DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — Hung Ba Le fled Vietnam on a boat 30 years ago and returned the same way today -- this time in command of a U.S. Navy destroyer on a goodwill mission.

On the day Saigon fell, Le and his family were onboard a trawler crammed with hundreds of refugees and piloted by his father, a former South Vietnamese naval officer. After being rescued at sea by a U.S. ship, the family ultimately settled in northern Virginia.

Le piloted the 9,000 ton USS Lassen into Danang, home of China Beach, where U.S. troops frequently headed for R&R during the war.

He says his "reflects the growing cooperation between" the U.S. and Vietnam.

The trip represents the efforts of both the U.S. and Vietnam, who normalized relations in 1995, to develop their relationship as a balance to Chinese power in the region.