,1987; Yeung,Lee and Kee,2009 ].

That makes one indulge in day dreaming.

We owe to keep in mind that SONADEZI was established in 1963 and IDC several years before that.

And here is my lament. Perusing the experience of China, one can not help but ask the obvious questions: how was China able to achieve such level of economic development which is considered nothing less than an economic miracle? What precisely are the driving engines that enable China to achieve that miracle? Policies makers, economists and academics can continue to debate about the reasons, but no one can deny the facts that it was the Special Economic Zones, the Industrial Zones which brought 22% to the GDP, 46% foreign direct investment, 60% export values and most importantly more than 30 million jobs to the Chinese people. And that is the primary engine of the Chinese Economic Miracle.

As I have said, we have had the good fortune to have the right concept, the good organization, the efficient modus operandi at least since 1963, but were forced to advance slowly and not very far because of the war and then all our efforts disintegrated all together with the fate of the country.

Đỗ Ngọc Phước

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19. ĐIỂU KHƯƠNG HỮU, Lafayette College, MIT

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ĐIỂU CONFIDES: October 2000

“The other day PMTâm reminded me that the IDBers had all done their parts and were waiting for me to contribute the final article to the IDB’s 2000 Almanac. This “tall order” made me feel somewhat intimidated. My mind wandered back to my school years at the Collège of Mỹ Tho when the class I dreaded the most was the one reserved for writing.

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Seven months back, TVKhởi sent me an email expressing an interest in holding an annual meeting for the IDBers living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I told Khởi: “God has blessed me with three even numbers: I’m still around and kicking in the current year 2000, enjoying my 70th year on earth and my 40th year of a happy family life”. Being so lucky, I should simply pop open a bottle of champagne in celebration instead of expecting the IDB team to organize something for me. After that exchange the issue was dropped. Absolute silence followed. That is until the day a “total surprise” came. It was such a unique and momentous experience in my life. Why so?

I was deeply moved by the fact that although a quarter of a century has long passed since we last worked as a team, you IDBers still kept me in your hearts.

You resorted to the efficiency of the high‐tech “internet‐cyberspace” to communicate, coordinate, execute in absolute secrecy, proficiency, and creativity a plan to celebrate my 70th birthday with nearly 40 of you in attendance. (Allow me to say here that you are in every sense of the word real “fighting roosters” “gà nòi” of true bloodlines, always sharp and ready for combat ‐ not of the dispirited, useless type referred to by Dr. Trần Lữ Y as “gà chết” or “chicken die.”

On that day, I was taken by “total surprise”. So much so that I did not even have the time to put on my shoes when your party showed up at the house. It was past eleven already and I was still waiting for my friend Dr. Hưởn to come so that the two of us could go out for a bowl of noodle at Mì Hải Ký restaurant. It turned out that anh Hưởn was your accomplice with the assigned mission to keep me at home waiting for the designated time of your arrival.

I was deeply touched knowing that several of you had to travel long distances to take part in the big IDB family reunion. In all sincerity, I must admit again that I hold a lot of admiration for the close and harmonious relationship the IBDers living in San Francisco maintain among themselves. I was impressed with the way Khôi, Khởi, Tâm succeeded in producing the 2000 IDB Almanac with so many wonderful photos and interesting articles. Besides, the most precious gift you all gave me is the realization that you made me feel IDB was a forge where I, the blacksmith, was able to hammer out a dynamic team known for its “honesty, drive, and straightforwardness.”

I am most grateful to Marie to keep everything under wraps until the last minute so that the event could become a happy and unforgettable surprise for me.

I am really fortunate to have such a gentle life companion. From the bottom of my heart, I ask for her forgiveness because I realize I am a quick tempered person whose occasional harsh word can cause unintended pain to the most gentle souls.

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On our 40th wedding anniversary, I only wish to fulfill my vow to make her happy for the remaining days we’ll share together.

MY Thank God for giving me At seventy,

UNIQUE A 40th wedding anniversary And you, for your brilliant surprise party

AND So you can easily see That with you, life could be

UNFORGETTABLE A finished symphony for me.

Thank you again deeply.

MEMORY By the way, this is the last “total surprise”.

May be.

Yours truly,

Điểu

and Marie

This “Mother of all anecdotes” was given to me in 2000 by my “Dream Team”! How and why? Vietnamese old literature had a saying “Thất Thập Cổ Lai Hy” “Seventy Year Life Is Rare.” My Dream Team, using the Internet, organized secretly a total “Surprise party” for my 70th birthday. How did they make sure to have me anchored at home that day at 11:30 AM? They asked my close friend Dr. Huon to do the job for them i.e. my friend was supposed to invite me to our familiar and well known Chinese noodle shop at “Hải Ký Mì Gia” Irving Street that day. I had to wait for him to pick me up at home! D Day came. My team parked their cars at LUCKY store two blocks away from home. The late Vĩnh Thục walked over secretly and saw me bare footed washing my dirty camper. Then suddenly I saw Hoàng Đức Nhã with a gift box walking in front of a group. Caught by surprise I lead the group through the basement garage to my redwood deck in the backyard. Truly my living room was too small for more than thirty people. That

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was how we celebrated the Surprise 70th birthday party. After the fall of Saigon, we were separated and dispersed all over the world. Yet 25 years later, I felt very moved, surprised and honored to have my team members treating me as the leading bird flying with the flock. A real joyful extended family reunion.

Anecdotes from the “Dream Team”

Our unique “SURPRISE PARTY” at my home in San Francisco, in 2000

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In spite of all the ups and downs in my life, I must say that I am most fortunate now in my mid‐80s to enjoy wonderful retirement by the side of my beloved wife Marie in the great city of San Francisco together with the profound sense of true Friendship from countless people who were my colleagues in the 1960s and 1970s in Saigon. Not many people can claim such a rare and enduring friendship which has lasted for more than half a century and I am most grateful for it. To be able to know true Friendship has made my life much more meaningful and a compelling reason for me to write my memoirs.

I feel fortunate to have received this feedback from a friend in San Jose.

“Dear friend, Reading the writings of your former colleagues, I can feel they all speak from their hearts and show their esteem for you because of your truthfulness and astute leadership. After decades of living apart, it is out of true solidarity that makes the members of your group still think of each other and the feelings being expressed are genuine. You should value the precious affections your friends reserve for you.

Respectfully, Nguyễn Thành Sơn”

CHAPTER 25 Bonds of Love Among Siblings in a Khương Hữu family

Having had a chance to re-read this book after the passage of time EAST meets WEST Journey through War & Peace

I realized that I failed to cover my relationship with many of my close relatives and hence decided on the need for a supplemental chapter devoted to this subject. Being the youngest in a family of eight and also the only one alive, I feel a big loss in no longer being able to stay in contact with them as I used to. My nieces and nephews called me the “last of the Mohicans!�

In this chapter, I wish to relive the sweet moments I shared with my siblings as accurately as I could. Consequently, I have asked their children or grandchildren for help by sending me photos and/or any interesting stories about their parents that could contribute to the writing of this chapter.

