Friends reunite in Cape after more than 30-year separation

Quoc Chau was in his 20s when he escaped the political unrest in Vietnam with his wife, My, and young son, Tuyen.

After three failed attempts at leaving the country, they boarded a boat, and after three days on choppy seas, the family disembarked in Malaysia. There, they remained for nearly two years in a Red Cross refugee camp before receiving word they were being sponsored by a church group to come to the U.S.

Between 1975 and 1995, nearly 800,000 Vietnamese would flee their homeland when Communist rule came in to play. Many of the refugees failed to survive, facing the threat of pirates, crowding on the boats and storms at sea. The first destinations for those in the exodus were the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, plus the British colony of Hong Kong.

Before their escape, the Chau family were prominent in their hometown. When they escaped Vietnam, they left with only the clothes on their backs and no concept of what life in America would offer or how they would support themselves.

The Chaus' journey to the U.S. was made possible through the efforts of a church in Neosho, Missouri. Instrumental in bringing the Chau family to the U.S. was another young couple at the time, the pastor of the church and his wife.

The Rev. Vaughn and Nancy Wright also were in their 20s in the late 1970s. Their names would become familiar to many in the Dexter community years later after they were commissioned there, where Vaughn Wright would serve as pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for nearly two decades until his death from ALS in 2010.

The Chau family arrived in Neosho without knowledge of American culture or English skills. It would be the task of the Wrights and their congregation to help them settle into their new surroundings. My was pregnant with their second child when they arrived, and Nancy Wright helped them find a doctor.

"They were so grateful for what the church had done for them," Wright recalled recently, "that they gave me the honor of naming their second child, a girl."

"I always loved the name of 'Angie,' and I knew if I ever had a girl of my own, that's what I'd name her. So, I named her Angie."

Angie Chau was born in 1980, a beautiful, healthy girl. The couple still spoke little English, and Nancy Wright served as a translator to the doctor through a sometimes confused series of motions.

The Wrights had an 11-month-old son, Shawn, when the Chaus arrived, and would later have a second son, Shannon. The families quickly grew close to each other. But before Angie would turn 1 year old, her family would move west to California to an area where several other Vietnamese families had settled. Quoc had been laid off from his factory job in Neosho, and the time seemed right to move.

"We hated to see the family leave us," Nancy explained recently. "But we also understood their reasons. They went on to have a good life in California. It was a good decision for them."

The Chau family saw many changes in their lives over the next 35 years. They would Americanize their names. Quoc Chau would become Daniel Chau. Although My maintained her name, their son, Tuyen would become Richard. They would have a second daughter and name her Annie.

The Vaughns and the Chau family stayed in touch for many years, but correspondence slowed during the time Vaughn Wright battled ALS. Nancy Wright learned Daniel and My eventually divorced, though neither remarried. Daniel moved back to his homeland, and his son, Richard, spent most of his time in Vietnam as well.

Then came a phone call in early October.

"I received a call from Daniel saying that he and Angie were coming to the area and wanted to meet with me. I was thrilled. I had not seen them since Angie was an infant, and that was nearly 35 years ago," Nancy White said.

The two would fly from separate points -- Daniel from Vietnam and Angie from her home in Portland, Oregon. Angie would arrive first, flying from St. Louis to the Cape Girardeau Airport, where she and Nancy would wait for her father, Daniel, to arrive a short time later.

But plans did not materialize Oct. 20 as planned. Through a misunderstanding, Angie thought her Portland flight was taking off at noon instead of midnight and missed it. Her father learned en route she would not be joining him in Cape Girardeau.

Nancy Wright received a call while en route to Cape that Angie would not be arriving. Her disappointed father, however, landed safely and quickly spotted his old friend as he walked from the shuttle plane. Although for a moment it was as if no time had passed, they had catching up to do.

Asked why he moved back to Vietnam after 20 years in the U.S., Daniel responded: "To help people -- the poor people."

Chau and his son operate two furniture manufacturing plants -- one in Binh Duong, Vietnam, and the other in Guang Dong, China. The plants employ a total of 1,000 people and provide employees with living quarters, two meals each day, schooling for their children, a day care facility and after-school tutoring. All these amenities are free to their employees.

"We make quality furniture. Our wood primarily comes from North Carolina," Daniel explained.

The company's name is Gloryhouse Co. Ltd., and they cater primarily to American and Canadian markets. Their U.S. markets include Pottery Barn and Macy's.

At 60 years old, Daniel is still involved with the company he established in 2005, but his son, Richard, leads the China operation and with an engineering background, plays a major role in the company.

The conversation between Nancy and Daniel eventually turned to Angie and her life as a Portland resident.

"Angie is a pharmacist," Daniel explained with modesty and pride combined. "Annie is an attorney."

Daniel visits the U.S. as many as three times each year, to conduct business in North Carolina and to visit his daughters and their families. His grandchildren are the children of his son, Richard in Vietnam. Daniel and My remain close friends and visit in Orange County, California, where My remained.

There was a lot of catching up in the few hours in Cape Girardeau -- photos were brought out, and the two shared stories of the time when Daniel and his young wife and son first came to America with little more than hope of a brighter future. That future was hard-earned, but its success was evident in the smiles of his three grown children -- an engineer, a pharmacist and an attorney.

"When we boarded that boat, we had no idea where we would land," Daniel explained. "The language was the hardest part. And it was very cold."