Vietnamese Hail Their Veterans at Celebration : Remembrance: 3,000 attend Armed Forces Day event in Westminster saluting those who fought and those who died.

Lap Nguyen’s weathered, deep-lined face was creased by a smile as he watched the three men, trailed by red and yellow smoke, drop from the clear blue sky Sunday morning.

Nguyen, a former paratrooper in the South Vietnamese Air Force, had seen thousands of men jump from airplanes before he was taken prisoner after the fall of Saigon. But this time was special, he said.

“I am so proud to be here,” Ngyuen said, gesturing toward a large crowd gathered at the Westminster Civic Center to celebrate Vietnamese Armed Forces Day, which included the parachute demonstration. “This is a chance for us to show our respect for the people who fought and laid down their lives . . . in the struggle for freedom.”

“I couldn’t hold back my emotion,” said Councilman Tony Lam, who fled Vietnam after Saigon fell 20 years ago. “I’m glad that the people who fought for freedom can be recognized.”

Organizers of the event said about 3,000 people attended the day of ceremony, speeches, food and live music in honor of Vietnamese veterans. “We hope to remind people not to forget about us,” said Nguyen Hung, one of the event’s organizers.

The weekend commemoration also included a candlelight vigil at the Civic Center on Saturday night, where dozens of veterans laid a wreath and stood in silence to honor soldiers who were slain fighting communism.

Sunday’s event, by contrast, was more festive. A brass band played as the flag of the former South Vietnamese Republic was raised. “Even though the international community no longer recognizes our country, in our hearts and minds, we recognize the flag,” Lam said.

“I love this day,” added Kenny Vo, a veteran who came to Westminster from Vietnam in 1975. “It’s the one day of the year I can see our flag wave.”

The Armed Forces Day commemoration, which began informally about 1980 with a small dinner party held by a group of veterans, has been celebrated in Orange County ever since, Hung said.

Group members had planned to host a parade in 1989, but the City Council turned down their request. The plan was not revived, but in the past few years, Hung said, more effort has been made to promote Armed Forces Day in the Vietnamese community.

Councilwoman Margie L. Rice, who attended Sunday’s ceremony, said she was surprised by the turnout.

“We had a Flag Day ceremony last week and less than three dozen people showed up,” she said. “This [attendance] shows a real spirit in this community.”

But Rice said at least a few Westminster residents were upset by the event. Rice said she received about 10 angry phone calls protesting the celebration. “They were mostly upset about raising the [former] Vietnamese flag next to the American flag,” she said.

Many of the veterans in attendance took time to remember their fellow countrymen who are still in Vietnam, living under a Communist government. Most were also strongly critical of consideration President Clinton is giving to normalizing relations with the current regime in Vietnam.

“We’d like to see more pressure put on Vietnam to respect human rights,” said Uc Van Nguyen, a former lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese Air Force who was dressed in a crisp tan-and-red uniform. “The economy is the most important weapon to help our cause.”

Chuyen Van Nguyen, a former lieutenant, agreed. “We have to work diplomatically or economically to overthrow communism, which has been terribly destructive to our people,” he said. “The President does what he wants to do, but I hope that human rights will be in the agenda. That was the original goal that the U.S. had, and I hope it will be inserted into plans for future diplomatic relations.”

Sunday’s celebration also included a display of photos and newspaper headlines from Vietnam that spanned three decades. Hoa Truong, a Westminster resident, said he organized the display, in part, to help show children what their parents’ lives were like before they came to America.

“The younger generation has no idea about Vietnam,” said Truong, who was 15 when Saigon fell in 1975. “We can travel here, and you can talk about the government, but there you can go to jail for those things. [Children] don’t really understand why their parents fought.”