obligation that she had pledged to repay

[sfc_darrel]

Yankee Ingenuity
Remember those "thermobaric bombs" that America used to incinerate al Qaeda terrorists in their caves? The Baltimore Sun profiles Anh Duong, one of the scientists who developed the weapon. It's an uplifting immigrant tale of patriotism and achievement:

For Duong, a former refugee from Vietnam who came to the United States in 1975 and studied science in Maryland's public schools and universities, it would fulfill an obligation that she had pledged to repay her whole adult life.

When she settled in Maryland 27 years ago, Duong promised herself she would fight for the principles of her adopted homeland. And now, if all went as planned, the BLU-118/B would slice into a tunnel in the Afghan mountains, unleash the chemically engineered hell that she and the rest of the country's top explosives experts had wrought, and America's enemies would die.

"It was different than anything we had done before," said Duong. "Not making a new explosive; we've done that. But having a purpose--knowing where it was going and what it was going to be used for. This was one of the proudest achievements of my life. Not just professionally, but personally. We were fighting a war. And it was the chance for me to give something back to the country that had adopted me so generously."

[David]

Glad she is on our side

[sfc_darrel]

If historians could trace an inspiration, they would find seeds to the Pentagon's modern weapons arsenal bobbing in a small boat off the coast of Vietnam on April 30, 1975, waiting anxiously to jump.

Duong had left Saigon hours earlier. Her parents, who once made a home in North Vietnam, had vowed never again to live in a Communist state, and so they fled just as the North Vietnamese army seized the city. About 50 relatives and acquaintances piled into two helicopters, one flown by her brother, a South Vietnamese pilot, and they were soon on that tiny boat, sidled up to a large South Vietnamese navy ship offering refuge.

A slight woman with a broad smile, Duong becomes fiery when she talks about America and opportunity, and the history that has made her appreciate her home with such passion.

"I had this ideal of mine, and I wanted, in some way, to get involved in the fight for freedom, to preserve this great country that had taken me in," Duong said. "Working for the U.S. Defense Department seemed like the right thing. I felt like I could do something good there."

Duong supervises what is arguably the most successful and experienced team of explosives experts in the world. Of the 15 explosives commonly used in American weapons today, 13 were developed by the scientists and engineers at Indian Head. Bombs, warheads, flares, rockets - routine stuff in a place where workers don't wear watches because of the risk of a spark
.

http://www.sunspot.net/business/bal-...ss%2Dheadlines

[RobH]

I too am happy that she is on our side. Far better on our side than on "theirs".

This is the type of person who comes to this country and becomes a citizen and truly makes a signivicant contribution to the country......and makes the immigration laws into a "Plus". One immigrant like this lady makes up for a lot of deadbeats, both immigrant and domestic.