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Anh Duong, Out Of Debt
Her current mission derives from the peculiar nature of the war against terrorists, in which the first difficult question is, she says, "Who am I aiming the weapon at?" This has become, in Iraq, a matter of high-stakes forensics using a huge biometric database. Whose fingerprints are those on that fragment of an improvised explosive device? She is devising portable labs to answer such questions in Iraq.
Anh is hardly a thermobaric person, a weaponized woman. The Washington Post reports that while she was working on the new bomb, her children, then 5 to 11, were not allowed to play with toy guns or read Harry Potter books, which the parents deemed too violent. Their parents even excised the fight scenes from their Disney "Pocahontas" video.
The trajectory of Anh's life, which has taken her from one of America's wars to another, might eventually involve another generation of her family. The oldest of her four children, a 17-year-old daughter, is considering a career in—this apple did not fall far from the tree—homeland security or international affairs.
This autumn, Anh was among a select few federal workers honored with Service to America Medals by the Partnership for Public Service, which recognizes especially meritorious achievements. In front of a large audience at a black-tie dinner she strode to the microphone and, speaking without notes, began: "Thirty-two years ago I came to this land as a refugee of war with a pair of empty hands and a bag full of broken dreams." Describing America as "this paradise," she said:
"This land is a paradise not because of its beauty or richness but because of its people, the compassionate, generous Americans who took my family and me in, 32 years ago, and healed our souls, who restore my faith in humanity, and who inspire me to public service. There's a special group of people that I'm especially indebted to and I would like to dedicate this medal to them. They are the 58,000 Americans whose names are on the wall of the Vietnam War Memorial and the 260,000 South Vietnamese soldiers who died in that war in order for people like me to earn a second chance to freedom. May God bless all of those who are willing to die for freedom—especially those who are willing to die for the freedom of others. Thank you."
And thank you, Anh Duong. Consider your debt paid in full, with interest.
© 2007
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Member Comments
Posted By: harrison_brown @ 06/23/2008 12:19:24 PM
Comment: We can see the life of a victim of a war.
She becomes a war scientist to kill more human beings (a clear psycho proof: a mass-killer try to avoid her childs from violence)
Further, she feels being indept to the people who destroyed her homeland (maybe she never see the whole picture of a war, just her family picture)
Just so sorry for such a victim and such a generation who are closing their eyes to see the true world and betraying toward their ancestor because of the bias media coveraging their life.
Posted By: scotty_ng1 @ 12/16/2007 12:07:25 PM
Comment: I am a child of South Vietnamese refugees and I have also heard of Anh Duong's story. While I am very happy that she was able to escape the horrible war and make a good life for herself and her family in America, I draw different conclusions from her story than Mr. Will. What debt does she or other refugees owe America? How dare he. What do we really owe America, the country that promised South Vietnam protection and victory, then abandoned the fight a decade later after destroying the countryside and finding themselves unable to defeat under-equipped insurgents? In fact, America owes a debt to immigrants, for all their billions of dollars in taxes, economic contributions, and research discoveries. America really needs to learn a thing or two about paying back debts. Another example is Iraq, where we have accepted fewer refugees (who in many cases risked their lives to help us) than even tiny Sweden.
More South Vietnamese died from American hands than the Viet Cong. American planes dropped more tonnage on South Vietnamese soil than the Communist North, leaving some areas as virtual moonscapes and uninhabitable for decades. Most Viets are Buddhist, and that faith stringently advocates pacifism. I do mourn for the US and ARVN soldiers who died trying to defend the freedom of others, but history is never so black-and-white. I know immigrants and descendants of immigrants should be grateful to their generous hosts, but I can think of other nonviolent ways to give back than design deadlier bombs for a new counterinsurgency war that will kill strangers half a world away (and some of the victims are always innocent bystanders).
Posted By: votenic @ 12/12/2007 6:05:03 PM
Comment: 2008 Presidential Election Weekly Poll