"Way to die!" he shouts as many thoughts ran across his mind, not knowing what may become next, or even if there will be another agonizing second to live. Just because the Vietnam war ended in 1975, does not conclude that the difficulty life of the aftermath would end along with it. This is a tremendously strong willed man, telling his tale of the struggle and sought out life to make it to America for a completely new life. The struggles and life of what he consider normal as a child, to an early adult aged teenager, and then of course the frantic chase away from Vietnam after the communist took over. A long journey from Vietnam, to China, to the United States, and today - the life of freedom, hopefulness, greatness, proud father of seven, and wonderful husband with happiness, here in Elk Grove, California. This is just the beginning of my father's journey, Diep Ngoc Tran at the age of fifty-nine sitting here reliving his historical way to freedom through his memory, a very special keepsake memory that will never be forgotten, in his own words as he reminisces on what he thought would be his way to die (Diep Tran, interviewee, Oct. 16, 2011). On the exact date of September 12, 1952 my father, Diep was born in Vietnam the city of Hue, which is known as part of the South Vietnam. My father is the second oldest of a total of eleven; eight boys and three girls, with a younger brother who had past when he was just a toddler. His family lived in a small community with the last name formally as "Tran" which is a very common street name originated by the ancestors. They lived in a very reserved home, two stories high with seven rooms accommodating for the eleven siblings in one household. Outside in the front of their home was a river and a big hill overlooking on the opposite side, surrounded by community stores.   The thought of childhood would be full of play time and fun memories, in my father's case it was more than a childhood, it's what he called surviving. Life in Vietnam differs from America and more so between American children's. At such an early age he had more responsibilities than a grown mid twenty adult would in today's society and generation. Life for him consisted of school and coming home to nurture care for his siblings as his parents, whom would be my grandparents went off to work. Often times my father would go with his mother to the local shopping centers and sell random items to keep their family alive and provide food on the table, that was his daily life and sure enough it was a daily struggle. Starting at the mere young age of five he attended a primary level education school called "Tieu Hoc Cu Lai," where education is cut short and only went up to the fifth grade education level. Classes were small with an even minimal amount of students in a set of given classrooms compared to America. Starting school at the age of five is considered late in America, yet education only goes as high as fifth grade level with no enforcement for education, you can only imagine how much more different America is from Vietnam, and that is only a start. At age twelve, he was consider as a young adult and from there he went to a tailoring school called, "Nha My Tu Loc." Social interaction became a way of living then as kids were arranged to be married off at an early age. Diep had friends throughout his time in school but spent time socializing only during school hours, as