About
Dr. Ha H Tuong Biography
Having grown up through the most interesting turning points during the time when Vietnam was devastated by the war and the United States is battling with major social restructuring and economic regression, Dr. Ha Tuong has witnessed drastic socio-political and cultural transformation from the era of French colonization, through both Republics of Vietnam political turmoils, all of which being more or less influenced by a constantly metamorphosing democratic American society. Contradicting values conveyed by different systems of knowledge, that originate from sources varying from modern French to modern American, between home and streets, alternating between news and words of mouth, combining ancient Chinese Sun Tzu with modern Western Maslow/Goleman, floating from student’s free spirited lifestyles to military leader’s mentality, all are bombarding his avid mind in order to shape and synthesize his beliefs into a multicultural socio-psychologically integrated conclusion.
Tuong is a son of a migrant family from North Vietnam (1940’s). He is sent to French total immersion schools by his rich French godfather who is the director of “la Société des Thêatres d'Indochine.” Upon graduation, he attends the Sài-Gòn University for Math and Science, then switches to the Buddhist University of Vạn Hạnh (Saigon) where he receives a Bachelor’s Degree in English Education, while serving in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (2nd Lieutenant), at first as a combat Infantry platoon leader, then as the coordinator of the newly created mobile training unit of Gia Định Sector. Married into a political Southerner family, he is closely exposed to the 2nd Republic of Vietnam policy. When the war ends, he migrates to Minnesota under the congressional refugee program for Vietnam War victims, and worked for Minneapolis Public Schools until he retires. His continued pursuit of higher education has helped him acquire a Master’s Degree, and later on a Doctorate Degree in Education Leadership, along with a principal license from the Catholic University of St. Thomas. He has successfully evolved from teacher to school principal, touching at least 20,000 lives from all walks of life and cultures, and working closely with some thousands of staff to develop substantial programs for children of all needs. During his active time, he serves the immigrant as well as minority communities in the Twin Cities to help them with their socio-political adjustments. Upon retirement, he participates with Vietnam Veterans and allies in lobbying efforts to bring out the truth of the War against Communist Aggression.
As he realizes there have been so much misleading information available to the people about the war, making the bad look good and the good bad, he has decided to commit a decade to researching what is available in the media and combine it with his findings from interviews, eyewitness memories, personal experiences, and cross-cultural comparative logics to come up with a foundation to “Peace or Freedom.” He writes, not as a partisan story-teller of the Republic of Vietnam, but as a neutral social-scientist and historian, using facts and rational thinking that have affected the outcome of the war. Major cultural differences and historical background components have brewed into a cauldron of conflicts that confused everyone, whether they are Western (American, and Western allies) or Eastern (Vietnamese PDRVN as well RVN, and Asian allies) and, definitely, the American and European “spectators.”