I am returning to a torn country and a torn family, searching for my beginnings, wondering where I belong. I want to fill the void created when we fled. I want to know what my life would have been like and who my relatives are. It is the first day of my 21-day journey through Vietnam, and Ba, my last surviving grandparent, is waiting. There are no rules of the road and no lanes.
Horns blare constantly.
More . . . Nguyen and his family immigrated to the United States in 1975 rather than live in Vietnam after the communist victory. They were among the last refugees to flee by ship before the takeover. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet intercepted their vessel and escorted the family to the Philippines. A week later, the family sailed into Subic Bay.