Denny and Masha occaisionally see Mr. Ha at the Mekong Restarant. Vietnamese Helicopter Pilot. He got his whole family out at the end of the war. He and Denny met in a welding class that Mr Ha was teaching. They just have that between them. Mr.Ha used to teach welding at the PTEC when Denny went there in the VA program. After a while Denny became an assistant teacher (not paid.) Denny would show the new students how to do the work and pass the examinations. Mr Ha would officiate. Once followng a robbery near the school, the questioning police asked Mr. Ha if he could speculate who might have committed the crime. "Do I look like a Policeman?" he demanded, "No I look like a welding teacher (helmet, apron, thick gloves) You look like a Policeman. You solve the crime."
The story was that Mr Ha fled with his family on an overloaded Huey . The plane was so heavy that it couldn't get off the ground. He had to tilt the rotor to drag it down the runway to pick up enough air-speed to lift. He was fortunate to have a big empty runway but the cost was the fuel. He emptied his second fuel tank before he spotted an American aircraft carrier. He was on one of the last American helicopters to make it out.
After eight years in the service as a helicopter pilot, Mr. Ha took a cynical view of the world.