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Ha's best friend Titi and her family flee Vietnam to excape the war.
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Ha talks about her father and how he disappeared when she was a baby.
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Brother Quang tells the family that a South Vietnam pilot has bombed the presidential palace.
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Ha celebrates her birthday. Only the youngest of the family gets to celebrate their actual birthday.
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Uncle Son visits the family and warns them to flee to the United States to escape the war.
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The family has a meeting to talk about whether they should flee the country or not.
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After deciding to leave, Uncle Son returns to tell the family to be ready to leave at any time.
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The family gets onto a crowded ship to begin their journey to America.
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Everyone on the boat learns that the Communists crashed their tanks through the gates of the presidential palace.
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Brother Quang begins teaching the family English.
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Americans rescue all the people on the boat and bring them food and water.
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Ha and her family arrive at a tent camp on the Island of Quam.
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All the families must decide where they want to go. Mother chooses America.
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The family is sent to another tent camp in Florida to wait for a sponsor.
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The family gets a sponsor and learns they will be going to Alabama.
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The cowboy brings them home but his wife is not thrilled about them.
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The cowboy finds the family a house to call their own and pays the rent.
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Mother sends a letter home to see if anyone has heard from Father.
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Ha begins school in America.
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The family meets a kind new neighbor who Ha befriends.
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The family goes to church and is baptized. People start to treat them better afterwards.
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The family exchange gifts with their new friends.
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Father's brother sends a letter to respond to Mother's letter but she learns nothing about Father.
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The family celebrates their first Chrstmas in America.
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Mother recieves a sign and the family now knows that Father is dead and will never return.