The first La Salle School to be "willy-nilly offered" was La Salle Ban Me Thuot School on March 12, 1975.

Bishop Seitz, of the Kontum diocese, had long ago been requesting the presence of the De La Salle Brothers in Ban Me Thuot. Brother Cyprien, Visitor, satisfied his demand by sending 4 Brothers to run the first school in the Highland, on July 20, 1959.

A year later, President Ngo Dinh Diem, a former student of the Brothers at La Salle Pellerin in Hue, who had an infrastructure plan transforming Ban Me Thuot into the capital for the Highland of the Center Vietnam West, offered to the La Salle District of Saigon more than 100 acres - "leasing the property for 99 years with the cost of one (1) VNCH dong through the decree signed on December 5, 1960," and ordered the most famous architect at the time, Mr. Hoang Van Thu, to design for the building a school suitable to the infrastructure plan.

On March 11, 1975, the offensive from the Vietnam North army began in Ban Me Thuot. One of the most desired targets was La Salle School which had been built on top of a hill. The Brothers and employees of the school were forced to live in the garage. Ten days later, they were gathered and closely guarded in the dining room and kitchen, while the whole school was occupied by the bo doi.

Because the "Liberation of South Vietnam" had not ended yet, no one could go out nor go in. In addition, the presence of the "quislings," especially of the "intellectual quislings " near the revolutionary army had been seen as "dangerous" to the bo doi. Therefore, the new authorities expelled the Brothers and employees and confined them to a small property they had "negotiated" with the bishop near the seminary of the diocese.

When the invading armies had totally controlled the South Vietnam, Brother Jules, Director of La Salle Ban Me Thuot Community, thought it would be time to go back to school. But, having arrived there, the Brothers were stopped in front of the gate by some bo doi guards showing them a bulletin board with these words, "PRIVATE PROPERTY - NO ENTRY!" Brother Jules, on the one hand, negotiated with the chief of bo doi, and on the other hand, sent Brother Salomon to go to get information about La Salle Lam Son, the Elementary School. The result of negotiations was that the chief of bo doi contended that the Brothers be settled in the dining room and kitchen. Brother Salomon joined them, informing that the Elementary School had been confiscated.
On June 7, 1977
, Brother Jules had to sign a contract consisting of "trading the dining room and kitchen" for a property at Phan Chu Trinh street [Please note that on this contract, there was no mention about the La Salle Lam Son School, nor the la Salle Ban Me Thuot School].
Were they the first "gifts" which La Salle District of Saigon "offered" to the new government, in honor of the great victory over the South Vietnam?

***

On May 15, 1904, La Salle Pellerin in Hue was inaugurated. Brother Aglibert was the first Director of Community and Principal of the School.

The Faculty and Staff and students of La Salle Binh Linh (renamed from Pellerin in the sixties) didn’t yet have the joy and honor to celebrate the 70th Jubilee of the School, a celebration which had been set for May, 1975. The preparation for this event had been started a year earlier.

After April 30, 1975, Brother Rodriguez, who had been assigned to La Salle Binh Linh for more than 25 years, would be "dead in fighting for the safeguard of the school rather than to leave it." However, he had to resign himself to a shed in Brother Paul’s garden of grape-fruit trees. Brother Paul, over 90 years old, used this shed for his garden tools. "Anyway," Brother Rodriguez said, "the Brother’s presence wherever and within the La Salle Binh Linh is good for expressing to the new government that La Salle Binh Linh has been OUR School since 1904."

On August 15, 1975, at the request from the Education Service of Thua Thien Province, Brother Rodriguez, with the assent of Brother Lucien, Visitor, and of Mgr. Nguyen Kim Dien, Archbishop of the diocese of Hue, signed the contract to "lend" the La Salle Binh Linh property "to the Board of the Education Service, for 5 years, in order to use it only for educational purposes. When the contract comes to the end, the contract must be renewed with the consent of both sides."

Five years had passed. Then five more years had passed. And five more years had passed. Brother Rodriguez noticed that the La Salle Binh Linh property was still being used for educational purposes. He said nothing.

In May 2000, Brother Rodriguez was informed, by some former students, that the local government had intentions to remodel the Binh Linh School to make it an Entertainment Center, i.e. for diverse sport facilities and especially for tourism and also for a hotel. Brother Rodriguez responded by sending a complaint letter to the local government. He waited for its response.

Meanwhile, some of his former students who had resettled in the U.S.A and Brother Fortunat wanted to invite Brother Rodriguez to join the group for the World Youth Day in Roma in June-July 2000. The problem was "How could he obtain the passport from the Vietnamese government at this difficult time?" Everyone was amazed that he had gotten it within 7 days, "no questions asked!" His former students had really influenced Brother Rodriguez in convincing him more from the confidence and the heartfelt and grateful sentiments for their teachers, especially for the Brothers and Teachers. [In Vietnamese, the word "Sö Huynh" means the combination of both "Teacher at the same time Brother."] This was a marvelous thing among the Brothers themselves and also around the LaSallian World.

When Brother Rodriguez was back home, he saw from the gate, things so unexpected that he couldn’t believe his eyes: Two new remodeled buildings were there, and the new foundations with iron pillars and heaps of sand were signaling a new building would be built. However, he was consoled when he had been informed that the goal of remodeling and building new house is to make the La Salle Binh Linh School an Education & Culture Center.

At the beginning of 2007, rumors, told by former students working in different offices, especially in the office of the Education and Formation, that "... at any price, one must stick with the La Salle Binh Linh property at No. 1 Le Loi Street, because it’s ‘golden land.’ Making it into a Musical Theatre would be the best." Brother Rodriguez and a former student had gone to Hanoi, and made a formal petition that the property be given to the La Salle District of Saigon. A few days later, there was an official who had come to meet them, interviewed them and clarified their request. He had made a report on the legacy of the contract 22 years before and on the ownership of the property. The report had been made. Brother Rodriguez was told that he had to wait for the final decision, just as he had been used to waiting for everything.