‘Ty’s Journey’

Ty slept on his mother’s lap. Someone’s hand shook his shoulder.

“Wake up, dear, we have arrived.” Ty opened his eyes and shut them again right away. He wanted to sleep more.

The hand woke him up again. This time he had to sit up straight in his own seat, his mother on the right and his father at the left. Ty’s little sister was on his father’s lap.

“Where are we going, Dad?” Ty asked.

“Pendleton Refugee Camp,” came the reply.

Ty did not know what “refugee” meant, but he did not ask further. He just wanted to sleep.

When the airplane came to a stop, everyone got up and went toward the door. Ty’s family followed them. Mom held Ty’s hand, and Dad carried the baby.

When they reached the door, it was dark outside. Ty saw big, long buses parked nearby. People were making a line to get on them.

Soldiers were helping the old people and children get onto each bus. The soldiers helped Ty’s mother also.

Another soldier handed out dark green shirts to everyone. It seemed like there was only one size. It almost fit his Dad but was too loose for Mom. On Ty, the shirt reached to the ground. He could not see his hands. The shirt was just like the one Dad wore when he came home from the fields in Vietnam.

Ty turned his head back to find Dad. At the same time, Dad looked at him. Dad was so smart, he knew what Ty was going to ask. Dad nodded his head and said, “Those are soldiers’ shirts, and we are going to a refugee camp. I will explain to you later.”

Tuesday: Ty takes a long bus ride.

April 30 is the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. In “Ty’s Journey,” Tran Mong Tu relates her experiences at Camp Pendleton and her first days in America through the eyes of a young boy.

This is a Kids’ Reading Room Classic that first appeared April 24, 2000. It will be on The Times’ website at latimes.com/kids.