How A War Change My Family Life

How A War Change My Family Life

“Boom”, “Boom”, “Boom” are the sounds people will always hear whenever there is a war, and wars are in a part of history that no one can change.  In Viet Nam, there was a long history of wars for thousands of years. The Vietnamese people fought with China over the past 1000 years. In addition, our country had a conflict with France for around one hundred years. However, it was the war with United States in the 1950s and 1970s that really had an effect on my family. It changed the life of many people, and many families in Viet Nam. My family was no exception from this rule. My mom used to tell me stories about how the war affected my grandfather, and the way he caused our family’s life to go to another direction.

The conflicts and wars caused my grandfather to begin his life in another part of my country, and my grandfather’s story began in 1950. In this time, South Viet Nam was occupied by the United States. My grandfather’s homeland was in countryside of South Viet Nam, called Dong Thap. His village was so poor, and it was attacked repeatedly by bombs from the United States’ Air Force. Hence, my grandfather had to leave his native land and move to Sai Gon looking for a new job. Luckily, he found a full-time job, and he worked for a few months. From that moment, he liked the new life in Sai Gon. He loved the city’s lifestyle and the way foreign people worked in offices. Unfortunately, the conflict in the city began rising. Thus, my grandfather had to return to his homeland. When he went back, he met my grandmother because she was at the same native land. A few months later, they got married. Usually, every man in his native land stayed in town and became farmers after they had a wife. However, my grandfather did not accept this destiny. He convinced his wife to go to Sai Gon to find a new existence and a better job. After a long time staying and working in Sai Gon, my grandfather finally bought a house in the city and raised his kids in this house. That is how our family got out of a farmer’s life.

In the beginning of this new life, my grandfather and my grandmother’s lives had a lot of difficulties. They had to work hard from 4 A.M until midnight. In addition, they worked without any weekends or holidays. Furthermore, the war played a part in making the beginning of my grandfather’s life challenging. The conflict reached Sai Gon, so it was hard to do business or exchange goods. Moreover, after the Revolution of Viet Nam War, their life was more arduous because of the heavily consequence of war. Establishing a new government and rebuilding the city was more important than improving the economy at that time, but sometimes, my grandmother thought she could not handle this and wanted to go back home. However, my grandfather convinced his wife to try because of the future of their child. They did not want to go back and become farmers because it was too difficult. He wanted his children to be able to work in offices and have a better life. His correctly thoughts and decisions led his family to a new horizon. Getting out of a farmer life and having a clerical job is the path that he chose for his kids.

Despite the fact that my grandfather’s family was very poor, he was determined to provide his child with a solid education. He always said that he would try his best to let his child could go to school. The severe life in war taught him how to deal with difficulties, and he never gave up in any circumstances. He also wanted all of his children to be as brave as him. Therefore, my mother and her siblings were the only kids in her neighborhood that were educated. Learning was the only way to achieve success, he said. Moreover, at that time, in our neighborhood, there were many people richer than my grandfather. However, they did not let their children go to school because they thought it was unnecessary. Thanks to my grandfather’s abnegation, nowadays, my mother has a good job in the Vietnamese Government, and all of my uncles and aunts have better jobs.

          Changing one life is difficult, and it is more difficult if you want change many generations. My grandfather already did it, and he did it very successfully. He is no longer on the road with us. However, everyone in my family will remember him as a guiding star in the sky. My mother also tried to study from her father, and she let my sister and me study in the United States. A war can change many lives in many ways, and my grandfather let it change him into a better one.