CROP Walk benefits refugees Vietnamese

refugees

found home

in New Ulm

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Hue Khuu and his wife Lan know full well what it's like to be refugees -- those who literally are without a country and perhaps escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

That's because this Vietnamese couple who have called New Ulm home for nearly 30 years, lived the life of refugees after escaping from South Vietnam just as their government was surrendering to North Vietnam's Communist forces.

That's why the story of Hue and Lan Khuu is representative of all the refugees who will be the focus of local participants in this year's CROP Walk, an annual event sponsored by Church World Service. Millions of people across the globe will be walking to help refugees everywhere.

The local CROP Walk, the 15th annual, begins at 1 p.m. at the New Ulm Medical Center. Participants who obtain pledges have a choice of walking a 4-mile "level" course or the 6.2-mile "graded" course. Local sponsors hope to build on the $12,000 raised last year.

"In the last 14 years, we have raised over $28,000, and 25 percent of that has gone to the New Ulm Area Food Shelf," said Eileen Campbell, one of the event organizers.

"People become refugees due to natural disasters, as well as civil war and international conflicts and poverty," Campbell said.

In Hue's case, as a pilot in the South Vietnamese Air Force, he was certain he would either be jailed or possibly even executed for being a part of the South Vietnamese military.

As Hue talks about his family's last hours in a war-torn Vietnam 29 years ago, it's almost like it happened yesterday.

"I remember it so clearly," Hue says, almost apologetically.

It was 10 o'clock on the morning of April 30, 1975, the time set for the surrender of all South Vietnamese forces. The Khuus were at the air base in Can Tho about 50 miles south and west of Saigon.

"I knew that if we were going to get out, we had to leave right now," Hue recalled. "The Communists were (on the outskirts) of the city, but they were just as disorganized as we were, so this was our chance."

Hue, his wife and their three daughters, taking only the clothes they were wearing, and five others climbed into a military "Huey" helicopter designed to carry up to 11 soldiers in full combat gear. With Hue at the controls, the craft took off, headed for the coast.

"When I was out over the water, I started (changing radio channels), looking for voices that speak English."

After landing to try to find fuel for the helicopter on a nearly deserted island, Hue made radio contact with a U.S. supply ship that had been sent in to bring out Vietnamese who had worked for the U.S. government. After picking up another eight individuals on the island, Hue landed the Huey on the ship's deck.

What followed was a travel odyssey that brought the Khuu family to a refugee facility at Fort Chaffee, Ark.

However, the refugee camp there was not anything like what the Khuus may have been expecting, Hue said.

"We only had this much space for the whole family," he said, measuring off in the air with his arms an area about 4 feet by 5 feet. That's all the space we had. We even had to sleep stacked one on top of the other."

Before long, however, the Khuus received a break. Tom and Judy Kuster of New Ulm became their sponsors, and with the assistance of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Khuus found themselves enroute to New Ulm to start a new life for themselves.

The Kusters helped the Khuus find a place to live and a job for Hue. A year later, Hue found a permanent job at 3M where he is two years away from retiring after 30 years. After two years, the Khuus bought the home in which they still live today.

They quickly became naturalized citizens so their daughters automatically became citizens. Because their son was born here, he became a citizen at birth.

As to what he will do when he retires, Hue said they would probably stay in New Ulm.

"We love New Ulm," he said, smiling broadly.

Then, what advice would he give to refugees who may follow in their footsteps?

"Fit in, work hard, and better yourself."