I want to make it absolutely clear that my intention is not to extol the achievements or any special merits of my own family. Far from it!

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In my father’s generation we had Uncle Six who died of opium use and Uncle Nine of alcohol… Father used to say: “Brothers and sisters are different and they resemble the fingers of our hands. Some tall some short; some fat some skinny…” By recording my life with my seven siblings I hope to pass on to younger generations of Vietnamese a peek into the life of a middle-class family in the Mekong Delta under the rule of French colonialists, Vietnamese nationalists then ultimately the corrupt and inept communists.

Family photo on the roof garden of our Mỹ Tho home, TET 1951 From left to right: Chị Bảy Mai, Ngọc Khương, sister Two’s daughter Vân, sister Two’s daughter Hồ, sister Two, father, sister Two’s son Vọng, sister Four, Mother, sister Seven, adopted mother, adopted father, me

In retrospect, looking at this old photo I am reminded of the time I grew up as a child in an extended family of three generations living under one roof. My father succeeded to raise all of his eight children to adulthood with his classic, traditional “samurai” style of upbringing. There was discipline but tempered with harmony.

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In our family, we kids shared three meals a day together with our parents sitting around a big round table. It was a time for fun as well as education. On those occasions, father would frequently mention the events of the day coupled with his personal comments or observations. He wanted us to learn from real life cases. To make it more interesting and easy to remember, he often made use of Vietnamese idioms and proverbs. I can still remember some of them: “Hùm chết để da, người ta chết để tiếng” (when he dies, a tiger leaves its skin behind, a human his reputation;) “chơi dao có ngày đứt tay”(he who plays with knives will one day cut himself;) “Nhà giàu đứt tay bằng ăn mày đổ ruột” (when a rich man cuts his finger it is like a beggar who loses his intestines;) “Ăn trái nhớ kẻ trồng cây”(when you eat a fruit, remember the person who planted the tree;) “Cờ bạc là bác thằng bần”(gambling is the mother of poverty;) and regarding ranking in society: “Nhứt sĩ, nhì nông, tam công, tứ thương” (First come the learned, second the farmers, third the artisans, fourth the merchants;)etc…

We all lived in complete harmony under the same roof in a loving atmosphere with some minor frictions among the in-laws.

I would like to write about each of my siblings in the following order:

1. Life with Sister Two “Chị Hai”:

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Sister Two and family

Left to right: Sister Six, sister Two, daughter Háť“, sister Seven. Brother-in- law Two

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There was no sister One in a Vietnamese family because the mother was always considered the Number One. By tradition, the oldest sister often assumed the responsibility and the authority of the mother. Since my mother was very busy running the jewelry store, my sister Two, among other tasks, took care of the twin boys. Many a day, I had refused to go to school located across the river from our home. Many a morning, Sister Two with her rattan stick made me walk past the tall drawbridge so that I would be scared of the bridge’s height above the river and would not dare return home alone. Sister Two also served as the stern referee of the daily fights between me and my twin. Her sentencing was always simple, brief and quick. Right or wrong, we both fell victim to her rattan stick that unfailingly left a few red marks on our behinds.

My parents gave Sister Two a traditional Vietnamese style training for girls i.e. the fine arts of cooking, baking, embroideries, tailoring clothes…etc. No need for a conventional high school education. I remember vividly the fun I had helping her bake cakes and cookies. We had no gas or electric oven in those days, only the charcoal type. She used a two-foot long rectangular copper box with two small glass windows on the sides to check the doneness of the bake inside. I was in charge of keeping the heat of the charcoal fire steady on the upper and lower sides of the oven. As a reward, my sister would let me taste the samples of the bake. After Sister Two got married, she sharpened her management know-how to run her future jewelry store. She moved with her husband to Cần Thơ, the capital of the Mekong Delta. My brother-in-law “Anh Hai” used to go to Saigon to purchase jewelry from wholesalers. Their store “LÊ QUANG” did a brisk business and became the most trusted in town.

Then, tragedy unexpectedly struck during the civil war in the 1940’s.

At the time, the Viet Minh were fighting the Hòa Hảo Buddhist sect whose headquarters were located in Cái Vồn, a ferry town not far from Cần Thơ. The Viet Minh controlled the security check point at the ferry. My brother-in-law had the misfortune of bearing the same name LÊ QUANG VINH as the leader of the Hòa Hảo sect. For that mistaken identity, he was tragically put to death by the Viet Minh. My sister continued to run her business alone and my parents took care of all her children.

My sister was a very good businesswoman. During the French reoccupation of Vietnam after the Second World War a lot of Foreign Legion and French soldiers were stationed in the Mekong Delta. They looked for local souvenirs to send back home. So, my sister went to the lacquerware town of Thủ Dầu Một to bring back gifts made of lacquer for resale; a very lucrative business.

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It was always a lot of fun for me to visit Sister Two. She showed me the “Vườn Thầy Cầu,” the famous garden with huge lotus leaves measuring more than 1.5 meter in diameter. The “Ninh Kiều Embarcadero” was very picturesque and teeming with street vendors selling their delicious food. She treated me to local delicacies like salt baked turtles and “Cá Cháy,” a delicious fish from the nearby Mekong River.

The last time I met her was in 1951. At that time, I was sent by the Mỹ Tho Junior High to Cần Thơ Junior High to grade the yearly final exam of the DEPSI (Diplôme d’Études Primaires Supérieures Indochinois). In the following year, I left Vietnam with a Fulbright Scholarship to study engineering at LAFAYETTE COLLEGE in Easton, Pennsylvania.

My Sister Two passed away while I was studying overseas.

When I got settled down working in Saigon, my home was about two blocks from Thu’s place. Thu is my Sister Two’s daughter. She was married to Tom Forbes, a specialist at the US Embassy. Thank God, it was Thu who succeeded to get Marie and me out of Vietnam just before the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975!

June 1975, we got out of Camp Pendleton under the sponsorship of good Samaritan Roy Muehlberger, a complete stranger to us.

While living in the US we met Thu regularly in Oregon, Nevada and Florida.

Our first day as refugees out of Camp Pendleton with Anh’s family (Anh is Sister Two’s daughter), June 1975

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Family reunion with Thu and her husband George Barnes retiring in their new home in Oregon:

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Our happy reunion in Oregon

Thu has a younger brother Bảy living in Ames, Iowa. Marie and I with our friend Dr. Hưởn had a good time also with Bảy’s family at his home. His two daughters are very good tennis players.

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Our family ties always remain solid and joyful to this day.

2. Life with Sister Three “Chị Ba”

Sister Three, husband Nguyễn văn Khuê

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Sister Three, husband Nguyễn văn Khuê and brother Five

L to R: Đáng, Marie, Minh, Điểu, Hoàng, Sáng from Soissons, Nice, Reims 2015 in San Francisco home

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At 16 Riverton San Francisco home L to R: Minh, Đáng, Hoàng, Điểu, Sáng, Marie sharing sweet shrimps and Napa Chardonnay.

