Veterans Group Seeks to Include Vietnamese

In a union between soldiers who fought side by side but became aloof neighbors, an Orange County Vietnam veterans group said Saturday that it has become the first local chapter in the country to offer associate membership to former South Vietnamese soldiers.

The offer from the Orange County chapter of the Washington-based Vietnam Veterans of America is still in its infancy, and veterans were hesitant to offer many details of the agreement.

The union would be an important development in Little Saigon, home to perhaps the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside the country itself, and comes as the community kicks off its annual Tet celebration.

The Orange County chapter is believed to be the first of the Vietnam Veterans of America’s 525 local chapters to offer associate membership to former South Vietnamese soldiers, said John Lynch, an intelligence officer in Long Binh during the war and the president of the local chapter for the last year and a half.

“The Vietnamese American veterans and the American veterans, they were comrades in arms,” said Mai Cong, president of Vietnamese Community of Orange County, a nonprofit social services, economic development and health services center. “I think it is a really good idea for those who shared a common goal at the time--to fight for freedom--to come together.”

Tet, which commemorates the lunar new year--the most significant holiday in many Asian cultures, is considered an opportunity for a new beginning. Some Asians paint their homes or wash their cars to signify a cleansing.

“It is a time of renewal,” said Cong, whose organization is based in Santa Ana. “It’s the right time.”

The union comes as the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon approaches.

“This year is one of particular healing since it marks the end of the war of Vietnam,” Lynch said. “We have reached out because we want to have the veterans recognized for their contributions.”

There are about 110,000 Vietnam-era American veterans in Orange County, including about 37,000 who were stationed in Vietnam, Lynch said. There are about 40,000 veterans of the South Vietnamese army in Orange County, according to Cong.

Vietnam Veterans of America, which has a national membership of about 50,000, bills itself as the only Vietnam veterans organization that is chartered by Congress and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans. Officials at the organization’s Washington office could not be reached Saturday for comment, or to confirm the uniqueness of the union between American and Vietnamese veterans.

The organization was established in 1978 amid a perception that the needs of Vietnam veterans were being ignored by the country, the government and older, more establish veterans organizations. It was first named the Council of Vietnam Veterans.

The group offers a number of services to its members, including legal assistance to veterans seeking benefits and services from the government. The group lobbies for legislation that can help its members, such as job training programs aimed at veterans and laws that assist victims of Agent Orange exposure. The group also supports and volunteers at homeless shelters, substance abuse programs and crime prevention campaigns.

For now, Lynch said, his organization wants to “focus on recognition.”

It’s unclear at this time how many new associate members will join or what services they may be eligible for, he said.

The Orange County chapter offered associate memberships to former South Vietnamese soldiers during a trial period in late November and early December and more than 1,000 Vietnamese Americans responded, said Greg Esslair, the chapter’s secretary. Last weekend, when the Vietnamese veterans gathered quietly to elect a board of directors, more than 150 veterans attended.

“After we’ve had further discussions with new members, we will better define what areas of mutual interest we can develop,” Lynch said.

But Esslair--who served two tours of duty in Vietnam from 1969 to 1972, mostly running convoys out of Camh Ranh Bay as a military police officer--said he hopes South Vietnamese veterans can share lobbying strength in Washington. And eventually, he said, many members hope that federal medical benefits offered to American Vietnam veterans might be extended to South Vietnamese veterans.

In Westminster on Saturday, members of the Vietnamese community gathered for the first of this year’s Tet celebrations--the 18th annual Union of Vietnamese Student Assn. festival. Westminster police said they expect as many 30,000 people to attend by the time the festival ends tonight.

Last year’s Tet festival coincided with anti-Communist demonstrations directed at Truong Van Tran, a video store owner who displayed a picture of the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese flag in his store.

Organizers of Tet festivals have routinely sparred--including this year, when funding disputes quashed a planned parade--and South Vietnamese veterans have had as many as 18 separate organizations.

“This is one method of healing,” Esslair said. “What took place last Saturday [the board of directors vote] was historic.”