Vance and Dang Nelson
Vance Nelson met his future wife at the end of the Vietnam War. The U.S. Air Force member was a Vietnamese interpreter stationed at a base in Thailand.
It was at that base where he met Prapaporn Trakula. The young woman in her 20s scrubbed the floors until you could see your reflection in it. She was one of three housekeepers who did heaping loads of laundry each day. They ironed the uniforms of service members until the clothing could stand up. They also shined the shoes of the residents of the barracks.
It was hard work for very little pay – $9 a month per service member and split three ways. Vance would give a $10 bill and tell her to keep the change.
In the midst of a 20-year war, sparked a romance between a man from small town Iowa and a woman from a third world country. Forty-five years later, here’s the love story of Vance and Dang Nelson:
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