JPL engineering manager honors her roots by writing a memoir

Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet

WESTMINSTER, Calif.–When most people think about writing a book, they don’t always get around to it; life happens, you get busy and things get in the way. But, Charlene Lin Ung, 48, isn’t like most people and her story of coming to America is a powerful one, mired in perseverance, fortitude and success.

Her first book, Nam Moi: A Young Girl’s Story of Her Family’s Escape from Vietnam, chronicles her family’s harrowing journey from Vietnam to America after the fall of Saigon.

“It took me two years to finally put this book together,” Ung said. “Many times I wanted to stop but I was determined to write it, even if it took five to ten years.”

Author Charlene Lin Ung wrote her novel, Nam Moi, to honor her family’s journey to America. (Photo: Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet)

Part of her resolve to write the book, was to tell her family’s story, but also to honor her late father, Ung Ly Sang, who passed away 21 years ago from brain cancer.

“None of my two daughters (age 14 and 17) know anything about my dad,” said Ung, “so writing this was  a way to tell them about who we are and where we come from.”

Ung was only 11 years-old when her family left Saigon in November of 1978. Her father had previously tried to get the family out but was tricked and subsequently arrested and put in jail. He was released and later tried again, this time gaining passage on the Tung An ship with thousands of other refugees.

Along with her parents and four siblings (four others had journeyed seperately before them to America), Ung spent six weeks at sea before they finally reached the Philippines. However, when they did, they were not allowed to dock.

An aerial view of the freight liner Tung An. (Photo courtesy Charlene Lin Ung)

A passage from Ung’s book reads:

“The Philippine government, however, would not allow the Tung An refugees to go ashore. According to the foreign ministry, they had already accepted more than 3,000 Vietnamese, and any more refugees would severely overcrowd their Fabella refugee center. However, for humanitarian reasons, the government agreed to provide us with food, water and medical supplies.”

What ensued was nine and a half months of living in limbo on the giant vessel, with just enough food and assistance to stay alive, but never enough to venture to shore, or immigrate. Finally, on August 8, 1979, the government moved the ship to a remote island off the coast called Tara Island.

There, the refugees spent three months on land while the government began the process of resettling them to Western countries. Eventually they were sent back to Manila to the Fabella Refugee Center and finally, on February 24, 1980, Ung’s family boarded a plane to Los Angeles, finally to be reunited with the rest of her siblings.

That was over 35 years ago, and today, Lin is living the American dream in the best possible way. She is an engineering manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, having earned her bacheler’s and master’s degree in engineering.

Nam Moi: A Young Girl’s Story of Her Family’s Escape from Vietnam, was published on March 19 of this year. She chose that date to honor her father., who passed away on March 19, 1994 The name “Nam Moi” translates to “little girl from the south”, a nickname her family used to call her.

“Writing this book is a way for me to pay back but not forget the sacrifices and the people and the journey,” Ung said. “I feel that if my dad could see this and all that I’ve accomplished, he’d be so proud of me.”

To find out more about the book, click here:

http://www.nguoivietshop.com/Nam-Moi-Charlene-Lin-Ung/dp/1508700796

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To contact the writer: [email protected]