Familial Bonds

BY Dick Epstein

Even though the Vietnam War concluded more than fifty years ago, members of Silver Spring, Maryland, VVA Chapter 641, keenly remember why we were in the war and what we, as a nation, tried to accomplish on a personal level. This is because our interactions with associate members Huong Le and Thao Phung cannot help but remind us.

These two naturalized citizens spend their weekends (often with their two children in tow) at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., as volunteers for the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

Like rays of sunshine, they welcome Gold Star families, veterans, and students who visit The Wall. They also actively support Chapter 641, including hosting our annual Fourth of July barbeques at their home and actively participating in chapter meetings and activities.

Huong Le was born in 1982 in Long Thành, not far from Cam Ranh Bay, about 180 miles northeast of what was formerly Saigon. She lived with her parents, an older sister, and her grandparents. In 1987 her father and sister escaped by boat to a refugee camp in Thailand. After being accepted as asylum seekers to America, they moved to a refugee camp in the Philippines to study English.

During the war, Huong Le’s grandfather was an officer in the National Police. Because of that, her father was allowed to emigrate to the United States in 1988. He then sponsored Huong Le and her mother as part of a Family Reunification Program in 1992.

With only the clothes on their backs, mother and daughter settled in Des Moines, Iowa, and lived with Huong Le’s father, who was attending a local trade school.

Courtesy Dick Epstein

Her future husband, Thao Phung, was born 1981 in Bong Son, located midway between Quang Ngãi and Qui Nhon, the large coastal city about 290 miles northeast of Saigon. Thao Phung came to the States when he was 12 as part of the Amerasian program. After six months learning English in a refugee camp in the Philippines, he boarded a plane to the U.S. with other Amerasians. He ended up in Maryland, attending Glen Haven Elementary School in Wheaton and Springbrook High School in Silver Spring.

In a recent conversation, Huong Le reflected on life in the United States where people of different skin colors, religions, and nationalities interact as equals. In Vietnam, on the other hand, people are treated differently, even though they look similar.

During high school, Huong Le moved with her family to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she attended community college. She learned about a nursing program at the University of Maryland, which she attended. After graduating, she became a surgical nurse.

Huong Le met her husband through the Council of Vietnamese American Organization, which sponsors activities and events on Veterans Day and Memorial Day at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

They soon became active members of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and began spending weekends as volunteers at the Memorial. That’s where I met them, and that’s where they asked to help out with Chapter 641’s regular Wall Washing program.

They became involved with the chapter formally in 2013 when they became members of AVVA. They actively participate in chapter meetings and events such as the Wheelchair Wash at the VA Medical Center in Washington, the Winterhaven Clothing Drive for the homeless, and the Santa Patrol, in which chapter members visit hospitalized veterans and distribute gifts.

The couple received the Libby Hatch Award in 2018, which is given to a Wall volunteer who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and tireless effort in preserving the legacy of the Memorial.

“Many of my ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ [American servicemembers] lost their lives in Vietnam to fight for the rights of others,” Huong Le said. “I believe we all have a duty to do good and follow God’s laws.”

The couple brings a voice of fresh air to each chapter meeting. Energy, interest, and love for their adopted country exudes from them.

We are thankful that Huong Le and her family adopted Chapter 641 as part of their extended family and the chapter has adopted Huong Le and Thao Phung and their family.

Longtime Chapter 641 member Richard “Dick” Epstein has for many years coordinated the Memorial Day Writers’ Project on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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