Growing up in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, the 7-year-old had turned a blissfully blind eye to the blood being shed on battlefields across her war-weary country. Until the spring of 1975, when children began finding bullion in their briefs, many remained largely untouched by the fighting.

"But I knew something was going on when my mom began exchanging money for gold bars," she recalled recently. "My father said, 'Any day now, if I come home and say, "Run," you run.' "

Thirty-five years ago tomorrow, they ran.

Eventually Pham — who changed her name to Melissa — settled in San Jose, which has the largest Vietnamese population of any American city. Now 43 and herself the mother of two children, Pham is yet another golden product of the American immigrant dream, a member of what is among the largest diasporas in modern history — the Vietnamese "boat people."

Like many Vietnamese-Americans around the South Bay, on Friday, Pham will once again mark the fall of Saigon. But unlike those for whom the suddenness of the South's surrender and the subsequent brutality of the North's authoritarian regime have made "Black April" a somber annual remembrance, time and distance have not made Pham long to return to her homeland. During her only visit since the family fled Vietnam,

she found the country depressing. "The whole time I was thinking, 'I'm so glad I'm not living here,' " she said.

Hoang Mong Thu grew up at Tan Son Nhut, the American air base on the outskirts of Saigon, where her mother ran a restaurant that served 1,500 soldiers a day. The bodies of Viet Cong infiltrators killed near the base were brought back to the restaurant and stacked like wood. Otherwise, said Thu, who settled in San Jose and now goes by the name Megan Williams, her childhood also was unmarked by the war.

"The American soldiers loved kids," she said. "They were tall, nice-looking guys who would give us chocolate and gum. We knew the war was going on outside Saigon but "... the government never talked about how we were losing, just winning, winning, winning. They didn't want us to know the true story."

As North Vietnamese troops encircled the city, Marine Col. Al Gray was orchestrating the evacuation of American and South Vietnamese civilians — more than 8,000 terrified people during the largest helicopter airlift in history. Gray dispatched the Air America helicopters that evacuated the American Embassy in Saigon and took people off another rooftop, later identified — incorrectly — as the embassy in one of the most famous images from the fall of Saigon.

Gray retired as commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but in those frantic final hours of South Vietnam's life as a country, he was the last man out of Tan Son Nhut.

"We burned and blew up the buildings, blew out the communications equipment, and I burned $8 million that had been put in barrels," said Gray, now 81. "It broke my heart, having been there for about five years. Here we were, letting down everybody and not doing what we originally planned to do."

Following the withdrawal of U.S. military forces in March 1973, the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam was clinging to a fantasy that the country would be partitioned again, as it was in 1954 at the end of the French Indochina War.

"I think it would be normal to be in denial in their situation," said Larry Engelmann, a retired San Jose State history professor and author of "Tears Before the Rain," an oral history of those displaced by the war. "And there was a lot of that going on."

Thu's family — she's one of 15 children — declined an offer of a flight to the United States from an officer who frequented the restaurant. "My parents said, 'What are we going to do in America?' They had that restaurant all their lives. So we stayed in Saigon."

All she knew about the Viet Cong was based on myths the government had spread. "We thought the Communists were just like animals, or vampires with long teeth," said Thu, now 52. "But when they drove past on their tanks the day the city fell, they just looked so young, like boys."

When the old currency collapsed, a system of barter sprang up in Saigon at "the biggest flea markets in the world." To escape on a trawler required payment in the kind of gold bars Pham's mother had sewed into her clothes. After fleeing to what was now called Ho Chi Minh City, she lived among the prostitutes of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam until she saved enough gold to escape in 1979. She said half the people who tried to escape after the war didn't survive.

With 40 other people, she was jammed into the hold of a fishing boat, sitting on blocks of ice there to keep the fish cold. Alternately shivering and retching from the smell, the refugees had each day's catch dumped on them. "Even now," Thu said, "I can't eat fish."

Melissa Pham's passage to freedom began the day Saigon fell aboard a South Vietnamese navy vessel, the most surprising aspect of which was that South Vietnam had a navy. "We had no clothes except what was on our backs," said Pham, who had two gold bars sewed into her underwear in case of emergency. "My father had filled a gas can with water and people were trying to steal it, but they couldn't because my father had a gun. That's how you defended your water on the boat. It was scary."

After drifting for days while "packed like sardines" on the boat, Pham hung from her father's neck as he climbed aboard a barge on the high seas. After stops in Guam and Arkansas, her family was sponsored by two churches in Milwaukee, where she and her siblings learned to speak English from Catholics. She learned it so well that she later had to relearn Vietnamese by watching dubbed Chinese kung-fu movies.

