After the division of Vietnam in 1954, my mother and father's families, both devoutly Catholic, migrated to Saigon, fearing religious persecution by the Communists if they stayed behind. My grandfather gained a job as a painter for the Americans at Tan Son Nhut Airbase. Had my grandfather not moved south, my father says he certainly would have been killed by the Communist because of his position as a village chief. My father, on the other hand, was drafted into the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1966 ,where he became a platoon leader of the regimental forces to protect Phuoc Tuy. He saw combat during the Tet Offensive of 1968 and because of his affiliation with the war effort, was certainly fearful of persecution by the Communists after the fall of Saigon seven years later.