With the Pasta Behind Him, Vu Can Now Take Wing

After discovering he was a frustrating three-tenths of an inch short of qualifying for naval pilot training, a determined Hung Dinh Vu went straight for the fettuccine, tortellini, spaghetti and ravioli, hoping to gain a more substantial figure and, finally, the pilot’s wings. Billions of calories later, Vu, who escaped with his family from Vietnam, received his wings, a much fuller--and happier--man. The carbohydrate-rich diet, along with a special exercise program designed to build up his posterior, enabled Vu, who is 5-foot-5, to reach the 21.9-inch minimum upper-leg measurement needed to ensure he can reach an aircraft’s rudder pedals. In ceremonies at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida, Vu’s mother, Minh Trang Do, pinned the wings on her 26-year-old son’s white uniform, while his father, Du Dinh Vu, gave him the traditional chest slap.

--A monument to English and Japanese servicemen who died in one of the few World War II battles fought on U.S. soil will soon be erected on a wind-swept Aleutian Island. Japanese workers who received approval from the U.S. State Department arrived Sunday at Attu Island, captured by Japan in 1942 and held as a strategic location until American forces invaded to recapture the desolate outpost the next year. The team, headed by architect Shigeo Koga, will install a 19-foot titanium monument that says in English and Japanese: “In memory of all those who sacrificed their lives in the islands and seas of the North Pacific during World War II and in dedication to world peace.” The monument will be dedicated June 30.

--It’s all politics for America’s newest Junior Miss, Wisconsin’s Chuti Tiu, who is planning to use her victory in the annual competition to launch a career in government. “I hope to move up and up,” Tiu, who played the piano for the talent portion of the competition, said after receiving the title in ceremonies in Mobile, Ala. Tiu, of Chinese descent, said she will use her $30,000 scholarship to attend Northwestern University.

--Prince Rainier of Monaco will marry Princess Ira von Furstenberg, The Mail of London reported. The tabloid newspaper quoted the princess’ son as saying the two would marry before the end of the year. Christoff Hohenlohe, 31, said his 47-year-old German-born mother would marry the 64-year-old prince at Rainier’s home in the French principality. “They are in love and will marry very soon,” Hohenlohe said. Rainier’s late wife, the former actress Grace Kelly, died in a car crash almost five years ago.