Many are talking about Episode 27 of the 18th Airborne Corps podcast, which tells the incredible, inspiring story of Army Lt Colonel Ken Nguyen. Ken's story is one shared by many Vietnam war refugees, ~ 1.3M of whom now live in the US.

[1 of 7]
Ken was born in Saigon in 1975, just before the capital of S. Vietnam fell to the communists. His father [pictured here, 1959 with Ken's Mom], an LTC with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), was captured, tortured, & forced into hard labor & political indoctrination
[2/7]
This picture of Ken's family (Ken is the baby) in March 1975 is the only photo the family was allowed to keep; all other photographs of Ken's Dad in uniform, along with any remnants of his uniform, were destroyed by the communists.

[3 of 7]
[4/7] Ken tried to escape Vietnam at age 12 in 1982 and was captured & put in a Communist Prison. Eventually his family escaped in a boat to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and were granted political asylum to the United States as political refugees. [pic: Ken + sister in Saigon in 1980]
[5 of 7]

Ken’s father finally left Vietnam in 1995 and never recovered emotionally from the war or its aftermath; he died in San Francisco just after 9/11, feeling like he’d lost his country and been abandoned by the Americans that encouraged him to fight the north.
[6 of 7]

Ken, who joined the Army after watching the 9/11 attacks live on television, has always served in his father’s honor. Here's Ken and his Mom at his Armor OBC graduation in 2005.
[END]

18th Airborne Corps podcast, Ep 27 [available now on Apple podcasts] is the story of hardship and incredible odds, one that was difficult for Ken to tell. It's also a story of who we are as an Army: a diverse force representative of the greatest values across our country.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with XVIII Airborne Corps & Fort Liberty

XVIII Airborne Corps & Fort Liberty Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @18airbornecorps

Aug 26, 2022
FORT BRAGG BARRACKS UPDATE STATEMENT:

We can confirm that 120 Soldiers have left the Smoke Bomb Hill barracks, and we are working hard to move ALL Soldiers out of those barracks by the end of September. 1/4 Image
In addition to the relocation efforts, 70 certificates of non-availability (CNAs) have been approved allowing recipients to find privatizing housing on or off the installation. Additionally, hundreds more have been pre-approved and being staffed for final approval. 2/4
Commands affected by these moves on Smoke Bomb Hill include units under the 1st Special Forces Command - Airborne and XVIII Airborne Corps units including the 20th Engineer Brigade and 35th Signal Brigade among other units/organizations across the installation. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Aug 26, 2022
Leaders across the 18th Airborne Corps & Ft. Bragg are hosting a media round table today to provide updates on the status of the Smoke Bomb Hill barracks (a thread)
@WRAL @SpecNews1RDU @ArmyTimes @starsandstripes @fayobserver @ABC11_WTVD @TaskandPurpose @Rose_Lori @StevenBeynon Image
@18abc_Dragon9 “Our Soldiers deserve the best resources — that are clean, safe, secure, and functional.”
Fort Bragg Garrison Commander: “120 Soldiers have been moved as of today.”
Read 5 tweets
Aug 25, 2022
Our Soldiers are speaking to us about the conditions at the Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks. It’s authentic and real feedback we need. We are listening and taking action!

Communication flow is every changing, and we are working to improve it. Our Soldiers deserve it. 🧵
We want all of our Soldiers to know we are working hard to make their quality of life better!

We have leaders across Fort Bragg already working to make their lives better, and we have resources committed to make this happen.
Moving 1,110 Soldiers won’t be quick, it will take time, but it will be done right. Our goal is to have everyone out of the SBH barracks by the end of September.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 6, 2022
A FAMILY LEGACY

Here is the full & incredible story of legacy & service as Capt. Bill Malcolm comes to Normandy to pay homage to his late Grandfather.

@USArmy Capt. Malcolm is w/ “Able” Company, 1-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, @82ndABNDiv
(1/3)
His grandfather Cpl. Bob Malcolm jumped into Normandy as a member of “Able” Company during #DDay 78 years ago on June 6, 1944.

Not only did Bill follow his grandfather’s footsteps, he actually commands the very unit his grandfather served in during #WWII (2/3)
Listen as Bill Malcolm talks about his family’s legacy of service (3/3)
#service #dday78 #dday #AATW
Read 4 tweets
Apr 8, 2022
The 2022 LTG(R) David Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition just started!

Here’s who to look out for throughout the competition!

1/13 ImageImage
Team 3 out of the @3rd_Infantry

Jeffery Dannemiller & Daniel Frasch

2/13 Image
Team 9 out of the @10MTNDIV

Jeremy Ronzo and Patrick Cosgrove

3/13 Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 18, 2022
1/4 - We are saddened to share that we have lost another hero.

Dan McBride was a Sergeant who served in F Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment during WWII.

He parachuted into Normandy, parachuted into Operation Market Garden, and fought during the Battle of the Bulge.
2/4 - Less than a year ago, Dan visited the @101stAASLTDIV for the Week of the Eagles.

Throughout his last visit to @FortCampbell , Dan generously shared his story to inspire another generation of Screaming Eagles.
3/4 - Dan also joined Eagle 6 on the Division Parade Field to inspect his beloved Division one last time.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(