Julie Muhlstein/The Herald Net
Hoi Dinh and his wife Hoc Pham are the epitome of the American Dream. They escaped Vietnam as the war came crashing down and with their 10 children, made it to Minnesota with the help of David and Judy Pearson.
Together with the community, the Pearson found a home within a few days when the family arrived that would accommodate 15 people. Pearson was the pastor of the First Lutheran Church of Brainerd that sponsored Dinh’s family after the Vietnam War ended.
As the family flourished and found their footing, they moved on and started their new lives in America. They kept in touch with their host family but did not see them again until this year, when one of the Dinh’s children decided it was time to have a reunion.
It has been over 3 decades since both families moved on and with the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, thought a reunion seemed a good idea. Dinh’s daughter, Van Dinh-Kuno, was 19 when they arrived. She went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota and has spent her career helping others adjust to life in the U.S. as the executive director of Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest.
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