The best thing that ever happened to me

SWAN VALLEY – "I will never forget the first time I saw those two," said Swan Valley resident Colleen Kesterson recalling the first time she met Hung Tu Tran and his younger brother Thê at Salmon Prairie School. "It was January 1980 and they were standing in front of the stove at the school and they had their flip flops on and their lunch sacks in their hand."

The climate was just one of the many adjustments the brothers faced after becoming Vietnamese refugees in 1978. After leaving their immediate family and surviving for nearly a year and a half by themselves, the boys found a home at the Kestersons in the Swan Valley where they spent their teenage years and graduated from Seeley-Swan High School.

Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam Jan. 1, 1966. When Tran was a child, he saw a lot of United States soldiers in Vietnam and his desire to come to the United States grew.

When the Communists took over South Vietnam in 1975, Tran stopped going to school.

"They were just teaching a bunch of communist BS and, even as a kid, I didn't like it," said Tran.

Every day he packed his bag and said he was going to school, "but in reality I was going swimming, I was doing things that I wasn't supposed to do."

The communists started paying a lot of attention to his family in 1978. Tran's father was a Chinese medical doctor and the communists said his family was too rich. Tran's father started working toward getting Tran and his brother out of the country.

On Oct. 17, 1978 a 68-foot by 13-foot fishing boat left Vietnam with 250 people on it including Tran and Thê, their uncle and his family, and their two aunts. Tran was nearly 12 years old.

"On the first day almost everyone got sick. There was little chance to get up or move around, the boat was so crowded and small. It was hot and smelly. I didn't go to the restroom for two or three days. Most of the time I sat on the deck. There wasn't enough room to lie down. The first day I was really sick, but I got used to it," wrote Tran in his personal memoir.

On Oct. 22, 1978, the boat landed on the island of Pulau Bidong where there was a Malaysian refugee camp. His two aunts left for Australia in February and his uncle "kicked us to the curb." Tran said he and his brother "had to survive without anything but ourselves. That made me grow up really fast. It made me become a strong person. I had to take care of my brother."

While in the camp, Tran had to haul his own water, gather firewood and he did a lot of swimming because it was so hot. He helped dig three 20-foot deep, three-foot square wells for showers.

Though the brothers had the opportunity to go to a lot of other countries, Tran said he always turned them down.

"I'm not going anywhere but the US of A," said Tran. "I was so stubborn."

The boys waited almost a year and a half before being accepted to come to America with Lutheran Social Services. During that time they had no contact with their parents back in Vietnam.

On Jan. 8, 1980 the brothers left the refugee camp headed for the United States. Having passed their health screening and after many days of travel, they boarded a plane for the United States Jan. 22. They had no idea where they were going.

"I was so excited when I saw the first airplane," wrote Tran. "I was going to be on it."

Their flights ended in Great Falls, Mont. where they were welcomed by two girls who had been on the same boat from Vietnam and, for a short time, were in the same refugee camp. The girls were living as foster children with the O'Grady's in Great Falls and helped translate. The brothers stayed until Jan. 26 when they moved to Jim and Mavis Meyer's home in the Swan Valley.

"I lived in a big, big, big city and then boom, nothing but woods," said Tran and laughed. "I have learned to live either way, but I always prefer the city."

* * * * *

Even though Tran had been out of school for five years he said, "For some unknown reason my brain was smart enough to pick up school once I got to the States."

Kesterson was an aide at Salmon Prairie School with teacher Genevieve Clement. Kesterson loved languages and enjoyed worked directly with the brothers. She invited the boys to her home and they became friends.

Tran spoke Chinese and Vietnamese but he "didn't know a lick" of English before coming to Condon. Kesterson said the students helped the brothers learn English which only took them about a month.

Tran also had an English-Vietnamese dictionary that he carried everywhere and he would point. He said he learned pretty quickly by watching television and using his dictionary.

