Everyone who had seen Ñoi La San (Mont La Salle), from the seashore at downtown of Nha Trang or had visited it, exclaimed "Wow! It’s really a corner of paradise!" It was built in 1933. Many generations of La Salle Brothers came from there. Young men, from junior high to high school, had been molded, had expressed their will to serve as educators of others by taking the religious habit, and continued to deepen their vocation in the Novitiate.

In addition to the Petit-Novitiate and the Novitiate, there was the Holy Family Community for the Old Brothers, the Elementary School, and La Salle Cuø Lao, where the Postulants might experience school activities and the Novices would teach catechism. It was a good idea having the Holy Family Community present among young candidates to the Lasallian Vocations. There was a saying, in Vietnamese "Tre Gia Mang Moc" (Bamboo getting old Bamboo Shoots blossoming), which adequately expressed the vitality of the District. In fact, for the school year 74-75, there were over 100 Petit-Novices, 20 Postulants, and 15 Novices. In conclusion, the main purpose in building up Ñoi La San (Mont La Salle) had been for the Formation and thus for the future of the personnel of the District of Saigon.

To tell the truth, Ñoài La San was the high point of the different levels in the Formation Programs of the District of Saigon,

- the first Novitiate was in Thu Duc: 1902;

- the Petit-Novitiate in Hue: 1913;

- the Novitiate and Scholasticate in Thu Duc: 1915;

- the Junioriate in Hai Phong: 1927

After the Accord of Geneva in 1954 that divided Vietnam into two: North under the communist regime, and South under the republic government, all the schools of the La Salle Education System were "offered" to the regime of North Vietnam, and the Brothers along with two million people had to move to the South. Different Centers of Formation were opened, appropriately adapted to the circumstance:

- the Junioriate in Hue, in place of the Petit-Novitiate;

- the Junioriate in Thu Duc: 1954;

- the Junioriate in Ban Me Thuot: 1960;

- the Junioriate in Nha Trang: 1964.

In 1972, the La Salle Bình Lôïi, in Qui Nhon, had moved to Mont la Salle, and then became La Salle Vónh Phöôùc High School. That’s because, after 50 years of leasing the Bình Lôïi School to the Christian Brothers, some priests of the diocese of Qui Nhon had thought that they would run a school even better than the Christians Brothers.

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Brother Gaston and some Postulants returned to Mont La Salle on May 3, 1975. Everything seemed unchanged, but the people who had been living there were completely different. In place of those young gentlemen whose faces revealed something sans souci, innocent and simple, several bo doi had occupied all the rooms at the Petit-Novitiate.

In fact, all the inhabitants at Mont La Salle had fled down South since March 26, 1975. Some went over to Phu Quoc Island. Some others had joined the Brothers in Vung Tau and succeeded in searching for refuge, thanks to the American ships.

For a simple and understandable reason, not one of the principals, teachers or staff of these schools returned to his or her office. The local Education Service sent new faculty and staff to take care of these. The schools’ ownership was "offered" to the new government. The properties of the Petit-Novitiate, the Novitiate, and the Holy Family had been much larger than the previous schools’ properties and had occupied the whole area at the top hill. When the bo doi left Mont La Salle, the climate became really quiet, with just four persons living in that "corner of paradise."

"Concrete Guidance from the Central Office" came in order to solve the problem on "wasting land and property" at Mont La Salle. The Central Office "proposed" that the community of four Brothers occupy the building of the Novitiate as "the convent," and that all other remaining parts on the hill-top be "lent to the Education Service for public benefit, i.e. to be used for the service of education and training programs of the State." Brother Gaston, Director General, agreed with this, except "the chapel, a separate building, should be used as a library, and all statues should be left alone." Both the Central Office and Brother Gaston agreed, and the contract was applied.

Less than a month later, one suddenly saw along the big preùau (play house), four walls rise, and on the hillside, houses built up like fungus... The "corner of paradise" gradually became deformed. Moreover, the Central Office recognized that the Mont La Salle is really a point of attraction, a "golden land" in Nha Trang. Therefore, it should be exploited to the maximum. It could be done only if the whole hill belonged to the government. It started negotiating and suggested that the "convent" move downhill near the seashore. The government took care of building a new house - large enough for four Brothers. Again, willy-nilly, the "convent" moved down. So, Mont La Salle was "offered" without any documents.

Furthermore, "The People Committee of Nha Trang" had designed an infrastructure, transforming Nha Trang City into a city for tourism. A long bridge would be built from Duy Tan Street to Mont La Salle area. Unfortunately, according to the plan, the end of the bridge would be right on the house of the convent. It had to move, again. And this time, the convent must move far away from the Mont La Salle.

