ON THE day his side lost the Vietnam War, five-year-old Hung Ba Le fled his homeland in a fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees. Thirty-four years later he will make an unlikely homecoming, at the helm of a US navy destroyer.
Commander HB Le was scheduled yesterday to pilot the USS Lassen into Danang, home of China Beach, where US troops rested during the war, which ended on 30 April 1975, when Saigon fell to communist North Vietnam's troops.
That was the day Le and hi
s family embarked on an uncertain journey in a fishing boat piloted by Le's father, a South Vietnamese naval commander.
They were rescued at sea by the USS Barbour County, taken to a US base in the Philippines, a refugee camp in California and finally to north Virginia, where they rebuilt their lives.
Le will return on the Lassen, an $800 million, 509ft, 9,145-tonne destroyer with a crew of 300. The ship, as well as the USS Blue Ridge, is making the latest in a series of goodwill visits to Vietnam, which began in 2003 when the Vandergriff visited Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.
"This visit reflects the growing co-operation between our two countries," Le said via e-mail as his ship approached Danang yesterday. "It happened to be my ship that was chosen, which is an incredible opportunity for me both personally and professionally."
The ship visits represent the efforts of both the US and Vietnam to develop their relationship as a balance to Chinese power in the region, without antagonising Vietnam's massive northern neighbour.
Directly east of Danang are the Paracel Islands, where China and Vietnam are engaged in a sensitive territorial dispute over the archipelago, from which the Chinese drove out south Vietnamese troops in 1974. They are also wrangling over the Spratlys, another island chain believed to contain valuable oil and gas reserves.
Le grew up in Hue, a city on the central coast about 65 miles (105km) north of Danang, where he still has relatives. He will be returning to a country that is vastly changed from the days of the Vietnam War. Along the Danang coastline where US troops used to swim and surf, luxury hotel chains such as Hyatt and Marriott are springing up. Tourists are flocking to the region, where they can shoot a few rounds at a course designed by professional golf star Colin Montgomerie.
The relationship between the US and communist Vietnam has also changed dramatically since the former foes normalised relations in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and military ties have grown closer.
"Next year will mark the 15th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between our two countries," Le said. "I'm very proud of the progress we've made."
Le's father had just assumed command of a South Vietnamese navy base when Saigon fell. He was yesterday said to be hugely proud of his son. With a family deeply rooted in naval heritage, Le said that, as a teenager, getting accepted to the US Naval Academy was his goal.
"I was never pressured over the years from my father to do so," Le said. "But I enjoyed being able to follow in his footsteps."
Le is the first Vietnamese-American to captain a US navy ship. It took his family eight years to win citizenship but the sailor always believed it was the best thing that ever happened to him. "I always felt lucky to come to America when I did," he said. "America gave my family a lot of opportunity, so I enjoy giving back by serving."
Le now hopes to meet up again with extended family members in Vietnam.
