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| It takes a community Thursday, May 05, 2005 Stories by Anh Do. Photos by Benjamin Vu 
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A single file follows, the men in tuxedoes, the women bedecked. They sit back on brocade chairs as one by one, they will be singled out for honors. The main event of the main event had arrived. At the Vietnamese American National Gala celebrated Monday, the audience was about to meet those whose work they came to laud. More than 400 people, in a ballroom at the Mayflower Hotel, graced with lilies, turned to the podium. They had flown in from Atlanta and Houston, from the huge immigrant communities in California to the less than a handful guests hailing from Hawaii, echoing thanks for freedom and more importantly, thanks for America, which welcomed them and these pioneers, many who fled Việt Nam in 1975, at the end of the war. Participants said they were proud of how much their people had thrived in 30 years. And on the anniversary of the three decades, they applauded their host country and the success stories it helped to inspire: Kiều Chinh The actress is not just a presence in front of the camera. Away from it, she is a humanitarian, an author, an Emmy winner and a mother. Her personal story of her refugee flight became a documentary, chosen for that award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Growing up in battle-scarred Việt Nam, she overcame the loss of most of her family to emerge as the biggest female star in Indochina, only to lose it all again with the fall of Sài Gòn. She was calm, modest, accepting the Golden Torch trophy this week. “There are so many out there, doing just what I do, hoặt động trong bóng tối,” she says, referring to their activism in the shadows. “They are unsung heroes, they deserve praise.” Kiều Chinh says she’s been lucky. Her son says she’s the quintessential Vietnamese woman, caring, risking everything for her brood. “In the history of our country, every mother is a special mother, and mine is truly that,” said Tuấn Cường, who accompanied her to her table. “She shows me how to live life just being a good person. She tells me that whatever you do, never harm anyone, and always be clean. Cleanliness is important.” So is consistency. The resident from Garden Grove, Calif., has appeared in countless films, from “The Joy Luck Club” to three starring roles this year alone, in “Journey from the Fall,” in “Face” and “Five Spices.” She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Vietnam Children’s Fund, a nonprofit with volunteers building schools in the most damaged areas of her homeland. She received the “Woman Warrior Award” from the Asian Pacific Women’s Network and was the only Vietnamese person asked to speak at the 10th anniversary ceremonies for the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1996. Chi Văn Đặng The educator is a multi-tasker. He is vice dean for research at the School of Medicine at Johns Hop-kins University in Maryland, where he oversees its Institute for Cell Engineering. He’s a professor of medicine, pathology, oncology and cell biology with a joint appointment in molecular biology and genetics. But it doesn’t end there. Đặng is senior editor of Cancer Research and serves on editorial boards of Current Cancer Therapy Reviews, Drug Discovery Today, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Neoplasia. He is also the highest-ranking physician of Vietnamese heritage in academic medicine worldwide. He and his wife, Mary Seeley Đặng, have two children, Eric and Vanessa. At the podium, holding his award, he said: “I thank America for the room to fly... as high as I can.” He then expressed gratitude to his father, the late Đặng Văn Chiêu, former dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Sài Gòn. In 1975, upon his dad’s arrival in the United States, instead of getting a subsidy check, he got a lawnmower, his son recalled, toiling to reestablish himself in the new country as a neurosurgeon. Nam Lộc Nguyễn “This is heavy,” said the activist of all trades, picking up his trophy. “I accept it on behalf of many individuals and organizations working with me through the years,” he added, thanking his parents, his wife who stays home day after day to look after their two daughters while he’s on the road campaigning, and rallying groups for political and human rights causes. This was never in the “marriage contract,” he joked. Nguyễn is director of the immigration and refugee department of Catholic Charities in Los Angeles, which assists an average of 10,000 people per year. In the last decades, he also has sacrificed much of his time, traveling to refugee camps in Southeast Asia, including Việt Nam, as well as Eastern Europe and the Middle East to evaluate the treatment of families. For his service, he has received dozens of honors, including awards from former California governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis. Apart from his community work, he also delves into the arts. Nguyễn is an accomplished music composer and his song, “Farewell Saigon,” is hugely popular for sharing the experience of the escapees and their quest for freedom. The tune has been featured in a novel and used in the acclaimed “Green Dragon,” a movie based on his early days as a refugee and directed by Tim Bùi. “To me, when I do anything, I do it with passion. And when people notice the work it’s a happiness of the highest kind in life,” he said. “But no one can ever do anything alone... So I accept it for the others.” Bính Nguyễn The CEO, when his name was called, walked forward, shy. Nguyễn is the co-founder of Aureflam Corp., the company that operates and franchises Phở Hòa soup restaurants, famed for its noodles in hot broth. He started it in 1984, in San Jose, with a tiny kitchen and a few seats. Today, his customer base spans seven countries with nearly 100 locations worldwide. The entrepreneur, with three children, lives in Sacramento after successfully sharing his business model with a slew of other Vietnamese entrepreneurs and expanding his menu to include rice dishes and tasty