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Page 4
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1978
Vietnamese student waits for ‘someday
It was April 1975, the last time
Texas A&M student Tom Lee would
see his wife and young son.
Lee, 38, is a South Vietnamese
refugee who was trapped in Saigon
those last days when a na
tion, already on its knees, finally
slumped to the ground.
Now Lee is Texas A&M’s repre
sentative in a select federal summer
internship program with the Civil
Service Commission.
A doctoral student in statistics, he
travels to Washington next month to
begin work on the project for the
commission’s Bureau of Personnel
Management Information Systems.
He and other statisticians will de-
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Would you be shocked to find out
that the greatest moment
of our recent history
may not have happened at all?
velop mathematical models that can
be used in ascertaining the status of
persons on the government work
force.
It is a rare opportunity for a ref
ugee who had to leave everything
and flee for his life. Lee, a religious
man, says he had spiritual help in
being selected for the program. The
internship may open the doors on a
government job when he finishes
his doctoral requirements here next
year.
He also credits two mortals for
their invaluable aid — the American
missionary who brought him to
Texas A&M and William Smith, di
rector of the Institute of Statistics
here.
Lee says his religion gave him
strength to carry on in the face of
separation from his family.
Lee was born Ly Cong Thuan,
but had his name legally changed in
December, 1977. First, it made his
name easier to say and remember.
Second, the two middle names were
those of the missionary who had
taught him English, the Bible and
had met him in Arkansas after the
fall of South Vietnam.
Lee became a tutor at age 18 and
graduated from the University of
Saigon. As party of the American aid
to Southeast Asia, Lee was able to
come to the United States and earn
a master’s from the University of
Texas in 1971. He returned to
Saigon to work at The National Mili
tary Academy.
By this time, he was a captain in
the Republic of Vietnam army and
also taught statistics at Dalat Uni
versity until the fall of the govern
ment.
He recalls that his wife and son
had returned to visit relatives in the
highlands. When it became appar
ent that the Communist forces
would push the defenders back and
cut off that region, Lee tried first to
send word and then to go on
motorbike to reach his family.
Both methods failed. Soon no one
could leave Saigon for the coun
tryside as the Communists tight
ened their stranglehold.
Lee managed to escape on a small
boat. After a week at sea, he and the
other survivors aboard were shuf
fled to a Navy base in the Philip
pines, then Wake Island, and, fi
nally, the refugee camp in Arkansas.
He is grateful for the good fortune
DTP
name
Franl
Texas f
have a !
the Un:
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A&M- <
the Fra
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Austin.
Tom Lee
Hiler
distin
Dr.
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that has come his way and an ora-1 ■
sional word trickles out of VietnauM^
about his wife and child. TheyoujijlF ^
boy has been placed in one 0
Communist re-education program ^
Still, Lee is hopeful that, Ml
day, some way, he can retrieveh |Tj vers
family from Vietnam. Bngine
lihoi
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Official denies Cuba aided
rebel invasion into Zaire
aiso
'CAPRICORN
ELLIOTT BRENDA
GOULD JAMES VACCARO
SAM BROL,N HAL
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5,5:25
United Press International
UNITED NATIONS — Cuban
Vice President Carlos Rafael Rod
riquez, with demonstrator’s chants
of “Cubans out of Africa” echoing in
his ears, told the United Nations
today that President Carter’s charge
that Cuba was involved in the rebel
invasion of Zaire was “absolutely
false.’’
But Rodriguez, without mention
ing the continent by name, de
fended Cuban military presence in
Africa as necessary “to safeguard the
independence of other peoples
faced with imperialist aggression.”
The Cuban had surprisingly few
harsh words for the United States,
although he took a pot shot at the
U.S. “military violence” that cost
Mexico the territories of Texas and
New Mexico. The likes of the
Alamo, he said, have been “exec
rated by history.”
Some 30 Cuban demonstrators
paraded across from the U.N. Gen
eral Assembly, chanting “Cubans
out of Africa” and "Russians out of
Cuba,” even as Rodriguez went be
fore the 149-nation body’s special
session on disarmament to counter
U.S. claims that Cuba armed and
trained the rebels in Zaire.
The imputations ’ in Carter’s
Chicago speech Thursday "are abso
lutely false,” said Rodriguez. . The
government of the United States has
sufficient reason to know that they
are based on impudently repeated
lies.”
The vice president said, I ca
reaffirm before this assembly tkl
Cuba has not participated direcll)
or indirectly” in the Zaire figbtinj.
Without elaborating, he did si)
Cuban soldiers and military equip
ment are “outside our country todi)
(to) contribute modestly
of Ea
Han
pointe
Airpor
Vestal,
affairs
Raisor,
lions r
A&M
the extent possible for a small
try, to safeguard the independeni ]
of other peoples faced ! un i V er!
perialist aggression.” V(1|Sity
In the same assembly MondajM
China left it clear it is unimpresseiB
by Soviet-American efforts to ran J
a new strategic arms limitatiniB ;
agreement. Peking figures the t»(|p ass
superpowers are headed for« ^
anyway, with western Europe llc| u
probable battlefield. Bp es(
sity
Georg
fune i
MATINEES «
EVERY DAY I
■2:00,3:55,
5:50,7:45,
GO TO | 1m
SapanJE
Senate leader says neutron bomi)
needed to offset Soviet buildup
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Senate Demo
cratic Leader Robert Byrd said
Tuesday President Carter should
order production of the neutron
warhead immediately unless the
Soviet Union makes a matching
concession.
