I intended to move immediately to my new post at La Salle Duc Minh. However, I had to finish these academic reports for the Juniors. Therefore, I requested that Brother Michel bring my notes to Brother Visitor. The notes were, "OK, Brother Visitor, I’ll be there at La Salle Duc Minh next week because I have to complete the academic reports for the Juniors. Thank you."

Brother Michel brought, immediately, my postponing request to Brother Visitor. And less than 3 hours later, Brother Michel brought to me Brother Visitor’s response, saying, "Brother Valery, you don’t have to move to La Salle Duc Minh, and you belong to the Community of La Salle Mossard in Thu Duc instead." I said, "FIAT! (Yes, Sir!)" and we laughed. That was my third assignment in 5 years. My first assignment was at the end of my 3rd year in the Scholasticate on June, 1970. From April 29 to May 2, 1970, it had been scheduled for the canonical visit by Brother Visitor Bruno to the Scholasticate in Dalat. It was important for me because it would be my first assignment to an apostolate community. Unfortunately, during this week, Brother Michel and I had to attend the Training Session for Scouts. However, we requested to return home, for a few hours, to meet Brother Visitor Bruno during the early morning of May 1.

When we arrived at home, nobody was there - the Brothers might have gone to church. We walked around the property, and we gasped in seeing some windows at the "Bonheur Vert" (Green Happiness) building and of the parlor had been destroyed. Brother Michel said, "That’s the explosion of B40 and B41 rockets!" At that moment, the Brothers returned from the church, and Brother Visitor Bruno was among them.

I greeted Brother Visitor. He smiled and said, "You are lucky, thank God! If you were home last night, you would have been in danger." Indeed, a Brother recalled, "While Brother Visitor talked to the whole Community at 8:00P.M., two explosions happened, and sounds of broken glass followed. Although we had been more or less familiar with such explosions, but this time it was too close, and many shards of broken glass flew into the conference room. To tell the truth, Brother Visitor had been luckier than we were! Looking in his room and at the black robe that hung on the door, there were 3 or 4 holes in the robe pierced by some rocket splinters." I looked at Brother Visitor and said, "Congratulations, Brother Visitor!" and we together laughed.

I told to him, "Do you want to meet me right now?" He promptly replied, "No, I have to return to Saigon." It seemed that he had remembered that I had been ending my 3rd year of Scholasticate and would be assigned to an apostolate community in 3 months. He looked at me, and said, "Oh yes! Hum. If I assigned you to any community, would you agree?" I was a little surprised, but still smiling, replied, "I don’t know! This is my first time assigned to a community." He said, softly, "OK, don’t worry. I am thinking about that." A month later, I was assigned to the Junioriate in Thu Duc, and that was my first assignment.

June 1973, my 3rd year in the Junioriate in Thu Duc, came at an end. During the tour for basketball of the La Salle Schools League, Brother Alexandre Anh, Principal at La Salle Technical School in Can Tho, suggested to me that I join him; a week later, Brother Mutien Ngoc, Director of the Petit-Novitiate in Nha Trang, proposed that I join him too. I began thinking about changing to another community. On the occasion of the annual retreat for the whole District of Saigon, I met Brother Bruno, Visitor, and suggested that he send me to Can Tho (I never mentioned about the Petit-Novitiate in Nha Trang). After a short meeting, he smiled, and said, "You have two options, One, the Junioriate in Thu Duc, or Two, the Petit-Novitiate in Nha Trang!" I laughed, then said, "Brother Visitor, it’s the same!" In turn, he laughed, saying, "No! it’s not the same!" And I opted for the "status quo." Since then, I had not received any other assignment from Brother Bruno, Visitor.

***

In May, 1975, two separate communities, residing on the property of La Salle Mossard before the event ‘75, were combined into one community and was named "La Salle Thu Duc Community." The members of the community were Brother Francois Anh, Director, and Brothers Etienne Toan, Wenceslaus Thuong, Colomban Dao, Joseph Tai, Gervais Ha, Prosper Ba, Alban Thanh, Valery An, Michel Hong, Dennis Nhon, Francois Hien, Pierre Thang, Barthelemy Han, Hean Hoang Phuc, Jerome Diep, and Rev. Pierre Hien, Affiliate and Chaplain. In addition, some Juniors, who had been boarders at the Junioriate in the school year 74-75 and wished to continue this life-style were Minh Thanh, Quoc Thang, Sanh Tran, Tam Tran, Tien Do, Hoang Thanh, Cuong Trong, Dinh Quoc, Khanh Quoc, Vinh Hien, Dung (Chet), etc. and two of my nephews, Chau and Thanh.

On May 8, 1975, Brother Visitor convened a meeting, gathering all the Brother counselors and a Brother representative of each community. The Community of La Salle Thu Duc advised me to attend this meeting. One of the agenda items was about "the retired Brothers not only of the Holy Family of Mai Thon, but also about the Brothers over 65 who were in different communities." A young Brother bravely expressed his opinions which had been the opinion of other young Brothers as well. They were, "First of all, we, young Brothers, entertain a feeling of gratitude deep in our hearts for the Older Brothers who had founded, had been keeping intact and had developed the District of Saigon. Therefore, we promise to do whatever we could to ensure a happy life, materially and spiritually, for our Older Brothers."

. The family register under the communist government consisted of controlling each person within the family: father controls mother and vice versa, children control father and mother and vice versa, brothers and sisters control one another. In addition, the strategic hamlet before ‘63 was duplicated under the different name of an Administrative Zone of about 50 family-registers. The local authority assigned a man or woman to be a zone head under the direct control of a supervisor who was also a policeman. It is a kind of a "secret weapon," really awful in which the communist government employed a system to control its people.

