We were spellbound as she shared her story of escaping from Vietnam. Her mother, a widow of a South Vietnamese soldier, had three daughters. She was only two and had tuberculosis. Her mother learned the American embassy in Saigon was hiring secretaries and she obtained a job. It was 1975 and the nation was in turmoil. North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops were flooding across neighboring borders, slaughtering soldiers and civilians and creating terror throughout the country.

Her mother’s supervisor gave her four passes to give them passage out of the country. Before he was evacuated, he told her mother not to sell the passes as there were no more. On April 30, as the NVA approached Saigon, her mother gathered her children and pushed through the terrified crowd to the gates of the embassy.

Along the way, she was offered gold, jewels, and cash for her passes. One woman who knew about her sick daughter begged her to take her child and leave her youngest behind. Her mother said they would either get out together, or they would die together. She was brought through the crowd inside the walls of the embassy. Slowly, civilians and government workers boarded helicopters taking the terrified passengers out as fighting drew closer.

Finally, she said with tears in her eyes, her family was placed on the next to last helicopter leaving the roof of the American embassy. They were placed in a refugee camp, then sponsored by a Baptist church in the U.S. She told the story of how, at four years old, she climbed over pews to get to the altar to give her heart to Jesus! There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as our medical team in Vietnam listened to Mai, now a doctor serving her former nation on a medical team of Vietnam veterans and others.

It got even more emotional for us veterans. Tran told the story of how when he was eight years old, the communists attacked his village, killing men, women, and children. He continued to say, “The Marines came and saved us!” I have the same tears as I write this as I did years ago when he first shared the story. His family escaped by boat and made it to America. He had just completed nurse’s training and was part of our team to serve the people of Vietnam.

Whatever I experienced in Vietnam was nothing compared to what the people there endured. That’s because politicians decided to cut off aid to South Vietnam, ensuring the nation’s destruction. For 32 years, I have been regularly going back to Vietnam. I have witnessed the aftermath of Socialism/Marxism firsthand. It is NOT the utopia promised by their communist leaders. Vietnam’s economy is better because of trade with America, but there is no true freedom. They are under Marxist dictators!

We hear constantly from leftists how horrible this country is. But can they explain why Cubans flee Castro’s paradise? Or why people flee communist Vietnam on frail boats? Or why people from over 140 nations have flooded across our southern border this year alone? It’s because they know the truth! America is still the beacon of hope for millions around the world. That’s why I fought and all who served after me. Yes, it WAS worth it! Yes, I would do it again!

Something to think about?