The Son (36 page)

I stood beside Hao, holding her hand and leaning on Eric, listening to the words of the retired judge.

‘Do you, Paul, accept this woman as your lawful wedded wife?'

‘Do you, Hao …'

Do you, Hao Tran, née
Hòang thị Minh-Hảo
in the Year of the Horse, accept me, Paul Quinn, somewhat bedraggled Tiger, as your awful wedded husband?

I do. I do.

As we exchanged vows I made another promise, silently, to her and to myself. I will walk again, I said to myself. I will. I will!

A BRIEF NOTE ON VIETNAM AND THE VIETNAM WAR

Vietnam, which lies just below China, facing the South China Sea (see map at front), has a long history, stretching back over two thousand years when a distinct Vietnamese people first emerged in the Red River delta around present-day Hanoi. For most of its early history Vietnam was ruled directly by China, from which it inherited much of its culture, but from the start the Vietnamese possessed a strong sense of their identity, and Chinese rule was marked by numerous revolts.

After finally shaking off Chinese domination in 938 AD, Vietnam expanded southward along the narrow coastal strip in what is now central Vietnam (present-day Hue and Danang), and then into the fertile Mekong delta, which was then part of the Khmer empire of Angkor. Saigon, later renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the communists, was founded in 1698.

French interest in the region developed slowly at first, but culminated from the 1850s with the colonial conquest of the three regions of Vietnam – Tonkin in the north, Annam in the centre, and Cochin-China in the south. These, plus Laos and Cambodia, became known as French Indochina.

French rule ended with World War II. After the war France attempted to reassert its rule but was confronted by a communist-dominated independence movement, the
Vietminh
, led by Ho Chi Minh. An eight-year war followed, ending with the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the partition of Vietnam into communist North and non-communist South.

Partition was meant to be followed by general elections, leading to reunification, but the South, with US support, rejected these, fearing that they would be dominated by the more populous communist North. Communist subversion in the south resumed in the late 1950s, and by the mid-sixties had evolved into full-scale warfare, with the southern communist guerrillas, the
Viet Cong
, increasingly supplemented by North Vietnamese troops, which later on came to dominate the fighting. US military involvement had started with advisers, but from 1965 included growing numbers of combat troops, reaching over 500,000 by 1969. Australia and other US allies also sent troops. The Australian Task Force at its peak numbered over 7500. Following the withdrawal of US and allied forces after 1972 the south continued to resist alone, until Saigon fell to North Vietnamese invasion in April 1975.

Over one and half million people fled from Vietnam by boat in the years following the communist victory. Of these, it is estimated that between 200,000 and 400,000 died at sea. Some 137,000 were resettled in Australia.

I wish to thank K, and M, without whose advice, encouragement and unflagging support this book could never have been written; Dr Jack Dempsey, USA, whose professional editing and dialogue helped so much to make it readable; the writers Denis Miller and Paul Stirling for their insights and contribution; Graham Rendoth and Ingrid Urh of Reno Design for their professionalism and patient understanding; and Simon Hart for his enthusiastic and expert contribution in designing the author's website.

Any remaining flaws are entirely my own.