appetizers. Yet he seems to be a man of few words. In the shortest speech of the night, he thanked his “current employees, managers and owners. Without them, our accomplishment would not have been possible.” Tony Quang Lâm His voice booms into the microphone, allowing guests seated far away to hear easily as he says he’s been told to keep his remarks under two minutes. He goes on, stretching it, grinning like a boy, expressing gratitude to the VIPs in his own life. Lâm is the first Vietnamese American to be elected to political office in the United States. After serving on the city council of Westminster — the California hub known for Little Saigon — for a decade, he retired in 2002. But the requests for his help continued. Candidate after candidate needed his counsel as they mounted their own campaigns for local and state seats, and through his involvement, Vietnamese Americans registered to vote by the thousands. The father of six — among his children are two engineers, two dentists, a chef and a marine biologist — is credited with organizing his community’s first ESL class, Tết festival, Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and multiple social-service programs. He also worked with developers, businesses and state officials to get a “Little Saigon” district marker on area freeways. “I cannot retire,” the grandfather of 13 says, chuckling. At 68, he still manages a soybean and tofu factory. Westminster’s mayor, Margie Rice, who nominated him for this award, and former mayor Chuck Smith, paid their own way and accompanied Lâm and his wife, Hợp, to Washington. “I could not not be here,” Rice said. “When any group in our city needs help, Tony is always there to answer the call. He has raised money for virtually every segment of the community,” she wrote to the selection committee. “He’s kind of a ball of fire,” Smith said. “He’s a well-intentioned do-gooder, always has been, always will be. I could just not not be here, either.” Hậu Thái-Tăng The youngest of the honorees, 38, came to the gala with his wife, parents and grandmother, the latter whom he says inspired him when she immigrated to this country at age 60, tackling at the same time a new language and driving freeways. Thái-Tăng is the force behind the 2005 Mustang, the iconic car that turned 40 this year and which he built “with 200 of my closest friends,” he says, laughing. As chief engineer of the vehicle at the Ford Motor Co. in Michigan, he says his goal was to use modern technology to improve the design, while staying true to its muscle-car and pop culture roots. He is now director of advanced product creation, with early stints at the company’s European Product Development Center in Cologne, Germany, and its CART program, where he worked on the Newman-Hass CART team, co-owned by actor Paul Newman. There he said he learned how to perform under intense deadlines, and his reward came when racedriver Nigel Mansell won the driver’s championship in 1993. In 1997, he became the vehicle dynamics supervisor, the later vehicle engineering manager, for the 2000 Lincoln LS that won Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year.” “Being an engineer is not atypical for Vietnamese Americans,” he said. “But you have to focus on the end goal. You have to have a work ethic, and be a good listener. My motivation is to keep liking it, for when you find something that you love doing, that’s what helps you do it well.” Despite his clout, Thái-Tăng says he’s still on the waiting list — one of 14,000 — to get this year’s Mustang in his color of choice, red. “My aspirations were to someday own a car,” said the father of two, remembering his childhood in his homeland. Citing the other winners, he added, “I’m humbled to be in your company.” VANG organizers gave a special Honorary Vietnamese American Award to the late John B. Tsu, who dedicated the last decades of his life to education, public service and was a leader in increasing Asian participation in mainstream American politics. His involvement with the Vietnamese dates back to the early days of President Ngô Đình Diệm, with whom he became friends when Ngô came to the United States to study, helping the newcomer to adjust and to network. Many people tapped Tsu’s expertise, inviting him to take high-level positions, including President Nixon, who appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Commission on the Education of Disadvantaged Children; President Ford, who appointed him to the National Heritage Studies Committee; President Bush who appointed him as chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and President George H.W. Bush, who appointed him as co-chair of the Presidential Personnel Advisory Committee. Tsu’s niece, Catherine Downard, accepted on his behalf. He was a “tireless advocate for our inclusion in government, in education, and in American society as a whole,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta, last year’s winner of this award. “The tremendous respect he garnered among Asian Pacific Americans was a testament to his lifelong commitment to bringing out the best in our community, and helping to put that talent to use in service to the nation.” The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service also earned a National Leadership Award for its help resettling tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees. Since its founding, the group, according to its mission, “has served the most vulnerable, giving hundreds of thousands of people a new start in the United States as they have sought protection from countries where war and oppression have threatened their existence.” Ralston Deffenbaugh, Jr., its president and CEO, said after the applause: Vietnamese Americans “have given back far more than you received, and for those of us who work with the refugees, we have received far more than we have ever given.” To hear more from him, and from other guests — please read Nguoi Viet 2 next Thursday to learn about a landmark Vietnamese American exhibit at the Smithsonian — and its immigrant supporters across the nation. | |||||
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