HomeNewsArticle Display

Tinker employee and ALC commander share history in Vietnam

  • Published
  • By Brandice Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  Bang Nguyen epitomizes the American dream. Born in South Vietnam, the 76th Commodities Maintenance Group mechanical engineer escaped the crumbling country in April 1975, days before the fall of Saigon. Separated from his parents and youngest sister, the 18-year-old Mr. Nguyen (pronounced Wen) with his teenage brother and sister, traveled across the world to freedom via a U.S. Air Force aircraft. 

"It's an inspiration for me to meet you," said Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander, July 16. In April 1975, General Reno, then a second lieutenant, happened to be a crew member on a C-130 rescue mission similar to the one which freed Mr. Nguyen and his family from South Vietnam. "The Saigon evacuation was not about the air crews who flew the aircraft. It was about the men and women, the boys and girls who came out of South Vietnam and have enriched our nation." 

The fall of Saigon, the capital city, occurred April 30, 1975. About three days before, Mr. Nguyen said his parents decided their children had a better chance to reach success in the new country if they weren't part of a large group. The family of six, split into two groups of three. 

Scared, confused and unable to speak a word in English, Mr. Nguyen said he and his younger siblings carried a single suitcase to Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Upon their arrival, Mr. Nguyen said they were told they could not bring the suitcase and had to leave it. The three Nguyen adolescents were then guided onto a C-130 for standing room only. They were with at least 250 other refugees. 

The flight exited the airport and flew to the Philippines, where refugees including Mr. Nguyen and his siblings stayed in makeshift accommodations at Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, known as "Tent City." A couple of weeks later, the refugees were transported to Guam, and then the United States, General Reno said. 

While in Guam, the Nguyen adolescents gave up hope about seeing their parents again. Mr. Nguyen said they heard about the Fall of Saigon and realized their parents were left behind. 

That is until Mr. Nguyen said he and his siblings randomly bumped into their parents.
"It is so funny, we went out to get food and we saw them," Mr. Nguyen said. "They were on one of the very last flights out of Saigon." 

The Nguyen-six traveled as a family to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where they stayed for several months. When they left Florida, they settled in Louisiana. 

Mr. Nguyen said his first order of business in the new country was to obtain a college education. Even though he never graduated from high school and still didn't speak any English, Mr. Nguyen said he attended and graduated from the University of New Orleans.
Mr. Nguyen said he taught himself English and managed to maintain a full-time course load. He also said he worked full-time, managing carts at a local grocery store for $1.90 an hour. He graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. 

"You have to work hard, when you have nothing," Mr. Nguyen said. "You have to look toward the future." 

Following graduation, Mr. Nguyen found a job in Houston, and met his future wife, Minh, also a refugee from Vietnam. 

After approximately five years in Houston, in 1985, Mr. Nguyen moved to Oklahoma City and started a new job as a mechanical engineer at Tinker. He's kept the same job since.
In 1987, Mr. Nguyen and Minh married. They have a son named Andrew, who is studying Biology and Performing Arts for piano at Oklahoma City University. 

"It's a really touching story and shows America is still the land of opportunity," said Fred Wietelman, 76th CMXG chief of Fuel Accessories, Constant Speed Drive and the Manufacturing Engineering Branch. He is also Mr. Nguyen's supervisor. "If people put forth effort, they can succeed."