b'WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE 13hile the collective attention of much W of the world was turned elsewhere in late April 2020, many Vietnamese families likely paused to recall the 45th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. April 30, 1975, and the anniversaries of that date, serve for many as a reminder of what it means to fight for survival and of the fragility of life. Its certainly a reminder for me. I was born towards the end of the Vietnam War. I came into the world early, at eight months, in a hospital that had been bombed and was cleared of all patients except for my mom. The doctors did not think I would survive the night, but they didnt tell her, since it was the Eve of Lunar New Year and sharing bad news was considered bad luck. Luck was on my side then, but my familys fortunes were a little more mixed in the years that followed. I was a toddler when I left Vietnam. We attempted to escape three times before we were successful, first having been scheduled to leave Vietnam on April 22, 1975. My family of fifteen, including my mom, myself and siblings, boarded a bus to leave by boat. The bus driver and other families complained it was not fair that the bus was full of my moms family on board. My mom and aunt REFLECTION felt pressured, disembarked and went home. Our second attempt was on April 30, 1975. My mom took my siblings and me to the army base where they Dr. Catherinewere airlifting families and soldiers out of Vietnam. We were on an airplane and ready to depart, but my Vuky onfather did not arrive on time. Thus, mom took all of us off the plane. As we made our way down the steps, pushing through the crowds of people who the 45thwere trying to board, mom tripped, dropped me, and I rolled the rest of the way down the plank. In the next few days, the communists called all Anniversary South Vietnamese military soldiers for interview, to provide their rank, duties, address and names of family members. After their interviews, they of the Fall were told to report back in two weeks. My father, who had several strikes against him, knew he of Saigon would be imprisoned or killed. He was deemed a traitor since both of my parents were Bac Ky 54, meaning northerners who moved south after the'