"My father said we would go with whatever religion would help us out; it didn't matter what they believed," said Pham, a Buddhist.

By Christmas of 1975, an estimated 130,000 Vietnamese refugees had been sponsored by churches and families who provided them with new homes in the United States. According to an article in Vietnam magazine, an American publication, the only state that initially resisted the influx of boat people was California, where Jerry Brown was then in his first term as governor. Brown's administration reportedly attempted to prevent planes loaded with refugees from landing at Travis Air Force Base.

Brown received a stinging rebuke from White House photographer David Hume Kennerly, who had photographed the evacuation. According to the article, Kennerly said Brown had "no compassion for your fellow human beings."

Four years later, while positioning himself for a presidential bid, Brown created a task force to help boat people find homes in the state. A spokesman for his current campaign for governor, Sterling Clifford, declined to comment on Brown's previous positions.

Melissa Pham and Megan Williams both returned to Saigon during the 1990s and came home disillusioned. Pham went back with her parents, visiting Saigon — which she refuses to call Ho Chi Minh City — and Dalat, a once-beloved retreat in the Central Highlands. "Dalat was like a dream when we were children, foggy and mysterious," Pham said. "Now it's stark and bright, with no trees. And there goes your dream."

By Bruce Newman - San Jose Mercury News - April 28, 2010

AP-GfK Poll : Vietnamese upbeat about future

HANOI — Thirty-five years after the end of the Vietnam War, the people of this country are optimistic about the future, bullish about the free market and rarely think about a conflict that still ignites political passions in America.

A new Associated Press-GfK Poll, one of the most exhaustive surveys to date of contemporary Vietnamese attitudes, underscores how rapidly life has changed in Vietnam. Under a single-party Communist government, the country has embraced market-oriented reforms and lifted tens of millions out of poverty.

Eighty-five percent said the economy is stronger than it was five years ago, and 87 percent said they expect it to be even stronger in another five years. Eighty-one percent said the country is moving in the right direction.

Their optimism stands in stark contrast to the widespread pessimism in the United States, where recent polls show many Americans believe their nation is on the wrong track.

"The country has changed so much in so many ways since the end of the war that you can't imagine," said Luong Trung Thanh, 72, a retired teacher from Hanoi. "It changes every day, right in front of your eyes. There are tall buildings going up everywhere."

The war ended on April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, to communist troops from the north.

Initially, hunger was widespread as the government launched a centrally planned economy and the West imposed an economic blockade. Nguyen Thi Thao, 83, remembers lining up with vouchers at government stores in Hanoi, waiting for her allotment of rice and other supplies.

But two decades ago, the communist leadership began opening up the economy, sparking a boom in this Southeast Asian nation of 86 million people.

Economic growth has averaged more than 7 percent annually over the last decade, and the share of the population living in poverty has fallen from 58 percent in 1993 to 11 percent last year. Per capita income has risen from $400 in 2000 to $1,000. Incomes are roughly twice that in the two largest cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the capital.

"I have a bright future," said Ho Thu Thao, 17, a Hanoi high school student. "Things will be better for me than they were for my parents. The Vietnamese economy is on the right track."

At a shop in central Hanoi, Vietnam's upwardly mobile snap up digital cameras, iPods and other high-tech devices. The shop already has iPads on its shelves.

"The economy is much better now than it was five years ago," said salesman Tran Anh Diep. "People have more money, and they can afford to buy more. I sell about 20 to 25 iPods every week."

Nevertheless, pocketbook issues remain the top priority for most families, according to the AP-GfK Poll, ahead of issues such as the environment, crime, housing and traffic.

For those stuck at the bottom, watching Vietnam's explosive growth can be difficult.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, 47, a Hanoi fruit vendor, spends her days dodging motorbikes and cars while trying to scratch out a dollar or two of income. On the streets around her, the nouveau riche tool around in BMWs, Mercedes and even Bentleys.

"Some of them spend more on breakfast than I earn in a week," Thanh said.

Many of those surveyed expressed anxieties about inflation, which has been high in recent years.

"Twenty years ago, the Vietnamese people were worried about providing food and clothes for their families," said Nguyen Tran Bat, chairman of Investconsult Group, a business consulting firm. "Now they're not worried about subsistence but about improving their status."

The survey showed strong support for private enterprise, especially among the young. Fifty-six percent favored more private ownership of business, while only 25 percent thought there should be more government ownership.

The number of private enterprises has risen sharply over the last decade, but many are mom and pop operations. Large state-owned firms dominate the economy, with some enjoying monopolies over key industries.

