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Navy Ship Commanded By Vietnamese-American to Visit Vietnam
Story Number: NNS091028-05
Release Date: 10/28/2009 11:57:00 AM
From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs
YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- A U.S. Navy officer picked up as a boy off the coast of Vietnam by a U.S. Navy ship will return to Vietnam next month in command of one.
Cmdr. Hung Ba "H.B." Le will visit Vietnam in November with his ship, the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82). USS Lassen is the first U.S. Navy ship to be commanded by a Vietnamese-American.
Le and his family left Vietnam in 1975 during the final days of the Vietnam conflict. The goodwill visit by his ship will mark the first time Le has been back to Vietnam since he left the country at the age of five.
"My crew and I are proud to be able to represent our country to the people of Vietnam," said Le. "This visit is a symbol of the friendship between our two nations, and we are deeply honored to be a part of it."
Le was born in Vietnam's ancient capital city of Hue. On May 2, 1975, Le and his family were picked up at sea by USS Barbour County (LST 1195). The Le family immigrated to the U.S., settling in northern Virginia. Le became a citizen on April 30, 1985. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated with merit in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and was commissioned as a U.S. Navy officer.
"This will be an incredible experience for me personally, to return to the land of my birth for the first time since I was a child," Le said. "My memories of Vietnam are very few, yet I still feel very drawn to it, to its culture, and to its people."
Le assumed command of USS Lassen and its crew of nearly 300 in April. The ship is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet. The precise location and dates of USS Lassen's visit will be announced at a later date.
For more news from Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/c7f/.
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