War Hero
Your Grandpa is a war hero. He fought in the Vietnam War and fought death to make us a way to the US.
Today I asked him to talk about his stories with us. I asked him, were you scared? He said he wasn't. He talked about the time when a hellicopter that was about to blow. The helicopter had lifted but came back down. The people in there rushed out of the plane and the pilot drove the plane down the dam. After it went in the dry dam, it blew up. Grandpa said all he could see was black smoke. After that all the helicoptors came to check out what happened. There were so many that it looked like a bunch of eagles in the sky. Grandpa started waiving a white flag to motion them to come in. One helicopter landed and since Grandpa couldn't speak English, he was trying to point out what had happened. The other soldier could not understand so Grandpa handed over the walkie talkie. There was no response on the other side so the soldier went back in the helicopter and flew over the helicoptor that was blown up to see if there were any soldiers in the rubbish but there wasn't. The helicopter flew back and Grandpa waived the white flag agian. So they landed again and this time took Grandpa on the helicopter to show them what he was talking about. They were flying low, about the height of trees and when they came upon the soldiers that were injured from the first helicopter they landed on a stream and went to help the soldiers.
Another time he was with two other soldiers. They were talking loudly and Grandpa was worried that the Vietnamese would come around to find them so he moved himself 25 feet away. Soon he saw many Vietnamese soldiers come towards the other soliders. One of them spoted him and shot a small missile towards him. All Grandpa remembers was that there was a lot of fire coming his way and then he fell to the ground. As he was laying there he was feeling on himself, checking his body for wounds but there weren't any. He was safe but he still had to fight off the soldiers that had come in his area. So he was there all day and the next day he had moved to another area. That is where he ran into the other two soldiers that were talking a lot. They were safe also.
The last story I remember was that they were in the village where there were a few families of homes. The soldiers started attacking one side and then the by the time they were able to flee, he saw that half the village were trying to make it up a hill, he said forget it and led the people another direction to safety.
He said he was in the war for about 5 or 6 years. He never shot anyone and was about to but the other soldiers said not to shoot. He was not on the front line and knows that many people died in this war. More Hmong people than Americans. There were no bullet proof vest or protective gear like the ones who are in war now wear.
Also, Grandpa had children that died in the war. They died because of stomach worms. His son, Chai, died after Grandpa gave him medicine and all the worms came out. His stomach collapsed after they came out and he past away. Also another daughter died, Shoua. There was one more but I couldn't remember his name.
Oh and coming to America, he remembers coming here in the cold of 1979 and met his sponsers, David (I remember the husband). He remembers it was near Princeston, MN. The next day when he woke up, it was cold outside. I asked him if he knew where he was and he said no, he just wondered what part of the world he had come to.
He had such a calmness in his voice when he was sharing his stories. It was like he was there living each moment again. I love hearing him talk.
Your Grandpa is wonderful. Filled with many stories to share. I hope there are more to come and many that you will remember. He loves you dearly and knows that you are his.
Today I asked him to talk about his stories with us. I asked him, were you scared? He said he wasn't. He talked about the time when a hellicopter that was about to blow. The helicopter had lifted but came back down. The people in there rushed out of the plane and the pilot drove the plane down the dam. After it went in the dry dam, it blew up. Grandpa said all he could see was black smoke. After that all the helicoptors came to check out what happened. There were so many that it looked like a bunch of eagles in the sky. Grandpa started waiving a white flag to motion them to come in. One helicopter landed and since Grandpa couldn't speak English, he was trying to point out what had happened. The other soldier could not understand so Grandpa handed over the walkie talkie. There was no response on the other side so the soldier went back in the helicopter and flew over the helicoptor that was blown up to see if there were any soldiers in the rubbish but there wasn't. The helicopter flew back and Grandpa waived the white flag agian. So they landed again and this time took Grandpa on the helicopter to show them what he was talking about. They were flying low, about the height of trees and when they came upon the soldiers that were injured from the first helicopter they landed on a stream and went to help the soldiers.
Another time he was with two other soldiers. They were talking loudly and Grandpa was worried that the Vietnamese would come around to find them so he moved himself 25 feet away. Soon he saw many Vietnamese soldiers come towards the other soliders. One of them spoted him and shot a small missile towards him. All Grandpa remembers was that there was a lot of fire coming his way and then he fell to the ground. As he was laying there he was feeling on himself, checking his body for wounds but there weren't any. He was safe but he still had to fight off the soldiers that had come in his area. So he was there all day and the next day he had moved to another area. That is where he ran into the other two soldiers that were talking a lot. They were safe also.
The last story I remember was that they were in the village where there were a few families of homes. The soldiers started attacking one side and then the by the time they were able to flee, he saw that half the village were trying to make it up a hill, he said forget it and led the people another direction to safety.
He said he was in the war for about 5 or 6 years. He never shot anyone and was about to but the other soldiers said not to shoot. He was not on the front line and knows that many people died in this war. More Hmong people than Americans. There were no bullet proof vest or protective gear like the ones who are in war now wear.
Also, Grandpa had children that died in the war. They died because of stomach worms. His son, Chai, died after Grandpa gave him medicine and all the worms came out. His stomach collapsed after they came out and he past away. Also another daughter died, Shoua. There was one more but I couldn't remember his name.
Oh and coming to America, he remembers coming here in the cold of 1979 and met his sponsers, David (I remember the husband). He remembers it was near Princeston, MN. The next day when he woke up, it was cold outside. I asked him if he knew where he was and he said no, he just wondered what part of the world he had come to.
He had such a calmness in his voice when he was sharing his stories. It was like he was there living each moment again. I love hearing him talk.
Your Grandpa is wonderful. Filled with many stories to share. I hope there are more to come and many that you will remember. He loves you dearly and knows that you are his.
posted by Mommy at
10:14 PM
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