Background
Tran was born Trần Gia Thái in the village of Sung Van in the Nam Dinh region of Vietnam. His mother owned a bookstore, and his father was chief of the district and later became an administrator.
Tran was born Trần Gia Thái in the village of Sung Van in the Nam Dinh region of Vietnam. His mother owned a bookstore, and his father was chief of the district and later became an administrator.
In 1966, Tran married Nguyen Yen Mai, a student of the Marie Curie School in Saigon. After his graduation from the Thu Duc Academy (1969), Tran joined the South Vietnamese army and became the Chief of Press in the 5th Infantry Division. He quickly moved up in the ranks, becoming the Chief of Administrative Security, Press, and Information Ministry.
During his time in the military, Tran was known for writing many hard hitting articles criticizing the Viet Congress and the North Vietnamese government.
He also worked in a special unit interrogating captured Viet Congress soldiers. Post-Vietnam
Tran emigrated to the United States. territory of Guam following the Fall of Saigon.
He worked for six months as a dishwasher for Episcopal High School (Alexandria). They met at a party in Washington, District of Columbia for Vietnamese refugees.
Ta was a law student at Bovie Community College and the former Mission Saigon (1972).
Professional career
Tran decided to go back to school and in 1979, he received his Bachelor of Surgery in Biomedical Engineering from George Washington University. He later received a Master"s in Healthcare Administration from Tulane University (1995) and his Doctor of Philosophy from Weybridge University (2006). He was promoted to Senior Engineer (1982), and eventually headed up the department as the Director of Biomedial Engineering (1990).
In 1995, Tran Bich San became the editor of the Little Saigon News of New Orleans, a bilingual newspaper for Vietnamese Americans.
While in New Orleans, he also authored hundreds of articles on Vietnamese culture and literature. His work has been featured in Vietnamese magazines such as Có Thóm (Washington, District of Columbia), Tan Van, (California), and Ngày Mới, (Paris, France).
He is considered a strong political force, representing the voice of the Little Saigon region of New Orleans. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and former New Orleans" mayor Marc Morial both utilized Tran during their elections to secure support in the Asian community.
Tran adopted the pen name "Tran Bich San" after his great, great grandfather who was the top honor graduate of the national exam in 1865 and a famous 19th century poet in Vietnamese literature.
He chose the name to continue his ancestor"s unfinished work in literature and honor the last official Vietnamese scholar of the 19th century.
