The escaped

Ngoc To (Jade)

English 100

Final  draft

                                                The escaped 

The War in Vietnam 1954- 1975 was a disaster for the Vietnamese. On April 30,1975 the entire of country declared independence and became a communism country. At that moment, all those who opposed the communist government were arrested and went to the jail.  My grandfather also went to jail for eights years because he was an admiral who worked for U.S. army. After getting free from jail, he could not find jobs, even a simple job  because the government wrote on his application that he was a traitor. At this time, he upset and disappointed, so he decided to escape the country with other fellows by boat. At the result, his escapes succeed, but it influenced to half of his life and opened new chapter of his family’s life. 

My grandfather believed that his life was going to change after the escape. He thought the Vietnam was an inane communist, so he wanted to find freedom and better life for his family. As he was running from the land to the boat, which was anchored, and waiting him at sea, he got a shot on his left leg by a Vietnamese solider. Finally, he got into the boat, but his injured from the shot kept bleeding. Someone on the boat removed the bullet without surgical instruments and medicine. After three days of floating on the sea, his boat finally arrived to Thailand. In Thailand, he had a second surgery and the surgeon tried to keep his leg as much as they could, but it was unsuccessful because the left got infected when he was on the boat. At the end, the surgeon was able to keep his left leg but he lost all sensations and feeling, so my grandfather became a disabled person for the rest of his life.

After my grandfather left the country, and his family. The circumstances of family were more complicated. My mom was a provider of the family, so taking care his family was a huge burden. My mom decided to quit school at 16 years old, and she found jobs to help her mom. Additionally, it let her two brothers have the opportunities to go to school. She worked with two jobs. Waking up at 4:00 am, and then going to work a cow farm was her first job. Her second jobs was picking fruit was from 12:00pm to 6:00 pm. Her schedule repeated everyday, but the salary was not enough to cover everything for her family. Sometime, she wished she had two more hands and more than 24 hours a day, so she could make more money.  Her sacrifice meant that her other brothers graduated high school and found better jobs than her. Watching her brother go to school was her happiness.

After twenty years of separation, my family finally had a chance to reunite with my grandfather. The new chapters of his family also opened when they came to the U.S. I am a lucky Vietnamese woman in the U.S. because my life is fluent and better a chance to get a good education. My mom and uncles also found good jobs. Twenty years of separation was not a short time, but the members of my family have never reproached my grandfather and asked a question “ why did he leave his family?” We thought that his decision was always right and thought about his family’s lives more than himself.

War is inevitable to each country around the world. My grandfather always says that the Vietnam’s war was serious reason what made him lose a left leg. Eventually, his decision affected himself and his relatives. In fact, when we see him walk, we love and understand more of his sacrifice. Even if I was born at that time, I would not have enough strength and sacrifice for family like my grandfather. My grandfather is my hero.