WESTMINSTER : Vietnamese Family Is Reunited at Last

As he paced the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, watching and waiting for his family to arrive from Vietnam, Christopher Duong looked as though he might not be able to bear it much longer. “I hope I don’t cry,” he said.

But finally, after 15 years of separation, during which his father made two unsuccessful escape attempts, Duong and his family were reunited.

Duong, who works as a public service officer with the Westminster Police Department, received word several months ago that his family had finally been granted permission to leave Vietnam and join him permanently.

Now 30, Duong fled alone by boat to the United States in 1978 and lived with his uncle in Woodland Hills until he joined the Marine Corps at age 19.

Duong spent nine years as a Marine before he began working for the Police Department a year ago. He now works with Vietnamese refugees, helping them adjust to their new life.

Duong’s father tried to escape from Vietnam twice with his eldest daughter in the last 15 years. The family applied for permission to leave in July, 1984, but didn’t receive it until this year.

Three hours after Duong arrived at the airport, his mother, father and two sisters emerged from Customs into the arms of Duong, his uncle and cousins. The group hugged each other and wept.

“I’m so happy,” said Duong, as he hugged his mother, Lan Thi Nguyen.

Duong’s sisters, now 22 and 20 years old, gathered around him.

“She was so little when I left,” Duong said of his younger sister, Da Thuy Dinh Duong. “I used to change her diapers. Now she’s a grown-up woman!”

“I’m very tired,” said Da Thau Dinh Duong, the elder sister, who left a boyfriend in Vietnam. “But I’m so happy to see my brother again.”

“I’m very shaken up,” said Duong’s father, who worked as a bus station attendant in Vietnam. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him in so long. I’m very thankful to the U.S. government.”

The Westminster Police Department also had a hand in reuniting the family. The Westminster Police Officers Assn. raised $7,500 to help bring Duong’s family here.

Lt. Mike Schliskey, who works with Duong, came to the airport to see the reunion firsthand. “We wanted to welcome his family to the U.S.,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed working with Chris, and it’s the least we can do.”

“I owe them a lot,” Duong said of the department. “Those guys have a heart.”

Duong has rented an apartment for his family in Los Angeles, where they can be near relatives.

“I vacuumed the rug, and bought everything from paper towels to light bulbs,” said Duong. “I felt like I was getting married.”

The family will have a lot of catching up to do.

“I want to take my mom home and give her a hot bowl of soup,” Duong said. “And we will all sit down and go over the things we’ve missed for 15 years. We have a lot to talk about.”