My Sister Three married at a young age and moved to Saigon to be with her husband. My first meeting with her in Saigon was unforgettable! I was bitten by a dog in Rạch Miễu village and thank God the only place where one could find the anti-rabies vaccine was at the Pasteur Institute in Saigon. Consequently, I was sent to Sister Three‘s home for the daily vaccine shots. There I met for the first time my brother-in-law. He was educated in France and held a License-ès-Lettres from the University of Paris. After that, he became a professor of French literature at the famous Lycée Pétrus Trương Vĩnh Ký in Saigon. They lived in an apartment in the Dakao district near the Pasteur Institute. For that reason, my first contact with them was marked by a very “painful” event that required a daily shot at the stomach area! Because the dog bite was near my heart, I was given two shots near the belly for the first three days followed by a daily injection for the next fifteen. What a painful time in my life! Believe it or not, I had to go through the same experience with a second round a few years later!

In my brother-in-law’s case, we can see a clear example of discrimination by the French colonial system which ironically brought him a unique breakthrough in his life.

During his school days in Paris, he had a Vietnamese classmate named Hồ Văn Trực. They both graduated in the same year, returned to Saigon and taught

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at Lycée Pétrus Ký. The main difference is that his friend, who was married to a French lady, became a naturalized French citizen and earned a salary ten times as much as my brother-in-law. Nguyễn văn Khuê was shocked and quit his job. He then went on to start a private school of his own. The school located on boulevard Kitchener was named “Lycéum Nguyễn văn Khuê” after himself. It became one of the best private schools in town. But his entrepreneurship did not stop there. It created many future leaders of Vietnam.

Later on, he invested in a rubber plantation in Biên Hòa; opened the wellknown Kim Sơn French restaurant near the Saigon Central market, then the bus line TẤN TÀI connecting Saigon to Dalat (320 km away) and finally a tricycle renting company near “Cầu Ông Lãnh.”

In the summer of 1948, to prepare for my special examination in mathematics, I stayed for two months at Sister Three’s home. I was attending the Lycée Yersin in Dalat. To be well prepared to take the Baccalaureate Exam in Mathematics, I and my classmate Bùi kiến Thành, son of the well-known Dr. Bùi kiến Tín, rode our bicycles every day from Saigon to the home of the famous professor Vương gia Cần in Phú Lâm for private math lessons. After school I enjoyed my time talking with the tricycle mechanics at my sister’s home. They taught me a few tricks about repairing bicycles.

In 1951, I went back to my old Mỹ Tho junior high school to teach. On that occasion, my Sister Three gave me quite a few silk ties her husband bought during his days in Paris. He also had an interesting hobby: collecting old Chinese ivory and wood carvings from the Saigon “Salles de Vente” auction house. He was always well dressed and I ordered my clothing and shoes at his favorite tailor and shoemaker.

Later on while working in Saigon I often made trips to relax on weekends at my Sister’s rubber plantation with its natural underground clear water pool. It was the first time I saw hundreds of plantation workers using a small specially designed knife to cut a line in the trunk of the tree so that the white rubber sap could be collected in an attached bowl. Later on, when the bowls were full they collected the sap to be processed into sheets of smoked rubber ready for export to France. My brother-in-law retired in the 1960’s in Nice, France.

I had also the opportunity to visit them several times during my business trips overseas. In 1966 I was invited by the “Conseil National du Patronat Français (CNPF),” or the "National Council of the French Employers” to give a conference on investments in South Vietnam together with the Vietnam

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Ambassador in Paris. My brother Quí and his wife Francoise were invited to this conference. My brother-in-law Nguyễn Văn Khuê was happy to see me being well received by the French government at the Paris airport.

After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, I started my second life in the US. My nephews and nieces living in France would come to attend family reunions at my San Francisco home. It was always a happy family overseas.

3. Life with Sister Four ”Chị Tư”

Sister Four and family (the old days)

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Sister Four and family

Chi Xẩm, our Chinese helper, with sister Four’s children in Saigon

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Marie with the children at home

Chị Tư lived in Mỹ-Tho for quite a while to help my parents run the jewelry store. I was also under her direct supervision. I remember very well her nice tailoring of new shirts for me for the Tet celebration. For dental care she took me to the well-known dentist Dr. Kiều in Saigon. In those days I very much enjoyed trips to the capital aboard the famous French modern auto-rail which boasted blue glass windows. With that new mode of transportation people did not have to suffer from the ashes emitted by the old steam locomotives.

Sister Four had the opportunity to learn from many professional chefs excellent French gourmet dishes like Canards à l’Orange, Civet de Canards, Canards aux Olives, Ragouts, Coq au Vin, Lapin Chasseur, Cupcakes, Choux à la Crème, Éclairs, Indian Curry… etc. As was the case with Sister Two, I also took care of the charcoal oven for her as well and sampled the goodies. She maintained a little garden on the roof garden of our home planted with many colorful rose trees.

After the day’s work she often organized dinner on the rented boat with my other sisters and cousins to take advantage of the cool breeze on the Mekong River islands. Usually the boat was attached to the paletuvier trees of the island.

At home, she made many embroidered pillows for the sofa in the living room. On the walls she hung her woolen needle works of Tigers, Swans, and Lions for

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decorations. In later years, when I came back from the US and worked in Saigon, she took care of her husband’s Cao Thái Hoành’s pharmacy in Vinh Long.

Following the French system, most pharmacies operated like a small retail store; there was no drugstore chain.

The school system was not good in the province of Vinh Long, Vietnam and my sister wanted her children to stay with us in Saigon in order to attend school there. Marie was really kind and generous to accept this new responsibility.

We were fortunate to have a villa in Saigon big enough to take care of all the five children. I have to give a lot of credit to Marie for accepting such great responsibilities. She looked after their schooling. Every so often, my sister sent us special fish and lobster from the Mekong delta. We lived under one roof like that until the fall of Saigon.

After April 1975 three of the children succeeded in joining us in San Francisco. Two of them settled finally in Garden Grove, CA. Đinh, the youngest, lives in South San Francisco with his family.

Celebration of Đinh’s wedding at my San Francisco home.

Photos of ancestors and parents at the altar

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Ä?inh’s wedding

We still found many occasions like Thanksgivings or Christmas to have our family reunions. In our youth we enjoyed also outdoor camping.

Family reunion in San francisco

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In the US after April 1975: Camping, boating with family at Lake Siskiyou, Mt Shasta

My sister Four and her husband passed away a few years ago.

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4. Life with Brother Five “Anh Cân”

Brother Five in “Tet” family photo on the home roof garden at 59 Quai Gallieni, Mỹ Tho, 1944

I really missed my Brother Five for many special reasons. During my seven years of schooling and work in the US he was the only member of my family giving me news from home. Of course, not many wrote letters in my family. They seemed to devote most of their effort to work for the success of the business. I should feel lucky to be able to study and take care of myself. That is the plain truth but nevertheless a little tough for me because it deepened my homesickness. I remember receiving altogether only three letters from my father

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during my seven year stay in the US. Brother Five did send me once in a while a $50 check allowed by the Foreign Exchange Bureau in Saigon.