The brothers lived with the Meyers for a little more than six months.

"Because of the camp situation, I was a wild dog," said Tran. "I lived in a camp for a year and a half with no guidance. Everything was just me, me, me. I didn't have anyone telling me what to do. And then all of the sudden to have some adult trying to tell me what to do – that didn't go over too well."

Tran continued, "I want to thank the Meyers for trying to take me in. At that point, I was just a kid and I didn't know any better."

Kesterson and her husband Wes asked the social worker if they could take the boys. While the request was initially denied, a week later the social worker agreed.

"I guess I just had a blind belief that it was the positive thing to do," said Kesterson. "We didn't have any kids. They had a chance here because if they got in a [large city] they could turn to the wild side a little easier."

The brothers moved in with the Kestersons in July.

The brothers had been bullied in the refuge camp and the name calling didn't stop in Montana.

The first day of school at Seeley-Swan High School, Tran got in a fight. Tran's Reading Teacher at SSHS Loretta Cooper told the story that as he walked between buildings, another student hit him on the side of the head.

"He turned around and kicked that boy right under the chin, knocked him down and didn't hurt him," said Cooper. "Well it probably hurt his pride. Tran had no problems with kids bullying him after that."

"The best way to stop a bully is smack them in the face," said Tran. "You know what, they stop."

Cooper added that Tran also stuck up for Thê when he started at SSHS.

After living with the Kestersons for almost a year, Wes said something that got Tran to stop fighting.

"Wes said, 'Boy, you can't do this anymore,'" said Tran. "And then he stopped and looked at me and he [said], 'I'm not trying to be your father. But what I'm trying to do is to keep you alive long enough for you to go home and see your father one day.' That was it. I stopped fighting. He hit me right in the heart."

Along with reading, Cooper also taught English as a second language. Cooper had Tran for three periods a day and often helped him with his other subjects for three years of his high school career.

"I spent a lot of time with him and consequently got to know him really well," said Cooper. "He is still part of my family."

Cooper said that Tran was very smart and that was how he survived. He was also very athletic, as evidenced by the kick to the chin.

"He was fun and he was ambitious," said Cooper. "He wanted to succeed in everything he attempted, and he did."

Cooper and the SSHS business teacher Larry Pagett helped Tran record his personal memoir. The purpose for writing the story was two fold: to help Tran remember and record his experiences coming from Vietnam to the United States since it was such an incredible experience and to practice writing in English.

During the summers, Tran worked for Rustic Log Homes in the Swan Valley peeling logs.

"He wanted to save for a car. He got that too, a Nova. I tried to teach him to drive and we about drove into a tree, so Wes took that over," said Kesterson. "Tran was very determined."

Tran graduated from SSHS in 1984 followed by Thê in 1985. Tran worked at Rustics for another year and then moved to Missoula to attend the University of Montana in 1986 for a little more than a year. There he met Nancy, whom he later married. They have been together for more than 30 years.

Tran and Nancy moved to California for four years and then to Oregon after having their daughter Jenny. They have been in the restaurant business and owned a nail salon while raising Jenny and their son Daniel.

"Without the Kestersons, I wouldn't be me today. They mean everything to me," said Tran.

"We are proud of him," said Kesterson. "He did really well and has raised his kids really well. They are very polite, very hard workers contributing to the family and society."

Since 1993, Tran has returned to Vietnam to see his parents 18 times. He said he has tried to make up for lost time. His son Daniel has gone back with him 15 times.

Daniel is currently a martial arts instructor. On May 31, 2019, Jenny will graduate from medical school. Tran said his Dad always wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a doctor.

"Stuff happened and now my daughter is going to make it up for me and make my Dad very proud," said Tran.

"I admire what he has done. He has done an outstanding job and is a great parent," said Cooper. "He has a lovely wife and they have just done so well and added so much to our country."

"Coming to the US was the best thing that ever happened to me," said Tran.