From then, "a corner of paradise," the name of Ñoi La San (Mont La Salle) and the word LASAN itself disappeared for the younger generations.

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The La Salle District of Saigon had property large enough for a field for soccer and two gardens for fruit trees with two small houses within them near the Bai Duong Seashore. After the event of ‘75, Four Brothers were assigned, or voluntarily committed to one of the two houses, forming a community whose Director was Brother Philbert. The other house had been previously leased to the gardener for over 20 years.

As the cost of living and the life-style became gradually severe, one of three young Brothers left the Congregation. Two other young Brothers were lucky in an attempted flee overseas. Brother Director had no choice but to move to the community at La Salle Baù Ninh. After that, the property, thesoccer field included, was divided into many lots by several families that nobody knew.

Another piece of land in Luong Son, over the mountain pass, Ru Ri, was lost at the hands of another gardener who divided the property into many lots, then sold them at a "reasonable" price to his relatives.

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La Salle Baù Ninh High School, founded in 1954, occupied a whole block on Duy Tan Street, facing the seashore in Nha Trang City. Another school within the block, Chu Prong School, was founded in 1973 for the Montagnard students following the request of the Minister of Ethnic Services. Annexed to it, a totally gratuitous school for poor people, La Salle Nghia Thuc, was founded in 1956 about 10km from La Salle Ba Ninh.

Brother Thierry, Director, and the Brothers at the La Salle Baù Ninh Community had left Nha Trang when the invading armies from North were coming closer. After April 30, 1975, some had fled overseas; some others returned home. Brother Nivard, Director of La San Nghia Thuc School, was the first one to go back home to the school in Nha Trang.

Although Brother Nivard had been in charge of the La Salle Nghóa Thuïc School, he belonged to the Community of La Salle Ba Ninh, living in the Ba Ninh School. When he got back to his office, the La Salle Nghia Thuc had been occupied by new bosses. The School had been "offered," willy-nilly, to the victorious winners over the South. He resigned himself to join his confreres at La Salle Ba Ninh Community to continue "together and by association" with them, the educational mission wherever and whenever they could.

A few days later, other Brothers came back. These were Brothers Deùsireù, Director and Principal at La Salle Chu Prong, Cesaire, and some Scholastics. It was the same as for the La Salle Nghia Thuc School. The school for the Montagnard students had already occupied for a long time before April 30. In such a situation, the Brothers tended to be together waiting for concrete guidelines from the new government about the running for the La Salle Ba Ninh School.

The guidelines were not late in coming. The school would begin the Complementary Summer Session on May 15. But, there were lots of changes in terms of the Administration, the faculty and the staff. The Brothers didn’t object to these changes. They adapted whatever seemed best for the service of the education of young people, especially in these difficult times, not only for them but for the whole country.

Brother Thien Huong, former Director of La Salle Bình Linh in Hue, and Brother Anicet came to join the Brothers at La Salle Baù Ninh in Nha Trang. Because the new administration had requested rooms and board within the school, the Brothers again, agreed to move to the Sablon House, a sort of villa within the property. They formed a community named Community of Sablon. The community continued teaching at La Salle Baù Ninh until 1976. Then they were isolated within the Sablon house. Each Brother had to find a job to survive and to contribute to the life of the community.

Soon after, Brother Deùsireù took a walk along the seashore by night without moon nor stars. Nobody knew how, but he disappeared. About 2 months later, there was news from the Brothers in New Caledonia overseas that Brother Deùsireù had joined them in Noumeùa.

A very sad event occurred on a week-end in the early morning of July, Brother Thien Huong and his niece and nephew, who had come from Hanoi, were out swimming. The sea was calm. Suddenly, a large wave came, and his niece was swept out of sight. He tried to look around and finally saw his niece far away from the shore, sinking. He swam out to rescue her. A few moments passed. Both of them must have taken in a lot of water. Anyway, he brought his niece onto the shore. Some people came to assist her in breathing, while Brother Thien Huong, exhausted, lay on the sand a few meters away. Nobody paid attention to him, since they concentrated on caring for his niece. When his niece had recovered, someone attempted to help Brother Thien Huong, and said, "How are you doing, Brother?" There was no response nor any sign that he was still alive. That person shouted, "Brother is dead!" It was July 25, 1983.

A week later the Sablon House was an object of trading. The Brothers had no other option. They had to move to a private house in Le Loi Street near the Dam Market. This house had been the home of the Chinese-Vietnamese family who had fled overseas in 1979. "It was time!" There were no more Brothers in any of their previous buildings in Nha Trang.