By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – A portion of Orange County’s well-traveled Beach Boulevard has been memorialized in honor of Viet Dzung, a human-rights activist and singer who passed away in December 2013.
A local highway sign to remember Viet Dzung debuted on Monday. (Dan Huynh/Nguoi Viet)
A sign reading, “Viet Dzung Human Rights Memorial Highway” was unveiled earlier this week at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Talbert Avenue in Huntington Beach.
Prior to his death from heart disease at age 55, Dzung was a recognized musician, songwriter, and community leader. In February, state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) introduced a bill requesting a portion of Beach Boulevard be named in Dzung’s honor.
His signature song, “Chut Qua cho Que Huong,” is considered by many as the “unofficial anthem,” as Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen called it, of the Vietnamese community and the refugees who fled their country by boat.
Viet Dzung, born Nguyen Ngoc Hung Dung, was equally loved for his dedication to fighting for the Vietnamese refugee communities aboard and for the human rights of people in Vietnam.
Viet Dzung. (Photo: Dan Huynh / Nguoi Viet)
After the Vietnam War, he fled to Singapore before moving to the United States and uniting with his family in 1976. With his family’s experience of being refugees, he was a champion in leading the Vietnamese American community to honor the Vietnamese culture.
Dzung was instrumental as an organizer and emcee for the annual Black April Commemoration at the Viet Nam War Memorial in the city of Westminster to honor the veterans of the United States and South Vietnam and those who sacrificed their lives for freedom during the war.
Dzung reached out to the many within the Vietnamese community. He was the voice on a daily show on Radio Bolsa every morning, providing news and public service announcements to the large Vietnamese community.