In 1958, in New York the General Manager of ESSO Vietnam, who was to be my future boss, warned me that once I returned to Saigon I would not get an exit visa because of the mobilization law and my age. So, I invited my Brother Five in Saigon to join me and my twin from Paris to go on an exploration of Western Europe. We met at noon near the Atomium of the 1958 World Fair in Brussels.

Together we made a 15,000 km tour of countries outside the Iron Curtain alternating camping with bed and breakfasts and hotels. (See Chapter 9)

Three brothers touring Western Europe in 1958

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My trip back home from Europe took longer. From Paris I boarded a PANAM flight to embark on an almost 90 day journey comprising stopovers in Italy, Greece, Egypt, Iran, India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and finally Vietnam.

My brother Five seemed to be proud to have someone in the family educated at MIT. I happened to harbor such thoughts because upon my return from New York I was really spoiled by him. He let me live in his villa located in a very classy residential area Rue Jauriberry (now Ngô Thời Nhiệm) with my cousin the pharmacist Khương Hữu Hội. He hired for us a good Vietnamese chef who retired from The French Lines connecting Marseilles and Saigon. We really enjoyed two years of gourmet cuisine. Brother Five let me use his new car, a French Peugeot 403 with the license plate: NBR-081. I mention the number because in Vietnam people preferred the number 9 (8+1) for good luck! More than that, he often allowed me to drive his sleek metallic blue Convertible Sport car Karman Ghia VW for my weekend outings with friends! He bought this car from Mr. Grand Jean, CEO of BG&I (Brasseries et Glacières de l’Indochine)

His VW Karmann Ghia

My brother studied at Hue Providence High School whose principal was Monseigneur Ngô Đình Thục, the older brother of the future president Ngô Đình Diệm. He was called home to manage the family rice mill at Tam Bình in Vĩnh Long. It was unfortunate that his prearranged marriage did not work out. He settled in Saigon as an entrepreneur with many successful activities including a bus company NHAN NHUT connecting Vinh Long to Saigon, a wholesale business selling western vegetables grown in Dalat to Cầu Ông Lãnh markets and the cinema Định Tường in Mỹ Tho. He helped Sister Four in the transportation of pharmaceutical products from Saigon to Vĩnh Long and devoted a lot of effort to help our big family.

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My greatest satisfaction was to see him become an industrialist when he set up a plant to manufacture Yanmar agricultural equipment under license from Japan in the Biên Hòa Industrial Park.

I organized his son Dr. Khương Hữu Đức’s wedding at the Caravelle Hotel in Saigon

After the fall of Saigon, he succeeded to settle as a refugee in Liège, Belgium. I have tried to help him.

Brother Five visiting me from Liège, Belgium

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He visited us in San Francisco on several occasions. Our brotherly love lasted until the end of his life. I really miss him a lot!

5. Life with Sister Six “Chị Sáu”:

With Sister Six and mother at Gò Công Beach

Sisters Six and Seven with parents and children

Family photo on my Saigon roof garden during TET

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Sister Six and her big, happy family

Parents at wedding of their daughter

I had a lot of fun with Sister Six’s family. Before the wedding, my future brother-in-law came all the way from Thủ Dầu Một to visit my Sister Six in Mỹ

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Tho. Many times I asked to accompany him back to his rubber plantation in Bưng Cầu near Thủ Dầu Một. Such visits were one of my most memorable childhood souvenirs. From Mỹ Tho we took the train to Saigon. Then he drove me to his home in Bưng Cầu. I remember the good fun I had riding on his carriage and horse “Hồng” on our way to the plantation. For a young boy, that was quite a thrill. Better yet, he let me ride the horse to a small stream a mile away for bathing. Then I knew for the first time that when the horse was on his way home he automatically ran faster. So fast he almost threw me to the ground at the stable gate!

While writing this last chapter I often took a break for a walk at Pacific Ocean Beach. There I met William, a professional whale watcher. He gave me one of his recent photos catching two whales, one while surfacing and the second while diving. He caught also several dolphins and one hawk on a dead tree nearby.

Photo from a friend whale watching at Pacific Ocean Beach 2018

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My sister Six‘s home was near the popular Cinema Nguyễn Văn Hảo in Saigon. There were many excellent food street vendors in that area. Whenever I found some little free time I liked to visit my sister and sample all the goodies in her neighborhood. I used to drink beer with my brother-in-law. After the loss of Saigon his family became refugees in Aubervilliers, France. I felt very happy to invite them to visit us in San Francisco and we really had a good time together like in the good old days.

5. Life with Sister Seven “Chị Bảy”:

Sisters Six & Seven

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Family picnic at Gò Công beach

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Sister Seven & cousin KH Đều on two-oar sculling rower, Mekong River in Mỹ Tho

I lived under one roof with my Sister Seven in Mỹ Tho for most of my childhood years. She was the principal manager of our parents’ jewelry store with the assistance of my first cousin KH Đều. Among my siblings she was the only one who sacrificed her life to take care of my mother during her last days in Saigon. She refused to leave Vietnam to go to the US after 1975 even with the proper papers in hand. I respect her for all this great sacrifice and filial piety.

After work she used our family “périssoire” (Two-oar sculling rower) with my cousin to row a few miles along the Mekong River and enjoy the cool breeze just before sunset. Quite often, I went along with her. We went to Gò Công beach on weekends for family picnics. She married and moved to Saigon. My brother-inlaw owned a print shop with “Chiche Dầu” known for TET special issues with paintings of “Cover girl and conical hat.” He also used that print shop to publish his “Thách Đố” daily newspaper.

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Only after taking good care of my mother in Saigon did she accept to move to the US to live with her two daughters here in California. She frequently joined us in our walks at Ocean Beach or in the Presidio Park near the Golden Gate Bridge.

We shared many meals as well as many happy moments together. Sadly, she came down with lung cancer that was eventually fatal. I did not realize until later that it resulted from secondary smoke because my brother-in-law smoked regularly. He passed away a long time ago.

Lunch with Sister Six at Domaine Chandon, Napa Valley

She made a trip back to Vietnam then returned to California to spend her last days. I did see her for the last time and really miss her smiling attitude very much.

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6. Life with my Twin:

Brother QuĂ­ at his Paris home

In 1957 I invited him to MIT campus

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“Why is it that when we split one gene in half, we end up with one side better than the other?” We were told this by a mean society. In a way it has helped us to emulate one another all our life for a better future! I was given to Uncle Seven so that each Khương Hữu family has a son to carry on the tradition.

My twin was sent to Paris in 1950 to continue his study. I was left behind.

Thank God, I graduated Valedictorian of my class at Lycée Yersin and landed a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Lafayette College, Easton Pennsylvania in 1952.

