I was a college student at Lock Haven that needed a summer job in 1975. I had applied to work at the Gap with the government so they called me to come work with the Border Patrol Agents in-processing the Vietnamese that summer. It was a life-changing experience for me.
I heard so many stories these people had to tell and would leave there feeling so sad at the end of my shift every day. These were some of the sweetest people I have ever met from all walks of life who came over to this country with nothing.
I remember some of them had big paper bags full of Vietnamese money that was now worthless.
I worked with an interpreter who had evacuated and she gave me the only thing she had as a token of appreciation for being so nice to her. It was a round circle of jade on a chain. This was my first introduction to other cultures having grown up living a sheltered life in Lebanon, PA.
The spirit of these people was amazing and something I will never forget.