Vietnam War veteran reaches out to region as friend
Vietnam may be several thousand miles away, but Robert Schiffbauer of South Union Township doesn’t let the distance keep him from helping those who live in the impoverished country. Schiffbauer, a former U.S. Marine stationed in Vietnam during the war, witnessed the destruction associated with combat firsthand – homes ransacked, buildings burnt and land destroyed.
He said many Vietnamese, especially those from southern Vietnam, are still struggling from the aftereffects of the Vietnam War more than 30 years later.
Farmers struggling to make ends meet are more concerned with feeding their children than making sure they have good schools to attend, he said.
In the rural areas of Vietnam, survival comes first, education second. Children from poor families are often forced to work in factories or on farms. And thus, the cycle continues and poor families become poorer.
Schiffbauer said he hopes to break the vicious cycle by building schools for Vietnamese children in southern Vietnam, so that they have a chance of not only surviving, but succeeding.
“The children over there are precious,” he said. “I have a soft spot in my heart for them.”
Schiffbauer, a member of Friends of Da Nang, has helped raise money to build six schools in the last seven years.
Friends of Da Nang is a Pittsburgh-based aid group that assists the people of Vietnam in trying to reinvent their country.
Schiffbauer said he also works closely with the East Meets West Foundation, a nonprofit humanitarian organization based in central Vietnam. The foundation’s goal is to help the poorest of the poor by building and renovating schools, hospitals and medical clinics, in addition to providing quality programs that enhance the education and health of children.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Vietnam and its people,” he said.
Schiffbauer said he’s made several trips to Vietnam in recent years, noting that his first return trip occurred in 1999.
“It was a life-changing experience,” he said. “I remember when I left Vietnam as a Marine, looking out the window of the airplane knowing I wanted to come back someday.”
On one of his first trips to the southeast Asian country as a civilian, Schiffbauer said he was walking alone down a street when he was approached by two Vietnamese men, one of whom spoke fluid English and asked Schiffbauer if he had been in the military.
“I told him I was in the Marines, and I’ll never forget, he got off his bicycle, gave me a kiss and introduced himself as ‘Mr. Franky.’ It’s kind of surprising, but Americans are very well liked in Vietnam, even though there are some bad memories.”
Schiffbauer said he and Mr. Franky spent the afternoon together sharing stories. Schiffbauer said Mr. Franky told him he had been in the South Vietnamese Army and that he spent three years in jail following the war because he refused to denounce his American-sounding name.
Both men exchanged addresses and kept in touch over the years, Schiffbauer said, noting that he recently learned Mr. Franky had died, leaving behind a wife and three young daughters.
His widow has since remarried, leaving the children with her elderly mother-in-law, who was forced to send the oldest girl to work in a factory, Schiffbauer said, noting that he hopes to set up a trust fund through East Meets West for the two youngest girls so that they have an opportunity to attend school and receive a complete education, including college.
Schiffbauer said he’s also going to try to locate the oldest daughter.
“I owe Mr. Franky that much, and I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory, than to help his daughters receive an education,” he said.
In addition to setting up a trust fund, Schiffbauer also is raising money to build a small bridge that will connect the Vietnamese villages of Nam Yen and An Dinh.
Schiffbauer said children have to cross a stream that separates the villages and that there have been several reports of children drowning while they were trying to go to school.
“It will help the children get to school, but it will also help the local economy,” he said. “The whole area will benefit from it.”
Schiffbauer said the bridge will cost about $58,000 in American money to build, but that East Meets West often matches donations.
He thanked the Meadow Run Bruderhof in Farmington for raising money for the bridge project and said he hopes others in Fayette County and the surrounding area also will take an interest in the project.
“American money goes a lot further there than it does here,” he said, noting that he hopes to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bridge in the fall of this year.
Within the next few years, Schiffbauer said he would also like to build more schools in villages without them, in addition to renovating existing schools.
Like other Vietnam War veterans, Schiffbauer said he has “a few bad memories” of the war, but said he tries to put the memories behind him and “turn something negative into a positive.”
“The Vietnamese are hardworking people and they need help,” he said. “There’s still a lot of projects I want to do in Vietnam.”
Anyone interested in donating money or learning more about Schiffbauer’s efforts in Vietnam can call Schiffbauer at 724-438-5480 or contact him by mail at P.O. Box 584, Hopwood, Pa., 15445. More information about East Meets West can be found at the Web site www.eastmeetswest.org.