Mai Vue lost her parents as a child and grew up as an orphan. She spent her early years helping her grandparents around the house. In her teens, Mai was engaged to a soldier. She would then marry him. She lost all her kids after the war when the enemy attacked their village. With a strong will to live, she eventually made it to Thailand with her husband. Life in Thailand was discouraging andshe decided to immigrate to the US. (Below is brief history of her marriage with Captain Soua Ker Lo).