Inverell doctor risked death by fleeing Vietnam after the war

Dr Thanh Huynh is a GP based at Inverell who left Vietnam after the war with his older brother and father.

He was invited to speak by the Inverell RSM Sub Branch as part of its Vietnam War commemorative service.

The 52-year-old spoke with ACM about his memories of when his family left Vietnam.

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His father was a school teacher and also an officer in the republican army.

He was arrested and imprisoned by the communist regime at the end of the Vietnam War, then returned home under house arrest for 12 months before boarding a boat with Thanh and his brother to Malaysia.

"Our life was very restricted and we didn't want him to suddenly disappear one day," Thanh said.

"We had an older cousin who died in the war and dad was worried my brother and I would be conscripted to join the communist army.

"There ended up being a big conflict with Cambodia at the time.

"If we stayed all three of us probably would have died.

"My father made the brave move to bring us to another country.

"We knew we would either die together at sea or start a new life."

They left their mother and younger siblings behind and on their fourth attempt made it by boat to Malaysia.

It was six months before they were accepted by Australia as refugees and flown to Sydney.

Red tape and government interference from the other side kept his mother and siblings in Vietnam for another six years before an emotional reunion.

Thanh and his older brother excelled in their education with both going into medicine after outstanding HSC results.

After finishing university they worked at hospitals in Sydney before Thanh relocated to Tamworth in 2002. By then he was married and had his oldest daughter Hannah.

He went on to have son Hayden and daughter Halina.

He spent time at Armidale and Moree before eventually landing at Inverell where he has now been for over a decade.

He started his own practice and has been running Hadana Surgery since 2020.

"After working in Inverell for six months I felt a real connection to the town," he said.

"All my kids have gone to school here and my oldest is now in her second year of studying medicine in Sydney."

His parents still live in Sydney while his older brother lives on the Central Coast.

"We owe so much to Australia and my whole family were very fortunate for the opportunities we've been given," Thanh said.

"My life has been a journey and I've always had a special connection to the Vietnam veterans.

"They fought for our freedoms and it breaks my heart to see what's been happening in Ukraine.

"It's important to know about the Vietnam War and reminding young people about how significant it was for people like me."

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