Vietnam's past casts shadow on its future

Hanoi

AS a graduate from one of Vietnam's most prestigious schools, 22-year-old Cao would seem to have a bright future ahead of him - if only the past would get out of the way. He's found his career prospects hemmed in by the lingering legacy of a war that ended nearly two decades before he was born.

Two of his uncles served in the defeated South Vietnam military that was allied with the United States during what…