The La Salle Mossard community was composed of 16 Brothers, an Affiliate Rev. Hien, chaplain, and about 15 Juniors. It belonged to the administrative zone whose head had been a former student of the Brothers in North of Vietnam before ‘54. He suggested that the Brothers in the community be divided into 5 "familyregisters." So we did. Each "family register" was composed of 5 or 6 or 7 people, preferably of the same family name.

One of the immediate duties of the "family register" was to provide at least one member in the "mounting guard." Once a week, he would guard in front of the gate to the village from 9:00P.M. to 5:00A.M., to "safeguard the new cultural life-style." This kind of duty was particularly strengthened after two following "reactionary" events:

1. On a week day morning at about 8:00A.M., the chief administrator (i.e. Principal as of before ‘75) of Cat Lai High School came in and saw on the playground, under the flagstaff, something like a grave with a sign ""Ho Chi Minh Tombstone." At the same time, some professors of that school came in. They saw the grave, and looking at each other, they exchanged a meaningful smile. They had 10 portraits of Uncle Ho hang on the front wall of each classroom, who was now buried. After that event happened, the school administration had to take responsibility for mounting a guard every night.

2. On another early morning, people were terrified when they had seen on the memorial wall of the Village Pagoda these words painted in red "Communists from the North - Go back to the North!"

***

We were informed that "all the schools in South Vietnam had to begin their classes, in order to continue to complete the school year of 74-75." Brother Francois sent me to attend the meeting held by the Service of Education of Ho Chi Minh City at Regina Mundi School in Saigon . For more than one hour, Mr. Hoang Bich Son, Head of the Education Service, spoke about "Who won whom," referring to "the preeminent nature of communism and the predominant role of the Vietnam Communist Party in the battle of the scrambling for independence, freedom, and happiness for the country." The most important and pragmatic part, which everyone had been waiting for, could be understood within two guiding principles:

1. About establishments/schools: all the schools, public or private before ‘75, must be opened to complete the school year 74-75. This session is called "Complementary Summer Session," which will be opened at the same time on May 15 and ended by August 31. For further guidance, the terms of administrator, faculty and staff, fees tuition, etc., will be given by the Local Education Service.

2. Concerning former Organizations/Unions and Associations for Youth Activities of any form, they must be registered. No one should be active before the approval by legally written documents from the administrative authorities.

People, who had been present at the meeting, looked at each other and smiled. Everyone understood that "to register means to forget it!"

***

On May 10, 1975, Brother Francois Anh, "temporary Administrator, convened all the former teachers and employees at La Salle Mossard School for a meeting. The agenda was discussed to prepare for the Summer Session.

En route to the conference room, I saw the crowd in line with flags and banners which read "District [X] - Thu Duc County." These people, perhaps since 5:00A.M., had gathered on the basketball courts, in front of the La Salle Mossard Hall, where a long banner, which read "People’s Tribunal," was hung. Between the tables for the prosecutors and for the proof witnesses, four empty caskets were displayed.

When I saw such a strange scene, I ran back to my room and got my camera. While I went around with the intention of taking some photos, someone tapped my right shoulder. I turned my head and saw a gentleman bearing a brassard which read "PRESS" on his arm. He smiled at me and then said, "Brother! [I wore black robe and white Rabat] Do you have a licence as a journalist or for the Press Agency?" I shook my head. He continued, "I know what you want to do, but it’s impossible and dangerous. I advise you to go back home, immediately, and hide your camera; if ‘they’ saw you with this camera, ‘they’ could arrest you!" I mumbled, "Is it that serious?" and I listened to him and did as he suggested.

The verdict was pronounced, All of the four had been condemned to death "for being ruffian and quisling troops, sabotaging people, and continuing act against the revolution." They were executed at Duong Son Quan, Thu Duc.

At the first meeting, since the event of ‘75, former teachers and employees at La Salle Mossard School were enthusiastic and joyful. Everyone expressed his/her honor to be able to continue working at La Salle. One teacher, more than enthusiastic, said, "Bravo La Salle! La Salle is still here!"

***

May 12-14, 1975, every teacher who had wished to continue teaching at a "socialist school" must complete two days of so-called "brain washing," i.e. attending full time two days for learning the policies of this newer educational system according to the Marxism-Leninism philosophy. It consisted of observing what was said so that one could accept what the communist ideology called "morality of the revolution."

To tell the truth, the orator repeated the same thing that I personally had heard before. At the first meeting at Regina Mundi School, by Hoang Bich Son, head of the education service of Ho Chi Minh City, the same doctrine was pronounced:1. First lesson: "Who beat whom?" 2. Second lesson: "The phenomenon and nature of ideologies."

However, there was a newer learning procedure introduced to the teachers of the former South Vietnam called "criticizing and self-criticizing." It consisted of "confessing one’s sins against the revolution, thus showing repentance and a resolution to behaving better in future." At the beginning of that first session, some teachers who had heard about this doctrine, warned each other by whispering, "Pay attention to what you’re about to say. It’s very very dangerous!"

A teacher was assigned to speak about "who beat whom." Because it was the first time, he showed hesitant and nervous behavior. However, taking a deep breath, he began,"Who beat whom? It is clear that the revolution has won over the capitalist United States and its ally, South Vietnam. I have learned that our people have complied with accepting the final and complete victory, and to advancing - that fast! - towards socialism, and then communism according to the Marxism-Leninism. However, whatever this means it is, to rise up at a some point, it will be down again..."

Everyone in the group held their breath, knowing that "something not good will happen."Indeed, at the second session, nobody knew where that teacher had moved.