It was quite a different academic system compared to that of France.

In 1976 Marie and I did visit my twin brother’s family in Paris and in their summer beach home in Quiberon, Brittany. Their son Philippe and daughter Sabine went from Quiberon to Paris with us on our car. We did stop to see my cousin Dr. Nguyễn Trọng Danh at his summer villa in Carnac.

Marie and Sabine on the way to Paris from Quiberon, Brittany

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Another stop at Mont St Michel, France

A stop at my cousin Dr. Nguyễn Trọng Danh’s home in Carnac, France

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Quí, cousin KHBa and nephews at Đinh’s wedding at my San Franciso home

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Qui picnic at Angel Island on the Pauls’ boat

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Philippe graduated from Polytechnique Paris

Architect Sabine and Philippe at home in Paris

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Philippe, Executive on Wall Street

Daughter Hina KHƯƠNG-HỮU

Menuhin Competition 2018, Junior finals (Google): Hina Khương-Hữu started to play the violin when she was three years old.

She has won top prizes at the Osaka International Competition, the Grumiaux Competition, and Il Piccolo Violino Magico. She has attended the Musica Mundi Chamber Music Course and Festival in Belgium, and currently attends the Spence

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School in New York. Hina was a student at the Juilliard Pre-College Division and studies with Professor Li Lin.

From Google International Grumiaux Violin Competition March 7, 2017

Fiona Khương-Hữu (10 y.o.) - Japan/France - 1st Prize category A

As French civil servants with doctorates of Sciences from the University of Paris both Quí and his wife Francoise were quite successful. They both served as “Directeurs de recherche” in CNRS (Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques.)

In 1978 we did make a long camping tour in the US and Canada. Their son Philippe, a graduate of France’s famous École Polytechnique, has a very successful career at Wall Street’s GOLDMAN SACHS. He married a well-known Japanese ballet dancer named Takako. They came to visit us in San Francisco and invited us to watch Takako perform at the San Francisco Opera House. I am glad to have talked with Philippe about the fact that he was working full time in Wall Street while Takako continued her world tour with the Opera company. I asked him how many months out of a year he could be with his wife? He said five then

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changed to six. Fortunately, the bottom line was he later asked her to stop working. The happy couple is now living in New York with their two daughters who are violin virtuosos. I regret that Philippe, a very successful financial executive, did not care very much about keeping extended family ties in the typical Khương Hữu tradition. Probably, with a French mother and a Japanese wife, it’d be difficult for him to keep to Vietnamese traditions.

In the US our American friends, the Tulls and the Pauls did wine and dine them joyfully on their boats in San Francisco Bay. They again had the pleasure to see each other when both of my American friends took a trip to Paris. It was a shock to me that my twin suddenly passed away last year due to Alzheimer. It left a vacuum in my heart.

Looking back at the last 58 years of our marriage we feel very lucky and fortunate to have good health and a harmonious life with our seven brothers and sisters including all of their in-laws. I would like to say thanks to Marie’s modest, low key and hospitable personality that has contributed a great deal to the happy relations with our extended family. Thank God for all the blessings.

EPILOGUE

The French have a saying: "A Quelque Chose Malheur Est Bon" or something similar to “Misfortune May Be a Blessing in Disguise” in English. These popular sayings very much summarize my fate and destiny throughout the past eighty‐six years of my existence. It has been a long journey from the time when I grew up in a peaceful colony of the French Empire called Cochinchine. The name Viet Nam was not yet on any map of the world, but only as little "Cochinchinois" as we were then designated. I was fortunate enough to have a comfortable and joyful childhood in the fertile Mekong Delta of South Viet Nam and l could not have thought by the wildest stretch of the imagination that I would one day through "misfortune" be retiring in the New World, San Francisco Bay Area, the Land of the Free, as I am doing now!

Life always has its ups and downs for everybody, but in the preceding 24 chapters I have tried to describe what that word "misfortune" meant to me. I had to deal with the devastating Vietnam War, one of the greatest human tragedies of the 20th century, a war that dragged on during three decades and caused the death of some three million people. It was followed by a mass exodus, unprecedented in the 4,000 years of Viet Nam's history, with hundreds of thousands of men and women, old and young, choosing to throw themselves at the mercy of the vast deadly ocean rather than submit themselves to the communist regime which was imposed on Viet Nam by force of arms. It was also

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my hope beyond all hopes that my wife and I would be among those able to escape in extremis out of Saigon before it fell into the hands of the invading North Vietnamese troops. I was then in my 40s, and that was the most heart rending episode of my unpredictable life. Little did I know then, that after the dramatic fall of Saigon in the year 1975, I was destined to face other heartbreaking challenges during the next four decades of my new life in my country of adoption, the United States of America!

To this day, it is still difficult for me to believe that I was able to survive such dramatic and continuous changes year in and year out for so long a time. I am now in my 80s and in this book I have gathered my courage and wavering memory to reminisce the bad as well as the good things in my life. In fact, after having gone into retirement some 20 years ago, I did try many times to sit down by myself to remember the past with the most meaningful events, decisive moments and especially the very beloved people in the course of my existence on this earth. I do not know how others manage to recall their deeply moving souvenirs, but for me, only after a few minutes of this difficult mental exercise, I just managed to choke convulsively in my tears. That is the reason why it then became high time for me to really have a go at it and to put down on paper the story of my life. As always a very practical man, with thanks to MIT, I have carried out this project with concrete parameters requiring exact planning in time as well as in mental, intellectual and physical efforts. This ambitious endeavor will surely be my last big challenge, and I have done it, first of all, as my filial duty in memory of my parents for whom I have profound respect and love. To remember the past has also been for me an expression of the lasting friendship and deep affection for my siblings, relatives and friends in Viet Nam, in America, in Europe and elsewhere in the world, who have filled my life with so much affection, sharing and togetherness. And to tell the story of my life is, above all, for me to say how lucky a husband I have been, because it is at the same time very much the story of Marie, my kind and beloved wife, who has remained by my side for better or for worse during the past 57 years. I often wondered in times of great difficulties how did she do it to bear the unbelievable hardship resulting from the adverse circumstances. Furthermore, her love and devotion for me must have supernatural powers to cope with the hopeless situations. I must admit as well that I did not always make things easy for Marie because in many ways I have a complicated mind and at times a rather difficult temperament. I have discovered that there is a very great happiness to have been forgiven by your wife even though you have some impossible character traits. It is quite possible that I have inherited it in my genes, which is further aggravated by the process of East meets West. More than anyone else, Marie has been aware of such a mixture in me and has always accepted it.

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Composing the story of my life has helped me take a closer look at my own inner‐self in a more serene and realistic way. I began with a happy life in a traditional Confucian middle class family in South Vietnam. Half of my life was in South Vietnam and the other half in the United States. My gene is a hybrid of Vietnamese and Chinese. My family’s religious beliefs are a co‐existence of Catholicism and Confucianism. My education is a hybrid of the Vietnamese, French and American systems. I considered myself a hybrid product between the “chopstick culture” of old Asia and the “Cow Boy” culture of the New World. With such diversity in nature and nurture, I was able to look at the world through my own, one of a kind, hybrid lens.

