The country’s devastating war had split Vietnam in half, inflicting destruction, tragedy and pain on its people.
With the war coming to an end and Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City) on the verge of collapse, Minh Lengoc, a tutor at the National Institute of Agriculture knew he could no longer stay in the city he called home.
It is why Dr Lengoc, now 72, made the risky decision with his late wife Dung to secretly escape by air to the island of Guam with the help of a former United States GI.
“I made the decision to leave because it would not have been very safe for me to stay. We did not know what they (the communists) would do to us,” he said.
Having witnessed first-hand the devastation of the war, the opening of the award-winning musical Miss Saigon this week will mark a poignant moment for the Vietnamese Society of Christchurch spokesman.
As part of the lead-up to the opening of the musical produced by Showbiz Christchurch, Dr Lengoc, who has lived in Christchurch for 43 years, was invited to share his story with the theatre company.
Days before the end of the war, Dr Lengoc and his wife were two of 108 South Vietnamese “adopted” by his wife’s employer, American John Riordan, of Citibank Saigon, who organised the escape for all of his staff and their relatives.
“He said whoever wants to go just put their name down and he organised the exit. Everyone was to wait until someone knocked on the door of your house and you had to leave within a few minutes. No warning at all,” Dr Lengoc said.
The day before he was due to go through with the escape, Dr Lengoc married his wife at a wedding registrar so his name could be added to the list of relatives seeking to escape the country.
The couple along with the other refugees were taken to a secret location – a house Mr Riordan was renting – where they were told to wait to be picked up and taken to Tan Son Nhut International Airport.
While men between the ages of 18-45 were drafted to join the frontline of the South Vietnam army, Dr Lengoc was exempted due to the excellent grades he was achieving while studying a bachelor degree in animal science.
Initially, the plan was for the escapees to flee on a Boeing 727 Mr Riordan had hired from Hong Kong.
But the pilot who was set to take the refugees was unable to obtain permission from the Vietnamese authorities to land in Saigon. Dr Lengoc could see the window of opportunity to escape was narrowing.
“No one knew how many more days we would have. Once the communists took over Saigon, no planes would be allowed to leave.”
But Mr Riordan quickly set up another plan, co-ordinating with the United States Air Force to take the refugees to the island of Guam.
Women and children were given first priority, while the men were last to leave.
Knowing the evacuation would have to be stopped when the communists took over, the men had a higher risk of being trapped in Vietnam. Dr Lengoc recalls the fear he felt when he was taken to the airport.
“At the time, the soldiers understood some people were leaving the country and were jealous, we didn’t know how angry they would be if they knew we were leaving for the airport.”
The bus was stopped at least twice by Vietnam soldiers and police.
Not knowing what the soldiers were thinking, Dr Lengoc contemplated the prospect of being shot or harmed.
“We all had our head down so they couldn’t see through the window. I looked down and John (Riordan) was saying something to the soldiers and policeman and handed over American dollars and then we were allowed to leave.”
They were taken to Guam on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
“As soon as the door of the plane closed I felt so relieved,” he said.
The refugees stayed at a naval base in Guam, which was converted into camp, for 10 days. Due to the United States immigration laws, the group was then taken to another army camp in California.
Dr Lengoc described feeling very “un-welcomed” and feared for his safety.
Fortunately before the fall of Saigon, he was granted a scholarship in 1970 to study a post-graduate diploma and master’s degree in agriculture and a master’s degree in animal science at Massey University in
Palmerston North, which he finished in 1973. During his time there, Dr Lengoc became friends with Jim Mann.
Mr Mann became a medical technologist at Palmerston North Hospital before he served in Vietnam with the New Zealand medical team for a year.
After a call for help, Mr Mann arranged through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Dr Lengoc and his wife totravel to New Zealand. The couple stayed with Mr Mann for two weeks in Palmerston North, where Dr Lengoc got a job as a garment presser.
Nine months later, he found a job teaching at Lincoln University where he completed his post-graduate doctoral degree.
He then went on to work at biotechnology company, Life Technologies, for 25 years before retiring in 2012.
Dr Lengoc remained good friends with Mr Mannand visited him every year until he passed away last month. In 2009 he suffered another great loss when Mrs Lengoc passed away following a five-year battle with bowel cancer. But before she died, Mrs Lengoc arranged for her husband to marry one of her friends, Thao, so he would not be alone.
The couple were friends with Thao when while studying at university. Thao had a boyfriend at the time, but lost contact with him following the war and never married. Before Mrs Lengoc died, the couple arranged a
trip to Vietnam in 2008 to reunite with Thao.
It was following the trip, Mrs Lengoc told her husband: “You go remarry Thao when I pass away. Don’t remarry anyone else, Thao is a good person.”
Dr Lengoc initially declined, as he was preoccupied with his wife’s failing health. But following her death, he travelled back to Vietnam before organising for Thao to come to New Zealand.
“She has been with me since 2010, we are very happy together,” Dr Lengoc said.
Dr Lengoc is one of 14 siblings. Following the war, three of his brothers who served in the South Vietnam army were sent to re-education camps.
Another sister tried to escape by boat over the South China Sea but was never seen again. His other siblings weren’t in the army and weren’t harmed.
Having lived the conflict of the war, what Dr Lengoc appreciates most about Christchurch is the friendliness and peacefulness of the people. When he retired he established the Vietnamese Society of Christchurch which has 363 members.
Dr Lengoc and Thao have been invited to attend the opening of Miss Saigon this week.
While he has not seen the show before, he said what women endured during the war is often overlooked and this show will depict this hardship.