The West Virginia Democrat said
YOU DECIDE
On June 3, Texas voters will elect one
of two men as the Democratic candidate
for Railroad Commissioner:
Jerry Sadler, 70, is a twice-
defeated former Land Commissioner.
Here's what three of the state's leading
newspapers have to say about him:
The Austin American-Statesman:
"Voters deserve to know whom they
will be choosing between in the runoff
June 3. Poerner is not a household
name; Sadler is. But Sadler has a sorry
record in state government. He is the
only person ever censured by the Texas
House of Representatives (for failure to
cooperate with an investigation). He
became notorious for attempting to
choke then-State Rep. Jake Johnson.
He was defeated at the polls in 1970
and lost to Jon Newton in a race for
Railroad Commissioner in 1976. And
now he's back again."
The Dallas Times Herald: "Sadler
has made Texas government a universal
target of ridicule and derision."
The San Angelo Standard Times:
"Under Sadler, the Railroad Commis
sion just might become the laughing
stock he once made of the General
Land Office."
John Poerner, 45, is a re
spected businessman and rancher. John
Poerner was elected to three successive
terms in the Texas House before being
named Executive Director of the Gover
nor's Committee on Aging and Director,
Education Resources of Texas.
His honors include being named
"Citizen of the Year" in his hometown
of Hondo, receiving a "Distinguished
Legislator" award from the Vocational
Agriculture Teachers Association, and
being named to the "Agriculture Hall of
Fame" at Southwest Texas State Uni
versity.
He was recently appointed to the
Railroad Commission by the Governor.
"Poerner is a solid, competent indi
vidual with a record of 10 years of dedi
cated public service," says the Houston
Chronicle. "(We urge) his election."
IS THERE REALLY ANY CHOICE?
The Railroad Commission regulates the
oil, gas and transportation industries in
Texas. Our energy and utility rate prob
lems demand vigorous and responsible
leadership. We need John Poerner to
fight for Texas and protect what is right
fully ours.
John
Poerner
Texas Railroad Commission
VOTE June 3 in the
Democratic Primary
Runofif
Pd. pol. ad. to elect John Poerner
Railroad Commissioner, Ed
Ingram, treas., 1037 Brown Bldg.,
Austin, Texas 78701
he believes the controversial
weapon, shelved at least temporar
ily by Carter, should be a part of the
U.S. arsenal because of a growing
Soviet threat to NATO.
In a hard-hitting speech prepared
for delivery to the Delta Council in
Cleveland, Miss., Byrd said Soviet
involvement in Africa indicates “the
Soviet Union has not swerved from
its commitments to foment chaos
wherever it believes it can benefit.
He urged strengthening of U.S.
armed forces because of the growing
Soviet military might.
“Not since the rearming of Ger
many under Adolf Hitler in the
1930s has any nation launched such
an enormous military program in
the absence of direct conflict,” Byrd
said of the Soviet arms buildup.
He cited reports that the Soviet
Union had redesigned its army M
“blitzkrieg attack on United Stateij
and allied forces in Europe.
“In a confrontation with h
forces, the Soviets would
through rapid tank and troo|
movements to overwhelm the #|
lantic alliance before it could mustup
its full strength,” he said.
“Against the United States,
Soviets maintain a 4-1 advantage'-L
artillery, a 5-1 advantage in tankj^vi
the;
the
ners.
Byrd said U.S. production!
neutron warhead — an enhandB 3 61
radiation weapon that military p f a -j 1 j™
perts see as a defense againstW
Soviet tank attack — was postpoiwlP ln
the president after “much fr™ eni
by
torted and emotional reaction.
Atlantic City casino big hit;
United Press International
ATLANTIC CITY — It was a big
weekend for the first casino to open
in this shabby resort town — very
big.
“Estimates range from 50,000 to
100,000 people a day wandered
through the casino,” said H. Steven
Norton, vice president and general
manager of Resorts International,
which opened just in time to cash in
on the Memorial Day weekend.
atcl
Vai
|Ur-d
mtist:
of Tex
JTh
From the time America’s li'from £
legalized gambling casino easl one e
Nevada opened on Friday morni™ Te:
fire casino floor — the size off gram.
football fields — was filled to f, Th
5,000-person capacity almost w'Btail
stantly. Bff'n
The casino went on its weep .used
schedule today — its daily hoursf print
duced from 20 to 18 — hut cas® paper
manager Rick Howe said he c ^d c
pected the healthy crowds to
tinue.
Something
Special
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m. ; ; 1 CJrC KT* M
Dinner
3.50
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Dinner
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69
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year,
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inter
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