Katy Times: Veterans remember Vietnam War
By Tracy Dang
Times Managing Editor
Katy, Texas -- Members of the Katy Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9182 and Houston Chapter of the Vietnam Wars Veterans Foundations stood side-by-side to host a Vietnam War remembrance ceremony Sunday afternoon, just as their soldiers allied to fight against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese enemy four decades ago.
The ceremony at the Katy VFW Hall commemorated the 38th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which was intended to end the war on Jan. 27, 1973.
The ceasefire agreement ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam until the North Vietnamese forces and its Communist allies invaded the country two years later. The fall of Saigon in April 30, 1975 ended the war as Vietnam fell under Communist rule.
The ceremony had a panel of American and Vietnamese veterans that served during the Vietnam War, as well as a Vietnamese woman who came to America as a young girl.
Students from Katy, Taylor, Morton Ranch and Mayde Creek High School students were also in attendance as they learned about the Vietnam War from those who experienced it first hand.
American Soldiers
During the presentation, several Katy VFW members were asked to serve on a panel and share their experiences during the war.
Among them was Raul Herrera, who served in the U.S. Navy as a radio and radarman from April 1967 to May 1968.
Herrera was aboard the PCF-79, a swift boat patrolling the rivers of Vietnam that intercepted a trawler sneaking 90 tons of supplies to the Viet Cong.
The trawler was first detected by an aircraft but later fell off the radars. The swift boat knew the area well and fired an 81-mm motor round with a direct hit. The trawler ran aground near the mouth of the Song Sa Ky River.
David Lemak was a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in Da Nang from 1967-69.
“I was what they called a ‘grunt’ and lived in the Vietnam villages for nine months, engaging in enemy combat,” he said.
Lemak was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained during his service. One of those times was while he was on patrol when a 60-mm motor exploded. He said the only reason he is alive today is because it landed in the mud, smothering much of the impact.
Mike Warren served in the U.S. Army from March 1970 to March 1971 with the field artillery battalion supporting the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division.
“We won every battle, but we were sent home before anything was done,” he said. “We were winning when I came home. A few years later, our U.S. politicians negotiated for the return of our POWs, and I apologize for that.”
And Katy VFW post commander Mike Mastrangelo said the return was not easy. As an infantry platoon leader in the U.S. Army from 1960-70, he fought for democracy.
Upon his return, a young lady yelled and spat at him in an airport.
Mastrangelo returned and continued to serve in the U.S. Army and retired after 30 years of service, achieving the rank of colonel. He said it was gratifying see future generations were not treated the same way when they returned from Desert Storm and current conflicts.
“It’s important to know that our soldiers are going to be recognized when they come home because they were asked to put their lives on the line,” he said.
Vietnamese Allies
The Katy VFW was proud to invite members of the Vietnamese community in the Houston area to sit on the panel and share their stories.
Pastor Buu T. Chung was a first lieutenant in the Republic of Viet Nam Air Force. He was shot down twice, first in 1968 and again in 1971 when he became a prisoner of war for 14 years.
“I believe that during the Vietnam War, my 219th Helicopter Squadron was the only Vietnamese Air Force unit that worked closely side-by-side with our American counterpart in all of our missions, the Green Berets of MACV-SOG,” he said.
Chung’s rescue of an American pilot and his Vietnamese flymate brought recommendations for an Army Distinguished Medal, but he was captured the second time before it became a reality.
He was onboard a convoy of 10 military trucks transporting 82 officer prisoners of wars when an escaped hen delayed the trip, saving the convoy from an American attack on Hanoi for the first time since 1968.
“You cannot imagine our feelings,” he said. “We were so happy and so proud of our ally’s flying ability and so glad to see our friends beat up the bad guys.”
He was released from imprisonment in October 1984.
Army of the Republic of Viet Nam Brigade General Nam Van Nguyen served for 23 years. He participated in the Paris Peace Accords as a representative of South Vietnam and later oversaw 50,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese prisoners of wars.
Nguyen had planned to show a movie of the South Vietnamese Navy fighting against the Chinese Communists that invaded the Arhipelago Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in January 1974.
However, many in the Vietnamese military associations could not make the ceremony as they continue to defend the spirit of freedom and democracy in an unexpected protest against two Vietnamese politicians who allegedly committed election fraud scheduled that afternoon.
Victoria Ai Linh Bryant also shared her story as a first-generation American.
She was born at the Air Force Base in Pleiku, where her father was stationed in 1974. Her parents were separated during the fall of South Vietnam and the evacuation in 1975. Her family was later reunited, and she left Vietnam in 1978 to settle in Houston.
Bryant emotionally thanked the veterans for their service and credited their sacrifice for the opportunity to grow up in America and enjoy the freedom and liberties this country has to offer.
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