Đoàn Công Tác 11 - SCT - Nha Kỹ Thuật BTTM-QLVNCH: 2011

Chau la Hoang thi Thanh-Canh, truong nu cua co Dai Uy Hoang Cong Kham, chien doan 11, So Cong Tac o Son Cha, Da Nang. Me chau hien cu ngu tai Portland va chau cung hay ve tham gia dinh.

Chau van thuong lien lac voi cac chu nhu Tran Hoa, Texas, Duong Trung Kien, Wisconsin, Pham Kim, Arkansas, chu Ngong, Oklahoma, Nguyen van Tuu, Portland, Hoang Bang, Portland, Hoang Kiem, Portland, thim Bach (vo co DU Nguyen Bach), Portland, thim Phi (vo chu Phi - chu Phi da qua doi cach day cung lau roi.)...

Cach day vai nam chau co lien lac duoc voi Chuan Uy Hong va Chuan Uy Huynh Kim Chiu - Doan 11 - hien dang o gan Lam Dong. Tinh trang hai nguoi hay rat dang thuong. Anh Chiu dang con kiem song qua ngay nhung anh Hong thi vi bai 2 chan cho nen bay gio dang co mot cuoc song rat kho khan. Anh Hong dang nho chau lien lac voi cac chu nho giup do. Anh ay hien dang o mot minh voi me gia trong ray cho nen chi co so dien thoai di dong ma thoi, khong co dia chi. Anh ay dang con rat chan doi va rat mong su giup do cua cac anh em dong doi. Chau that khong biet ten ho la chi. Chau biet anh Hong va anh Chiu la vi anh ay la ban cua anh chau hoi xua. So dien thoai cua anh Hong la 84-168-XXX-XXXX va so dien thoai cua anh Chiu la 84-128-XXX-XXXX. Moi day chau cung lien lac duoc voi Le Quang Thanh, truoc cung o Doan 11 lam thong dich vien, nhung sau nay thi duoc chuyen di hoc Sy Quan Vo Bi Da Lat.

Chau lau lau cung co goi chut it qua cap ve cho vui, nhung suc chau chi co han. Nay chau keu goi long nhan tu cua cac chu cac bac trong doan ra tay giup do nhung nguoi nay, nhat la anh Hong. Chau se lien lac voi anh Hong va noi anh ay neu duoc se email thang cho chu. Tu ngay mat Da Nang den nay chau chu co dip gap tan mat nhung nguoi nay, nhung van thuong noi chuyen tren dien thoai de nhac chuyen doi xua cho anh Hong do buon.

Vai hang lam tin. Xin chu tra loi thu keo chau mong.

Thanh that cam on.

Nay Kinh

Hoang thi Thanh-Canh

Commentary by Lt. Col. Harold Hoang
50th Mission Support Group deputy commander

11/3/2010 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- With Veterans Day just around the corner, let me share with you what this special day means to me. Bear with me as I walk you through the history behind the day that we now know as Veterans Day and why it has a special place in my heart.

Originally Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day and traces its origin back to World War I, known at the time as "The Great War." According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of "the war to end all wars." It was a year later when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In 1954, at the urging of veterans who served in World War II and Korea, the 83rd Congress amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. Here ends the history lesson.

As for me, Veterans Day means a great deal. Whenever I have the honor of meeting veterans of past wars, I always make it a point to thank them for their service. I am thankful for veterans of all wars, but especially those who fought in the Vietnam War. Those brave men and women had a direct impact on my life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of "boat people" that fled the war torn nation of Vietnam in 1975. Yes, I was one of the "boat people."

So how did I get to call this great nation of ours home? Simply put, it was due to my parents' bravery and sacrifices. On April 30, 1975, my parents having lived under Viet Cong's rule before Vietnam was divided in two, decided to leave all behind and took nine kids on a journey that changed our lives forever. My dad was an officer in the South Vietnamese Army and served proudly alongside U.S. Special Forces. When the Viet Cong took over South Vietnam he knew it was time to "get out of Dodge." My parents knew the family would not be safe because of his affiliation with U.S. Forces. They knew someone would turn them over to win favors with the new ruling party. They knew it was either live free or die...so off we went under the cover of darkness.

Where were we going? Doesn't matter, we weren't staying. We boarded a tugboat crammed with hundreds of other refugees sea bound for freedom...we hoped. We were fleeing with only the clothes on our backs and very little sustenance. There was no food or water and very little comfort. Luckily for us, the U.S. Navy was on watch ready to rescue refugees. Upon our encounter with the U.S. Navy, we were directed to abandon our boat and climbed into a collection point...a barge with chain link fence and sand bags for stability. I was seven years old but can still remember my dad climbing behind my three-year old sister making sure she did not fall into the ocean as the barge swayed with waves.

We were starving and dehydrated. We struggled through a couple nights without any food and very little water. I remember people pushing and shoving their ways toward the Navy ships fighting to get rescued. I also remember people fell between the sand barge and a Navy ship. They were never seen again. Smartly my parents kept us away from the madness until it was safe.

I don't recall the full details, but my brothers and sisters still tease me about passing out from dehydration. I told them I faked the dehydration, took one for the "team" so the family would be rescued sooner. But I did wake up on board a Navy ship with an intravenous stuck to my arm...kind of tough to get around that one. I think it was about two to three days before we were plucked from the ocean on our way to Subic Bay, Philippines. A few days later I got my first ride in a C-130 to Anderson Air Base, Guam. Two more weeks of paperwork, shots and whatever else and we found ourselves in a refugee camp at Fort Indian Town Gap, Pa.

We got to Fort Indian Town Gap just before Memorial Day and spent the next three months adjusting to a new culture. But trying to start a new life for a family of 11 was challenging when you hardly speak the language and had no money. Finding a family willing to sponsor us and give us a new start was not easy. In the end, it was St. Marks Luther Church in Storm Lake, Iowa that gave us a new life...our first home in the United States.

Needless to say the climate didn't agree with us. It was the first time we saw snow...all the way up to the windows. I recall seeing my dad biking to work in the snow. He worked at a turkey processing plant. It was not for him nor did he enjoy it but it had to be done. It wasn't long before my parents uprooted us again for Portland, Ore. We now consider Portland home.

So to veterans of all wars but especially the veterans of the Vietnam War, we owe you a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid through words. We are forever in your debt. Through your bravery and sacrifices we are living the American dream...all the kids are successful, contributing to this great nation and making a difference everyday. We're proud to be Americans and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

In closing, I encourage everyone to thank a veteran today and everyday. Because it is the veterans who make it possible for us to pursue life, liberty and happiness. I'd like to close with a poem by Father Dennis Edward O'Brien "It is the Soldier." Forgive me if you have read it before. But I do believe it's worth taking a moment to remember what veterans have done for this great nation. Enjoy the poem!

It is the Soldier
By Father Dennis Edward O'Brien

It is the Soldier

not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press.

It is the Soldier

not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier

not the campus organizer, who gives us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the Soldier

who salutes the flag,

who serves beneath the flag,

and whose coffin is draped by the flag,

who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Lt. Colonel Harold Hoang is the son of Captain Hoàng Công Khâm Group 11 Strata Republic Of Vietnam Special Operations Group /
Trung Tá Không Quân Hoa Kỳ Harold Hoàng là con trai của cố Đại Úy Hoàng Công Khâm Đoàn 11 Sở Công Tác Nha Kỹ Thuật / Bộ Tổng Tham Mưu Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa