Did you ever figure you'd meet a new friend whose parent fought on the otherside of a war?

Well today I did.

Tonight, while hanging around the interwebs, I had a friend request popup in my Facebook. It was from a Vietnamese guy, around my age, that I had briefly welcomed to a group I belong to that are children of Vietnam Veterans.

So, I accept the request, and within a few minutes, I find myself talking to the son, of a Vietnamese woman, who had been imprisoned by the South Vietnamese regime, and after her release, she understandably volunteered to join the Viet Cong.

I was totally blown away. It was something that I had always wanted to do, was to talk to someone on the other side of the fence for once, and just learn about their perspective! The young man, Hien, is a pretty impressive young gentleman himself. He works for a company that helps clear land mines and other explosives from in the Quang Tri province. He also helps probably one of the best known ordinance clearing companies Norwiegen Peoples Aid. This group has been active in so many parts of the world, clearing the deadly ordinance so normal citizens can move around in peace.

If you have the option or the means, please offer your assistance to any of these companies. The work they are doing is of the utmost importance to a country that is already assaulted by the effects of Dioxin based Agent Orange.

I only met Hien today, and have found a member of an extended family. It is only through friendship, cooperation and mutual respect, can we learn to live on the big blue marble we call home. Thank you Hien for the chat. And may your mother be a source of inspiration to you for a long time to come.