"Vietnam needs to do more to continue the development of the private sector, or the nation's increased purchasing power and productivity might erode," Bat said.

Seventy-seven percent said large income differences are acceptable, because they give people an incentive to work harder. The same percentage also said competition is good, because it encourages enterprise and innovation.

"People have witnessed the development of Vietnam, and they see a lot to gain from the opening of the economy," said Pham Chi Lan, former vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The AP-GfK Poll, conducted in February and March, interviewed 1,600 people in urban, suburban and rural areas across the country. The sample covers all but a very small portion of the population that lives in areas without drivable roads or where Vietnamese is not widely spoken. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Vietnams communist government does not tolerate competition and routinely jails its opponents. In the last several months, it has sent 16 members of the countrys dissident community to jail for promoting a multi-party democracy.

Given the political context, the poll avoided questions about the Communist Party's performance.

Asked about politics generally, however, 61 percent said they were not interested, while 39 said they were.

On the Vietnam War — known here as the American War — 56 percent said they rarely, if ever, think about it. Only 11 percent said they think about it often.

"The Vietnamese have a tradition of being tolerant and forgiving and looking to the future rather than the past," Lan said.

Fifty-five percent said the war had not affected them directly, a result that may reflect how young the population is: More than 60 percent of Vietnamese were born after the war.

Large majorities disapproved of the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — 58 percent and 55 percent, respectively. Only 3 percent said that launching those wars was the right decision. The rest didn't know or weren't sure.

President Barack Obama received the highest approval rating on a list of world figures, finishing at 35 percent, one point ahead of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Only 8 percent viewed former President George W. Bush favorably, while 36 percent disapproved of him — the highest negative rating of anyone aside from Osama bin Laden.

"Bush is kind of hawkish but Obama wants to be friends with countries around the world," said Bui Xuan Dau, 52, a motorbike taxi driver in Hanoi. "I don't know who benefits from these wars, but it's the people of Iraq and Afghanistan who pay the price."

By Ben Stocking - The Associated Press - April 29, 2010

Nation comes together to mark 35th anniversary of liberation

HA NOI — A dialogue on Viet Nam's renewal toward socialism 35 years after the American War was held by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) yesterday.

Speaking at the dialogue, representatives from countries such as China, India and Greece congratulated Viet Nam on its socio-economic development and showed interest in the nation's achievements in becoming a rice exporter, developing biological agriculture and dealing with development problems.

At the dialogue, VUFO's Vice Chairman Tran Dac Loi, deputy head of the National Committee for External Relations Nguyen Manh Hung and Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Peace and Development Foundation Pham Van Chuong shared the same views, saying that the people had played a key role in renewal policies, which had led to the country's successes.

Loi thanked international friends for their help in the country's reunification and economic development. He hoped to receive more support from other countries to help solve the aftermath of the war and further develop the country.

Viet Nam was successful in deleting its name from the United Nation's list of Underdeveloped Nations in 2008 by making a record US$1027 GDP per capita, up from $120 in 1986.

In another movement, VUFO Chairman Vu Xuan Hong presented insignia to 33 war veterans from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus for their contributions to the country during the American War.

VNA meeting

The Vietnam News Agency yesterday organised a meeting with former leaders and staff of the agency who directly worked in the southern battlefields during the resistance war against the US.

Speaking at the meeting, held on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the south, VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong noted the contributions made by the agency to the country's victory in Spring 1975.

He also expressed gratitude to the agency's front-line reporters and families of journalists who had died while working on the battlefronts, contributing to its honourable history.

The agency now had more than 2,300 staff who were trying the best to fulfil their task of making the agency a trustworthy strategic information centre for the Party and State, Huong said.

Generations of journalists in the agency are willing to continue and maintain its tradition and develop the agency into a strong communications corporation in the coming time.

Also on the same day, VNA's representative office in HCM City opened a photo exhibition in the city with theme of historical moments. The exhibition introduced 103 photos which brought back the brave struggle of Vietnamese people during the war and images of fights and victories of the people and army in the south from 1968 to 1975.

Eyewitness accounts

A meeting was held in HCM City yesterday between a group of foreign reporters and several people who witnessed the country's liberation on April 30, 1975.

The witnesses, including historian Nguyen Dinh Dau and senior officials of the former Sai Gon administration Brigadier General Nguyen Huu Hanh and lawyer Trieu Quoc Manh, said that national reconciliation and the establishment of friendship with countries around the world were the great desire of all Vietnamese people.

Hanh highlighted the country's development, saying that after April 30, 1975, the Vietnamese people, in the spirit of national reconciliation, overcame the after-effects of the war and rebuilt the country.

Vietnam News Daily - April 29, 2010