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Vu's Family History

France invaded and colonized Vietnam from 1857-1954. During this time, there were many resistance groups, but the group led by Ho Chi Minh successfully ejected France after a final battle at Dien Bien Phu. Since 1954, North Vietnam became a communist country, and my family moved to the South including both sides of my paternal and maternal families.

Black and white portrait of a large Vietnamese family.

Relatives on the father side - Taken in the North 1952

VU FAMILY PHOTOS

Portrait of a bearded male Vietnamese elder wearing a hat.

My paternal grandmother's older brother - Uncle Michael Vutai's father. Cụ Hội Thiện was an oriental medicine doctor. My dad and i went to see him at New Year time every year to wish him well. He's the most cheerful elder that i knew every time i saw him!

Black and white photo pf five young Vietnamese men in suits.

Three brothers in the front and two in-laws in the second row. I knew all of them quite well. Uncle in law Mr. Ái Nguyễn is still with us in Minnesota. He's been truly a Vietnamese gentleman!

Black and white photo of a Vietnamese wedding party.

Michael Vutai's wedding 58 years ago. Bác Kiều Thế Đức was a groomsman Long TQ.

Black and white photo of a Vietnamese family in front of a decorative building.

After excavating my grand father Vũ Huy Vỵ's ashes from Phước Hòa temple in Vietnam (unknown date, probably after 1975). In the photos from left to right are ant in law Rương, uncle in law Ái, ant Nhu, uncle Rương, ant Ái, ant Bàn, and ant Phan.

Three decorative Vietnamese pottery urns with photos of women on them.

Maternal grandparents - They're also evacuated to move to the South in a hurry, hence did not have any photos with them.

Portraits of a Vietnamese man and woman.

Vũ Trọng Minh & Vũ Thị Chín (The richest and most succesful entrepreneur of the nine children)

Black and white photos of a Vietnamese man and a building.

Maternal grand parents - I lived in this building at Hải Phòng city of Vietnam for a short time after being born. I did visit this place along with visiting some relatives about 10 years ago. My paternal grandfather along with his children lived in a house just across the street from this building, after moving from Nam Định city.

Faded portraits of a Vietnamese man and woman.

Maternal Grand Parents My maternal grand father, Nguyễn Văn Phàn, was a military man for a Vietnam king, and then the Vietnamese Army - Cụ Đội, that sounds like a chief of a dozen or one hundred soldiers. I knew him the whole time growing up in Vietnam. My maternal grand mother, Vũ Thị Tư, was a successful entrepreneur in real estate and good trading in Hải Phòng. She traveled to Mống Cái cityfor trading goods with the Chinese, etc. When i was young, she normally told me stories about the king Càn Long's traveling through out China many times when i was with her. She adapted my mother when young, who was a daughter of her older sister. She had no children herself. Later she also adapted my uncle Nguyễn Văn Sơn (living in Minnesota), who was a son of her youngest sister before moving to the South of Vietnam.

Black and white photo of two Vietnamese couples by a pond.

t Đà Lạt after moving to the South

Black and white portrait of a young Vietnamese woman,

My mother: Nguyễn Thị Vần. Pháp Danh: Hiệp Thành. Born Oct. 8, 1929 at Hải Phòng city. Died Feb. 5, 1979 Saigon Vietnam due to liver cancer. Alive for about 50 years and 4 months.

Black and white photo of young Vietnamese couple.

Wedding day 14th January 1952. They are both 23 years old (Father: August 25, 1929, Mother: Oct. 8, 1929). When leaving Hải Phòng city to the South in 1954 or 1955, they could not bring their wedding photos with them along with most of their belongings. Another rush escape?

Since 1945, the communists had already harassed my paternal family, and murdered my father’s great-uncle through their land owner’s program (đấu tố địa chủ). As a result, in 1950 my paternal family had to escape from a village in Nam Dinh city at night time going to Hai Phong city, where my dad met and married my mother, and I was born in 1954 a few months before moving to the South. 

Black and white portrait of a young Vietnamese boy.
Black and white portrait of a young Vietnamese boy.
Black and white portrait of a young Vietnamese boy.
Black and white portrait of a young Vietnamese boy playing guitar.
Black and white photo of three Vietnamese people walking on a beach.

Memory of the day when I left Saigon Vietnam at about 2 AM 30 April 1975 
from the roof top of US Embassy, 43 years ago:

 

The US started the ground war in Vietnam in 1965 and withdrew in 1973, and I was able to get out on April 30, 1975 from the roof top of the US embassy in Saigon by helicopter to the 7th fleet, then Subic bay of the Philippines, refugee camps at Guam island and Fort Chaffee Arkansas before coming to Minnesota in July 1975. 

Photo of a Vietnamese family on a small boat.

Family of an uncle in a small boat during an escape out of Vietnam after 1975 - Vũ Tài Mạnh now in Sacramento CA. Few months after our mother's death, my siblings escaped by boat to Malaysia & Indonesia, then to the USA.

Helicopter on a rooftop evacuating people in Vietnam.

Evacuation at rooftop 22 Gia Long street, Saigon Vietnam 4/29/1975

The Lucky Few: The Story of USS Kirk - In late April and early May of 1975, the destroyer escort USS Kirk became a haven for refugees fleeing South Vietnam. Kirk's officers and enlisted personnel--trained as warriors--instantly transformed their man-of-war into a humanitarian assistance ship. Desperation and anguish gave way to reassurance as crew members fed their unexpected guests, dispensed medical care, diapered infants and provided hope to a dispirited people.

