Almost 37 years after a Vietnamese helicopter pilot saved the lives of several American soldiers ambushed by communist forces, he finally received the Silver Star awarded to him at the time, report the office of U.S. Senator Mark Udall here, the Denver Post here, and KWGN-TV here.

The man is former VNAF Captain Nam Nguyen, and over all these years and decades, he never knew he was a medal recipient.

Two months ago, his daughter found his name on the list of Silver Star recipients, and called the office of her Senator, Mark Udall of Colorado. Wheels were set in motion, and the pilot received his medal in a small ceremony in the Senator’s office on March 30. (See videos at the end of entry.)

“This award is a great honor for me and my family and my fellow soldiers,” Nam Nguyen said.

The action took place December 15, 1973, when Nguyen was a first lieutenant. He was leading a group of three helicopters carrying American soldiers to Long An to search for and recover the bodies of Americans missing during the war.

During the mission, the group was attacked. Lt. Nguyen reacted quickly. He ordered one helicopter to take off immediately, and then called for fire support. He directed their response to stop the attacker, then landed and picked up a group of soldiers.

His quick thinking resulted in a minimal loss of life. One American and one Vietnamese died in the ambush, but the rest were taken to safety.

The U.S. Army awarded Nguyen the Silver Star, but the paperwork got lost somewhere, the medal was never issued, and Nguyen never knew about it.

After the war, then-Captain Nam Nguyen was taken to reeducation camp, where he spent 6 years in imprisonment.

Nguyen came to the U.S. in 1993, became a U.S. citizen in 2000, and have been living in Colorado.

And then one day his daughter Linh Nguyen found his name on the list of Silver Star recipients. She contacted Sen. Udall’s office.

“I don’t know if he’s a hero or not,” said Linh Nguyen on KWGN-TV. “All I know is he did the right thing in his position for that time, he did his best work to save the people who go with him that day.

“I’m just so happy for him that his work is being recognized and that people appreciate what he did.”

The Silver Star is the third-highest award given for valor in combat.

Above: Video from KWGN-TV. Below: Video from Sen. Mark Udall’s office.

You would have thought all the high-level government officials who had fled the country and are living in California are now just private citizens.

Ha! Shows how much you know!

A 79-year-old man, with the help of other septua- and octogenarians, is reminding everyone that it is not the case.

And, on behalf of the Republic of Vietnam, he just sent a letter (here and here) and a lengthy dossier (here) to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon staking the country’s claim to the Spratly and Paracel Islands. The “Office of the Prime Minister” has also been sending out news releases and stuff.

In the final month of the Vietnam War, San Jose resident Nguyen Ba Can (in Vietnamese: Nguyễn Bá Cẩn) was Prime Minister from April 4, 1975.

Can was the next-to-last Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam. After 20 days on the job he was replaced by a much better known name, respected legal scholar and Law Faculty Dean Vũ Văn Mẫu.

Not so, says Can. He’s saying lately that, as of today, he’s still the Prime Miniter of a country that still exists, the Republic of Vietnam.

Just in case the events at the end of the war were going by too quickly and you missed Can’s name, let’s review:

Many people peg South Vietnam’s defeat on the fatally flawed decision by President Nguyen Van Thieu to withdraw from the Central Highlands. That decision took place on March 14, 1975. A month and a half later, Saigon would fall. But, in the meantime, these things happened:

* On April 9, communist forces reached Xuan Loc, less than 40 miles from Saigon. South Vietnamese forces, however, put up tremendous resistance for weeks, marking Xuan Loc as the last major battle of the war.

* On April 21, President Thieu resigned and left the country. Vice-President Tran Van Huong took over and tried to negotiate.

* No negotiations. A week later, Huong resigned and left the country too. Huong would stay in the country, remaining under house arrest throughout the rest of his life, refusing the communists’ offer of clemency ahead of South Vietnamese soldiers.

* General Duong Van “Big” Minh took over on April 28.

* Somewhere around that time, former Vice-President Nguyen Cao Ky (yes, that Ky) gave a televised speech, exhorted the troops to fight on to the death, then turned around and immediately boarded a helicopter and left the country.

* On April 30, Minh called off the war and surrendered.

And where was Can in all this? On April 4, the South Vietnamese Prime Minister resigned and fled the country. At that time, Can was President of the lower house of Parliament, so he became Prime Minister.

Then, on April 24, a new Prime Minister was named. He would become South Vietnam’s last.

But, according to Can, it’s him, Can, who’s still Prime Minister.

How?

According to Viet Bao here, he’s saying that he never turned over his post, and the takeover by the following Prime Minister was not legitimate because the Parliament meeting that approved him never had quorum.

No quorum? As in, not enough deputies showed up to meet the minimum requirement?

Maybe, but can anyone point out where the deputies were and why they weren’t present?

And, for that matter, why wasn’t Can present to turn over his post?

Hint: Read the bullet points above to see what Thieu, Ky and thousands of other head honchos did in the last days of the war instead of fighting the communists.

Duc’s email has nothing to do with boat people. It’s about the new requirement under California law that teaching about the Vietnam War must include, among other things, “the ‘Secret War’ in Laos, the role of Southeast Asians in the war, and the refugee/immigrant/new American experience.”

Apparently, to carry out that mandate of the law, the California Board of Education is forming a Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee to work on this.

The Board is also putting together focus groups to discuss all the things that should go into the new curriculum. The focus groups meet openly, and the public has a chance to provide input.

If you are an educator, please apply for the committee and add an authentic voice to the teaching of the history of the Vietnam War. Click here for announcement and application form. Deadline is September 3, 2008.

If you’re not an educator (and, for that matter, even if you are) please come to the focus group meetings and provide public comments.

Duc’s email follows:

Dear friends,

For those who have been frustrated by the lack of Vietnamese American voices in Vietnam War textbooks and school curriculum, this is an excellent opportunity for us to get our stories told in California schools. In the next several months, a major undertaking takes place within the California educational system. The California Board of Education is working to update the History-Social Science Framework for California public schools. Bill AB2064 was introduced by California Assemblyman Arambula (co-authored by Senator Lou Correa of Los Angeles) requiring “”the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission (the Curriculum Commission) to ensure that the history/social science framework, evaluation criteria, and instruction materials include the ‘Secret War’ in Laos, the role of Southeast Asians in the war, and the refugee/immigrant/new American experience.”

For more information about the bill go to:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

Type in bill number AB2064 and click search.

In next few weeks, there are several public focus group meetings for the History-Social Science Framework in different cities. I encourage you to attend these meetings. Here are the schedule and places.

Please go here for more information about the focus groups and curriculum frameworks: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/index.asp

* June 5, 2008: Los Angeles County Office of Education. [Notice and agenda here. Public comments begin at 5:10.]

* June 6, 2008: San Diego County Office of Education. [Notice and agenda here. Public comments begin at 4:10.]

I created an online group for our campaign to get our stories . Please join this group by sending an email to ab2064-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to stay inform, post comments, network and exchange ideas. There are also information you can download about the bill and California Board of Education’s curriculum framework.

EDUCATORS!!! Please apply for a Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee (CFCC) position. The CFCC plays a very significant role in the framework adoption process. They bring a voice from an area of expertise while providing input into the initial writing of the draft framework. Attached is an application. If you are not in the education field please pass it on to those who would qualify.

Duc Nguyen
Director/Producer
BOLINAO 52: A Vietnamese Boat People Documentary