Caught Between Cultures A Story of Milton Wan and Vietnam

Milton Wan's life story is also the story of his adopted land in the second half of the twentieth century. Born and raised in Vietnam, he left his homeland and made his way to the United States, only to return to Vietnam as a soldier in the U.S. Army. After the war ended, he returned to the U.S. to follow the time-honored immigrant path of hard work and devotion to family.

Milton grew up in Saigon under the unforgiving hand of a loveless and abusive father, Wainam; his only refuge the companionship of his twin brother Michael. Born in the Vietnam that was a French colony, he watched as Americans replaced the French as the outsiders attempting to control Vietnam's destiny. Milton was 17 in November 1963, the month both U.S. President Kennedy and South Vietnamese President Diem were assassinated.

Milton's father had managed to get himself on the American gravy train, brokering hotel rentals for the incoming American advisors. Charged with inspecting the Americans' hotel rooms, Milton and his brother soon found themselves stealing checks from the newcomers and cashing them for Vietnamese piastres. Eventually their scheme began to unravel, and the twins set off on their long journey to America, a journey that took them to Cambodia and then Hong Kong. Through persistence and courage, not to mention the help of a formidable adoptive aunt, they managed to overcome the obstacles and finally make it to Seattle.

It was only a few years later that Milton found himself back in Vietnam as a soldier in the U.S. Army. Although a poor soldier, he managed to make it through the war unscathed and even reconciled with his father.

After the war, he settled once again in Seattle, where Caught Between Cultures author Joseph Blondo found him behind the counter of Tai Tung, a Chinese restaurant. Blondo deftly draws the connections between Milton's story and our shared experience. As he writes in the epilogue, "isn't it also my story, your story, everyone's story, the unavoidable drama, sometimes melodrama that we all know?"

Caught Between Cultures tells the story of Milton Wan: immigrant, American soldier, entrepreneur. But it also tells the story of the country we all share.

Author Joseph Blondo was born in December 1953 in Puyallup, Washington and raised in a variety of rural locations in the western United States and northern Alberta, Canada. He was granted Conscientious Objector status (1-0) on religious (moral) grounds in November 1972 from his Selective Service draft board, city of Brighton, Adams County, Colorado. He studied Transactional Analysis and other therapeutic modalities in Seattle, Washington and also served in VISTA in Seattle. An accomplished poet, he served as the poetry editor of Magical Blend magazine in San Francisco, California from 1979-82. He has published two volumes of poetry: Saint Sea with Marty Campbell in 1986 and The Greyer Elements in 1995. A long narrative-style poem, Six Houses, a poetic and psychological analysis of his family, was published 1986 and nominated for a small press award. Recently he has worked as a political organizer and industry advocate for the Seattle and King County taxi industry. Mr. Blondo resides in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.