As today, we just had a long documentary, Vietnam War.  My helicopter was landed on one of the ships of the 7th fleet, perhaps the Midway carrier that’s now as a museum in San Diego. It was dark, so I could not see much. After landing, I was then transferred to a cargo ship to Subic bay Philippines.  

Since then I have been living here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul until now.

Vietnamese man standing in front of a ship.

Visiting the Midway Carrier Museum in San Diego

Photos of young Vietnamese men speaking at an event.

Vietnamese Student Association of Minnesota at the University of Minnesota - Coffman Memorial Union.

Two photos of a Vietnamese man with a car.
Vietnamese pilot in an airplane.

In summary, the root cause of the Vietnam war was due to the France’s invasion and colonization of Vietnam from 1857-1954. The US joined in preliminary since 1954 with a reason of fighting against communism, but later on giving up because of its politics, economy along with a strategy of not winning the war quickly. As a result, Vietnamese has been suffering tremendously and continuously since 1857 until now!

Photo of a large Vietnamese family at a wedding.

Viet Nam 1994

My first trip back to Vietnam in 1994 after 20 years since i left in 1975. It was exciting and emotional. Since then i came back about a half of dozen times mostly for business. One time was touring the country sides in remote places for about 1.5 months.

Photos of Vietnam landscapes and people.
Vietnamese man looking at a gravestone in a cemetery.

Uncle Triêm Vũ - The one that helped us to visit Bái Dương village of Nam Định city, North Vietnam

A couple in front of a colorful Vietnamese building and grave stones.

Family cemetery at Bái Dương Nam Định 2004 - My paternal grandmother was buried here along with many other relatives.

Vietnamese couple in front of an altar in a cemetery.

Uncle Vũ Văn Đoài and his wife - He has been looking after the family's cemetery since 1950. Family cemetery at Bái Dương Nam Định 2004 - My paternal grandmother was buried here along with many other relatives.

Portrait of a Vietnamese man

Biographical Details

Primary Location During Vietnam: Saigon, Vietnam Vietnam location marker

Story Subject: Family

Vietnamese wedding party portrait.

My daughter Melanie got married last year on June 23, 2017.

BIOGRAPHY Read Less

Thomas Vũ Trường Thọ has 40 years experience in integrated circuits, electronics, start-up and management. He authored 70 papers, 11 patents, 2 books, and received 2 national awards (IR-100 and Best Paper). Thomas is available as a consultant and interim executive. He worked at topvu.com, Goodrich, Honeywell, Sperry Univac, and University of Minnesota. He has also been an adjunct faculty in electrical and computer engineering at the Univ. of Minnesota and Univ. of St. Thomas. His curriculum vitae is available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tho_Vu. 

U. S. citizen. Languages: English, Vietnamese and French. Traveled internationally about once a year over the past 30 years. Editor and organizer of technical journals & conferences. His wife, Chi, is a software engineer. His oldest son, Alex, graduated with a bachelor in electrical & computer engineering and a juris doctor degree in intellectual property and litigation. His second son, Nick, completed a bachelor of science in biochemistry and a pharmacy doctorate program. His daughter, Melanie, earned a bachelor in math with a specialty in actuary science and business administration.

Activities: Vietnamese Student Association (vsaminnesota.org, 1978-79) – Elected as President to serve the interest of Vietnamese students at UMN. Management Assistant Project (1986-89) – Board of Director (BoD). Vietnamese Association for Computing, Engineering Technology and Science (1999-2000) – BoD, and Chair of Strategic Planning Board. Centre for Asians and Pacific Islanders (capiusa.org, 2000-01) – Chairman, Board of Directors. Vietnamese Broadcasting of Minnesota (myspace.com/vbmtv, 2002-03) – Advisor, and reading news when needed. Teacher of Buddha Dharma or Buddhism at Phật Ân temple in Roseville MN (2004-08); published a teaching manual and a dozen of articles on this subject (phatan.org). 

Interests: • "Innovations in Teaching a Control Systems and Automation Laboratory," Tho (Thomas) T. Vu, Christopher S. Greene, Thomas P. Sturm, F. Joseph Albright, and Carl E. Haugan, University of St. Thomas, School of Engineering, 46 slides and a summary page, presented at VTIC’07 (VACETS Technical International Conference), Milpitas California, 1-3 June 2007. • "The Green Tiger Initiative: A Global Collaboration," Huy Do, Phac Le, and Tho Vu, SAVVi Strategic Ventures - A Global Platform for Entrepreneurship and Business Ventures [savvi.bz], presented at the World Vietnamese Business Forum, 25 slides, Paris France, 13-15 Nov. 2008. • "Top-Vu Technology and investment in high-tech stocks," Tho Vu, presented at the Investment Forum Group, 24 slides, 14th January 2011 9:30-11:15am, Roseville MN. • Voting member of Anoka Investors, LLC. since 2004 (an angel funding source for start-ups) and others.

FAVORITE QUOTES

Just as the great ocean has one taste, that is the taste of salt, like so, this teaching has one taste too, that is the taste of liberation - The Buddha

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Story Themes: Engineer, Fall of Saigon, Family, Honeywell, Operation Frequent Wind, Operation New Life, Refugee, Saigon, Sperry, University of Minnesota, USS Kirk, Vietnamese, Vietnamese Student Association of Minnesota

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