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Thursday, December 5, 2024 - 04:58 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

VietnamWAr_Page-01

Greenville County Council has promised to help find a suitable location for the proposed memorial honoring American and Vietnamese veterans of the Vietnam War.

Bang Nguyen Hall, Vice President of the Greenville County Vietnamese-American community, appealed to the County Council for help during their December 2 meeting at County Square.

Mrs. Hall noted that Greenville is one of the 10 best places to live in the United States.

“Over the years, Greenville has proven to be South Carolina’s most patriotic county. Many Vietnamese-Americans who fled Vietnam for political reasons, settled in Greenville during the past 40 years. It has been the wish of Greenville’s Vietnamese-American community to construct a Vietnamese-American veterans monument as a tribute to all soldiers who honorably served to protect the freedom and liberty of the Vietnamese people,” Mrs Hall said.

“So many lives were lost in the war against Communism. Over 58 thousand American soldiers and more than 300 thousand Republic of Vietnam soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the Vietnamese people. When the brave young American soldiers returned home from the war, they were not well received with parades and thanks. In fact they were treated coldly in most instances. These young men had lost no battles but were robbed of their dignity by the people they served.”

Republic of Vietnam soldiers spent years in Communist ‘reeducation’ labor camps. A number of those men are now American citizens living and working in Greenville County.

Mrs Hall said, “It is part of Vietnamese culture that the elder generation teach the younger generation to honor fallen heroes as a reminder of why they are here today. Vietnamese-Americans are very grateful for American service people that gave their youth, their blood, and their future to fight for our freedom. The monument will be a wonderful place for all veterans and their families along with other citizens to honor and pay tribute to those who served.

“I am a survivor of Communism and the wife of a United States Marine who served in Vietnam. I am a proud American. Please help the Vietnamese-Americans and other patriotic citizens find a suitable place and erect an appropriate memorial to honor these brave veterans so that future generations will not forget their sacrifices.”

At the conclusion of the presentation, Council Chairman Dr. Bob Taylor asked Councilman “Butch” Kirven to work with county veteras’ organizations to support the memorial project.

Several members of the Vietnamese-American community attended the meeting and are excited about the pledges of support received from both the city and county.