I’m currently in Da Lat, which lies in the central highlands of Vietnam, for the 15-year death anniversary of my girlfriend’s father’s mother. I call her father Bac Trai. His brother, which had an incredible smile and who lived in France, also passed last week. And lastly, my godmother died this week.

This is a sad but happily memorable experience. But this posting is about some one else entirely. I have just met Ong Nuoi, who is slightly mentally disabled. He is the adopted brother of Bac Trai. Nuoi translates to: To nourish, to bring up, to feed, to breed.

Ong Nuoi had said the French bombed his village in the North and his family was killed. Bac Trai’s family figured he came to Da Lat with the French troops as a service boy because he able to speak a few words in French such as fork, knife, and plate.

Loggers, who worked for Bac Trai’s father, found Ong Nuoi wandering in the forest as a child. The Loggers brought him to the family house and since it was easy to adopt at the time, Bac Trai’s father took him in.

When they asked his name he just said Nuoi. The family thought maybe someone was talking about taking care of him – Nuoi – so he thought that was his name.

When Ong Nuoi was of drafting age for the South Vietnamese army, he was at the training camp for only a week. He failed the minimum qualification test. When the soldiers were standing in a line, the officer yelled out commands. “Turn left”. Ong Nuoi turned right. He was sad for a long time. His only desire has long to become a soldier.

Ong Nuoi has always hated the Communists. When the North Vietnamese came into Da Lat, he stood out in front of the house and wore his South Vietnamese uniform from training camp waiting for the Americans to show up. They didn’t.

Now the family thinks Ong Nuoi is around 72 years old. He spends his days raising animals. Six dogs, two cats, one bird and several chickens. No one is allowed to eat the chickens. He sells the eggs to earn enough to buy food for the dogs.

He lives quietly in his small bedroom outside of the house. He wears his US Army uniform whenever he can. He still loves the military.