I crossed the Pacific Ocean the first time in 1952 for my education. I had the opportunity to collect the best of the West to apply to my own life activities in my homeland. It was a very unique experiment to implement a blend of high tech with traditional old culture. In April 1975, the “Bolshevik‐like” revolution in Vietnam forced me to restart my life empty handed as a refugee in Marine Camp Pendleton, California. Little did I know then that the saying "Every Cloud has a Silver Lining" would be working for me ... True enough, I was reborn in the Land of the Free, the Land of Opportunity. Since birth, I never thought of migrating anywhere. It is shocking to now realize and to accept the sad fact that it is unlikely that I will ever see my ancestral home again. Probably only my ashes will rejoin my parents RIP place in the Mekong Delta.

In the 24 Chapters of this book I followed a long up and down, zigzagging journey from East to West with so many obstacles and rewards. It has been a very challenging journey, but with patience and hard work, America continues to be a wonderful promised land for me.

What do I miss most in my life? I wish I could have shared with my parents the results of the fruits of their sweat and labor in bringing me up to the stage of full manhood. Then, with my effort to repay their sacrifices, I would have wanted them to see the result of their good work. For me, it would have been the zenith of my life if I could have seen my parents cheerful and happy in my own home.

I thank God for giving me such exceptional and unique opportunities to prove to myself that LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!

Khương Hữu Điểu San Francisco 2017

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Trained as a mechanical engineer from MIT, I consider myself a “nuts and bolts” man. For me, writing a book was something very remote from my lifetime activities. Then came the day of my retirement in 1996, at the age of 65. I was looking for a sound mental exercise to make my retirement interesting and to keep my mind away from Alzheimer. My book project became a reality with the help and encouragement of many close friends: Stan Tull, Thái Vĩnh Khiêm, Don Sayenga, Chuck Hage, Phil Gehman, Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Nguyễn Sĩ Tuất, Frances Krebs and Nguyễn Xuân Phong.

Stan, who has read many books over his lifetime, and has written his own autobiography, was my overall project coach. He thought I had a good story to tell and "burned a lot of midnight oil" to get me over many road bumps. Khiêm is the one who persuaded me, from his own experience of publishing several books, and convinced me that I was able to write a decent book. Don, Chuck and Phil, my buddy‐classmates since Lafayette College days 1952‐56, were very prolific and reliable sources of help. Without Thanh I could not have had a PC system installed in good working condition and properly maintained with all the newly required software and hardware. Nowadays writing a book with photos by computer requires a lot of PC skill and Tuất was my guru who continuously succeeded in

getting me out of frequent technical break downs. Frances, the daughter of my sponsors from Camp Pendleton, the Muelhbergers, has with other friends helped shape and polish the prose of my only book in English. Phong, my buddy co‐ worker at ESSO Saigon, the only Vietnamese American of my generation from Oxford University, gave me a lot of inspiration for “East meets West” ideas. I thank my former IDB (Industrial Development Bank) staff and my numerous relatives and friends who gave me constant support with candid and constructive feed back. They showed intense interest in my project. Last but not least, my love for Marie, my wife of 57 years and still counting, for being my better‐half, strong supporter, and soul mate through good times and bad.

APPENDIX

The book “EAST Meets WEST” by ĐIỂU KHƯƠNG‐HỮU is a detailed historical account covering over 86 years of the author's life from the Mekong Delta to San Francisco Bay. During the first half of his life ĐIỂU was a first‐hand witness to what happened to the land of his ancestors beginning in the 1930s under French colonial rule. But he was also a notable participant in many crucial events in the south of Vietnam after the Geneva Accords partitioned the country in 1954. This partitioning was followed by long years of war until the fall of Saigon in 1975 to North Vietnamese troops. During the next forty years, he struggled to have a decent and dignified life in America. Now ĐIỂU has taken the time and effort to record in this book his experiences over eight decades and thus share them with young and old alike, for generations to come. ĐIỂU grew up in the small town of Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta, a town with deep Vietnamese traditions and customs. The stories of his childhood years provide a good description of life in Vietnam under French colonial rule. At that time, the best schools available in his hometown were a Vietnamese elementary school and a French junior high school. Then for his high school, he was able to attend the French Lycée Yersin in Dalat where he obtained his Baccalauréat with honors. In 1952, he was also most fortunate to be awarded the much sought after Fulbright Scholarship to go to the United States for further studies. It was at the Lafayette College in Easton Pennsylvania that he had his first encounters with the American way of life. It was also the first time that he was

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away from Vietnam, facing the many challenges of adapting to a different culture and a different language. He had to overcome quickly his shortcomings in the English language in order to follow the courses just as he had to get used to American food. The staff at Lafayette College did everything to help him out, particularly when funding of the Fulbright Scholarship stopped in the second year. He was then given a job waiting tables which enabled him to work through college and obtain his diploma there.

After Lafayette College, Điểu became the very first Vietnamese with a Tau Beta Pi honorary fellowship to attend the famous MIT and receive a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. It gave him great prestige to wear the MIT label and the precious technical knowledge thus obtained enabled him to carry out his responsibilities while serving his poor country, Vietnam, which was then quickly drawn into the terrible scourge of war that lasted nearly two decades.

Back in Saigon, Điểu's MIT qualifications were widely recognized by people from both inside and outside government circles. He worked first in the private sector for a few years before joining government service as Director of the Industrial Development Center and later assuming the responsibilities of Director General of the Industrial Development Bank. ĐIỂU was to remain in these two positions over the following 12 years during which time he also became Deputy Minister of Economy in charge of Industrial Development. In that capacity, together with the Minister of Economy & Finance ÂU TRƯỜNG THANH, he had a meeting at the White House with President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. He was able to carry out outstanding works in the field of industrial development in South Vietnam which were acknowledged by many foreign governments that bestowed on him their national orders and highest decorations.

He remained in government service until the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese troops in April 1975. ĐIỂU and his wife Marie were able to escape in extremis out of Saigon and reach Camp Pendleton where he was quickly elected "Mayor of Camp Pendleton" to help take care of thousands of refugees arriving there each day. The second half of his life as he set out to become a U.S. citizen began then with just one hundred and fifty dollars in travelers’ checks and a small bag of old clothes. It was very hard and trying at the beginning with odd jobs and just a small rented room.

But through hard work and perseverance he eventually managed to get proper work as Assistant Project Manager with the large Bechtel corporation in San Francisco. He remained with Bechtel during twelve years which earned him

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comfortable retirement benefits and a wonderful home in the beautiful San Francisco Bay. The book “East meets West” is, of course, a poignant story of war and peace but it includes vivid descriptions of clashes between eastern and western cultures, the merging of different traditions and customs, and the evolution in ways of life and family values, most of it generating conflicts in both the mind and heart. Finally, much sweat and tears have made it possible for ĐIỂU and his wife to achieve their successful integration into the great American nation, their country of adoption during the past four decades.

