Commander H.B. Le was scheduled Saturday to pilot the USS Lassen into Danang, home of China Beach, where U.S. troops frequently headed for RR during the war, which ended on April 30, 1975, when the southern city of Saigon fell to communist troops from North Vietnam.
That was the day Le and his family embarked on an uncertain journey in a fishing boat piloted by Le's father, who was a commander in the South Vietnamese navy. They were rescued at sea by the USS Barbour County, taken to a U.S. base in the Philippines, a refugee camp in California and finally to northern Viriginia, where they rebuilt their lives.
Le will return on the Lassen, an $800,000 million, 509-foot, 9,145-ton destroyer equipped with a crew of 300. The ship, as well as the USS Blue Ridge, is making the latest in a series of goodwill visits to Vietnam, which began in 2003 when the USS Vandergriff paid a port call to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.
"This visit reflects the growing cooperation between our two countries," Le said via e-mail as his ship approached Danang for a welcoming ceremony Saturday. "It happened to be my ship that was chosen, which is an incredible opportunity for me both personally and professionally."
The ship visits represent the efforts of both the United States and Vietnam to develop their relationship as a balance to Chinese power in the region, without antagonizing Vietnam's massive northern neighbor.
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