A Father's Day Tribute to Thai's Dad

My village was not a safe place at night for my dad to come home to and spend the night.  He always had to just come home for dinner and go back into the city to stay overnight.  I did not spend much time with my dad as I had with my mom, and I am sure most Vietnamese children did not see their dads much at that time. All the men from South Vietnam went to the war zone to protect our country.  I was probably luckier than children that had dads in the army.  Their dads had to go into the battle fields for months at a time.

I treasured my time with my dad when he had time for me.  He tried to find time out from his office during the day to come home and be with us as much as he could.  Those times he would take Ban, my little brother and I fishing at the river or just to sit under a shady tree to talk to us.  Ban and I went swimming with dad at the Lai Giang River.  In the middle of the river there was a sandy island.  My dad would put me on his back and carry Ban in front and swim through the deepest area to get to the island.  The water there was clear.  We played and swam in the shallow area while dad swim around us in a deeper area.  We liked to play on that island, especially with our dad there.  We made him lie down on the sand and we would cover his body with sand.  He told us that the sand felt cool and relaxing as he lay there, seeing the sky and the clouds while his children were there with him.  He felt safe and happy.

We went home in  the afternoon and had dinner, and it was time to see Dad off again.  He looked at us, smiled and said, "Be good!"  I thought my dad had the prettiest smile of all.


Dad was always busy with his duties, the higher his position, the less time he had with us; therefore, when came to the United States after the war,  he devoted all his times with the family. It did not matter if he was tired, sick or not feeling well.  His face would light up with that pretty smile of his and welcome us.  He would talk to any of us about anything we want to talked about. To me, he was so intelligent and knew so much.  He could communicate to the grandchildren from three years
old to his children in their forties and fifties.  If we needed him, he would be there.  My father spent the last years of his life for us, sharing his life experiences. He taught us to love, care, respect and be kind to each other and everybody else.  That's how he lived his life, and that is what he wanted us to be.

My dad passed away six years ago.  His last words to us were to take care of mom and love one another
for love is what gets us through anything in life.

My dad always said that he want to outlive the communism.  He wanted to go home to Viet Nam once the communist were no longer in existence in his motherland.  Unfortunately, they are still there, and my dad never had a chance to go home.  But rest assured, Dad, we are with the rest of the people longing to do away with the communism in Viet Nam, and that day will come some day soon.   I will go home to see a free Viet Nam, and  I believe the future Vietnamese generation will rebuild our country with freedom.

Thank you Dad,  for being  my dad.  You are greatly missed! Happy Father's Day.