This book is all the more remarkable due to its display of hundreds of photographs and documents depicting people, events, places and the flow of time.

It is a valuable reference book for research and study as well as fascinating reading. (from my MIT classmate XN’57)

FEEDBACK

I want to share with you the book feedback.

When I received good feedback from a chapter, I usually thought it was a polite reply. Then some feedbacks have convinced me that I am on the right track.

Khương Hữu Điểu

Thanks Dieu. You have some wise friends. The fact is that almost every time I read one of your chapters I think it is the best, so I stopped saying so because I feared you would not believe me.

This is one of your best chapters. it is informative, factual. It shows the intrigue and "trading" between government and big business. It shows that everything is for sale! Excellent job.

You mentioned Ambassador Parker Hart. He was the one who encouraged me to write my book. His widow, Jane, later did some editing of my manuscript.

Small world.

Dieu, you certainly had a fascinating, productive and enjoyable life. Now you are sharing your rich experience with others.

Good job.

Thank you Rashid

oOo

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Dear Mr. ĐIỂU, Please let me know if and how can I have all of your chapters of this great biography of yours to read it. It is a great inspiration writing to learn from real life experience of yours.

Thank you for sending out such a great piece of writing. Đỗ Hùng oOo

Kinh Anh Dieu Your self‐biography‐memoir is excellent. It has a strictly southern quintessence that will enrich the wealth among all the memoirs of the post‐ 1975 exodus of South Vietnamese from their mother land. It was out of realm of ghost Writers and beautifully genuine in every fiber of your penmanship.

Congrats Toronto, Canada March13, 2014

oOo

Dieu Your records, memory and research are all so great. I especially like the letters of referral and the chance meetings with key people. As usual, there is not a boring page in your book.

Chuck oOo

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Hi Dieu: Just finished reading ‐‐ and enjoying ‐ ‐ this latest chapter which I think ranks among the best of your writing projects, Dieu.

The "Episodes" contributed by Cuong, Muu and his pals are the best evidence of the love and admiration all IDCers felt and continue to feel for you, Dieu.

Though I barely qualify as an IDC, I've always shared the same sentiments of admiration and love.

Among the thousands of major leaders of the Republic of Vietnam, you're one of the handful, nay the only one who enjoyed such success among the boys and gals you led during the few short years of the RVN. YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO BE PROUD, KHD. Thu

oOo

Good morning, Dieu.

What an interesting and full life you have had.

You kept referring to your book as "biography". It is infact an Autobiography.

The stories written by your friends are interesting, and I am sure brought treasured memories to all of you. Sorry I could not read the Vietnamese parts!

Thanks for sharing your story.

Have a healthy and a happy new year.

LT Mưu oOo

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Dieu, Thank you, and Happy Holidays to Marie and you as well, from Ursula and me.

I read the texts of Chapters 14 and 22 earlier, but you’ve made them more attractive in these drafts. Your experience required more organizational skills and good decision‐making than any other classmate or co‐worker of mine. Reading of the Dream Team and your reunions will make many people envious.

Chuck oOo

Anh Dieu, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to finally say what I meant to say all these years.

As I wrote to Anh Muu: "... I consider myself lucky to have spent the first 10 years of my career at IDC/IDB where I met so many good people and made so many good friends.

I consider it a special blessing that after 50 years and uncounted changes, that friendship is still intact and we as a group still remain in touch."

NDKhoi oOo

Anh Dieu, Anh Khoi's recollections are the best memoir on the history of IDC/IDB and how these institutions shaped my future. I felt very emotional reading them and I am so impressed with the way he recounted events of our good old days.

Seeing the name of each person he cited, I feel like I am with them now, not 40 or 50 years ago.

Thank you for your creation and nurture of our group, the IDC/IDB. LT Muu

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oOo Dieu, When I reviewed a draft of your chapter 14 which describes some of your engineering and economic accomplishments in Vietnam my mind goes back to the day when you came into my office at Bechtel in San Francisco for a job interview.

I remember asking you half a dozen questions trying to get a feel for your experience and capabilities. One of those questions had to do with a $billion�plus job we were just undertaking in Venezuela, which called for international bidding.

The problem we had was how to handle escalation on a fixed price project that involved worldwide sources of labor, equipment, travel, shipping, storage, management, overhead, etc. over a period of five to ten years. I asked you about this and you immediately went to the black board and proceeded to write out a long formula which was so simple in concept yet thorough, that it was adopted and used for the life of the job.Your quick response to this question and your MIT credentials clinched it for me and you received a job offer.

But in retrospect, I think your resume must have played down your accomplishments because if I had seen in that resume a listing of the things described in your memoir I would have been embarrassed to have even put you through such an interview!

Stanley Tull

oOo Hi Dieu, I just finished your chapter. What can I say? It is, for me, your best. I am awash in my own memory lane, thanks to you. Thanks to Pan Am, thanks to my parents, who urged me to see more, do more, and leave home at an early age. By contrast to you, my participation in so much of the world was done through the haze of jet lag, quick layovers, and no cameras. That said, nonetheless, my most vivid memories of all, are the sounds and smells, and colors, and tastes, of those many miles of travel. Your beautiful photos fill me with great nostalgia for my own look at the world through young,

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impressionable eyes. Nothing in my own life ever impacted me in such a cathartic way as seeing this world, though there have been a number of close seconds. Thank you for your monumental effort to write your story. And again, thank you for so generously sharing it with me, step by step.

Your friend, Lou oOo

Dieu, I finally got around to reading this part of your book. I really enjoyed the way your writing achieved a balance between personal interactions with family and friends and your interesting views on what is available when enjoying America.

You and Marie have certainly made, and continue to make, the most of your time in America. Keep up the good life.

Regards, Emery

oOo

Dear Dieu, You have created a wonderful legacy for all to read. I have not had the time to read this until this morning as my own life has me more than "up to my ears" in construction in my backyard at Napa. Somehow I have considered it important to stay busy and for me it is always the physical world of redoing and repairs. I hope to complete this job within the month and then take a short break before I tackle my house on Pacheco.

I had many emotions reading these last chapters. First I was sad to read about selling your VW. I so enjoyed the uniqueness of that brief experience and the great conversations. I also reflected on the strong sense of

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community you and Marie always garnered around you. Always something to look fwd to and share with others. While I still live alone I try to keep a good circle of friends for support. My most recent acquisition is a nice circle of Jewish friends from St. Francis Woods who allow me to share Shebat with them on Fir. Nights. I appreciate the customs and traditions I learn. Not to mention the fabulous food. Which I wear Abu tartly around my middle.

You sound very vital and full of spunk! Keep it up Dieu, my former husband turns 87 today and like yourself is blessed with tremendous stamina and good health. He is still traveling world wide doing deals and plans to easily live another 15 years!

I seldom if ever miss my little apartment on Green st. The convenience of West Portal, the Mediterranean market on Taravel and the farmers market at Stonestown on Sunday keep me well fed. Although I live on a busy street I am just about to begin a huge window replacement job there and then hope to get it painted with a new look before the rains start. Still waiting for the approval from the city. I somehow want to make that house look more modern. Black windows, exterior, no shutters and possibly a graphite or charcoal finish with just a splash of tiny trim. It is such a box I can't believe it won't look better if not at least different.

In the meantime I have taken up painting which gives me tremendous frustration and countless hours of contentment at the same time. Funny how that works.

It would be a great pleasure to see you again Dieu. Perhaps if and when you can part with an autographed copy of your book. Thank you for including me in your journey of life.

Always the best regards to you and Marie.

oOo Dear Dieu Khuong, I have been reading your autobiographical material, and wondering how I can best help you move ahead with your writing project. Like so many other

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accomplished Vietnamese professionals whose lives were shaken up by the Fall of Saigon in 1975 you have a remarkable story to tell, and it is good that you have taken the trouble to assemble your thoughts and pictures in this way. In my view the most interesting of your memories deal with your early school days in Vietnam when you interacted with French and foreign teachers, your study in America, and your return to Saigon to eventually become the Chairman of the Vietnamese Industrial Development Bank. It was you and your childhood friends who helped create the South Vietnam that America initially supported and then abandoned. Many thousands of books have been published about this historical period, including the trials and ultimately the successes of the many Vietnamese who found a new life in America after the war. It seems to me your biggest contribution to the literature would be to dig deeper into your memories of your youth and education, your interaction with the French colonial system, and your years working with the Americans during the war.

Well Dieu Khuong I hope this helps. I enjoyed meeting with you and others in San Jose last month.

Best regards, Peter "Peter Arnett, Pulitzer Prize war reporter" oOo Hi Ä?, You can rejoice, and as I've said it several times, your works will be highly appreciated by a wide range of different people, both in the Vietnamese communities inâ€?country and abroad and certainly some US circles. I knew an order for 150 Memoirs of a close friend from a US University although he wrote it in Vietnamese. I am sure you can beat him, and easily.

My thoughts exactly. Your painstaking collection of photos both historical and personal are so unique, just like you. A painstaking job done to perfection.

R

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oOo

Dear anh Dieu, I have enjoyed [honest] your memoir. I have not read anything that interesting and enlightening from our politicians, generals and intellectuals. Perhaps I have not read enough. Also I finish this chapter 12 which describes well the high costs of industrialization in an economy at war. With congratulations to a good mind for a great and honest story.

I instead must thank you for showing me this genuine‐rare work of intellectual integrity.

The readers, regardless of qualifications, will be honored by your illustrious life story. And you have told "The Past Revisited" magnificently.

Thank you. Dieu Pham Kim Ngoc

oOo

Below are some of my thoughts and reflections after reading your book “East meets West:” The style is the man: You are a straightforward and sincere man so is your pen: direct and honest telling things the way you see them. Your way of writing from the heart makes me feel as if I’m communicating with an older brother. It’s both touching and endearing to me as a reader.

You told your story in a chronological order: from your tender years through adulthood then retirement age. All this is consistent with an eventful life filled with ups and downs, rich in joyful and sorrowful memories. The readers are captivated and could not wait to dive at once into the next chapter as soon as they finish reading the last one.

The time spent in collecting the photographs and research material render the story more real and alive. I have learned a lot about history, geography, customs, traditions and the culinary art of many countries while perusing through the pages of the book.

No biography, I know of, includes a collection of “anecdotes” as exceptional as the ones in your book! In Chapter 24, the people who worked under you have candidly demonstrated their heartfelt affection and respect for you. This is something to be truly cherished and appreciated.

In brief, I read your book “East meets West” with utmost fascination as well as admiration.

Vũ Thị Loan, Laval University QUEBEC

ABOUT KHƯƠNG HỮU ĐIỂU Born in Vĩnh‐Long in the Mekong Delta, early in life, Điểu Khương‐Hữu came into contact with French culture during his school days at the Collège Le Myre de Vilers in Mỹ Tho and Lycée Yersin in Dalat. In 1951, he passed his French Baccalauréate in Mathematics with Honors (Mention Bien) – a rare achievement during the French colonial time. He also received scholastic prizes from His Royal Highness Norodom Sihanouk, the Mayor of Dalat, the Associations of Students’ Parents of the lycées Chasseloup Laubat, Marie Curie and Pétrus Ký. A Fulbright scholarship brought him to the United States in 1952. He graduated valedictorian of his Mechanical Engineering class at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. In one of its 1956 issues, the New York Times announced he was a recipient of a Tau Beta PI, (National Honorary Engineering Society) fellowship that allowed him to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was the first Vietnamese who obtained a Master of Science from that institution and returned to serve his country in 1958.

Upon graduation, Điểu joined EBASCO, a renowned international electric company in New York City. As a project engineer he took part in the implementation of numerous large projects in South America. His eagerness to learn and improve himself led him to enroll in night management classes at Columbia University Business School.

For 14 years, from 1961 to 1975, Điểu assumed many leading positions: Technical Director at the Vietnam Sugar Corporation (1961‐1964), Deputy‐ Minister of Economy and Finance (1966‐1968). However, the posts he was the most attached to and involved with for over a decade (1964‐1975) was Director of the Industrial Development Center and Director General of the Industrial Development Bank of Vietnam. At the helm of those two institutions, he had the opportunity to have a hand in the establishment of the infrastructures and development of the industries of a nation that just shook off the yoke of colonization to find itself caught in the throes of a vicious war. In 1966, together with the Vietnamese Minister of Economy & Finance Âu Trường Thanh, he had the opportunity to visit President Johnson and his adviser Mr. Walt Rostow in the White House. Also in attendance was McGeorge Bundy, US National Security Advisor. The purpose of the meeting was to review the economic challenges in the struggling country that had been so impacted by the war.

On account of his contributions, he received many medals of the highest orders from the Office of the Prime Minister; Ministries of Economy, Finance, Public Works, and Labor. Điểu also was awarded the “King Star Medal” from President Chiang Kai‐shek of the Republic of China.

In addition, Điểu also served as visiting professor at the Phú Thọ National Technical Center, National Defense College and member of various Boards of Directors of corporations and associations. In the cultural and artistic fields, he was elected Chairman of the Board of the Vietnamese American Association/Hội Việt‐Mỹ (1972‐1975) and founder of the Flower and Garden Club/Hội Hoa‐Kiển VN (1966‐1975).

In May 5, 1975, Điểu was elected “Mayor of Camp Pendleton, Ca” and later went to work for Bechtel in San Francisco as Assistant Project Manager for 12 years (1975‐1987). After that, he ran his own MDA Engineering company until the day he retired in 1996.

Contact author Khương-Hữu Điểu 1931dieu@gmail.com (415) 665‐2645 Contact publisher Nhân Ảnh han.le3359@gmail.com (408) 844‐3507