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A Well-Lived and Honorable Life

by Hondo••11

I’ll go out on a limb and say we’ve all known a certifiable badass or two along the way.  That is, someone who – when push came to shove – kept their cool and performed an incredible, dangerous feat at the risk of their own life.

Those kind of people seems to be relatively common in the military, actually.  How much of that is due to more opportunity; how much to training; how much to pre-screening to weed out the weak; how much to the military’s culture attracting, then developing them?  Dunno.

Below is a link to one such individual’s story.  It’s a story that’s not received a lot of notice until very recently – and even today, it doesn’t seem that well known.

In any case, I find this man’s story . . . unusual.  And compelling.  And amazing.

And much like another individual featured here not long ago, the man at the story’s center never sought publicity for what he’d done.

You can read the story here.  It’s from a source I don’t normally visit, so I missed it when it first appeared a few months ago.

But before you read, you might want to grab a tissue or two.  You just might need them.

I salute you, Ba Van Nguyen – both for what you did in 1975, and for how you lived your life afterwards.

Yours was “a life well-lived” indeed.

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11 thoughts on “A Well-Lived and Honorable Life”

  3. The man saved his own family and then provided for them by working hard, saving money, and attending trade school. I didn’t need tissues. The amazing part of the story to me was that the Navy crewmen risked their lives by standing on a rollinf deck directly beneath a hovering A/C to literally catch this man’s family.

  4. Thank you Hondo. What a story and what a man.

    From the article I noted his beliefs, “He just didn’t want to take; he wanted to give back. He told his family they were going to become U.S. citizens within five years so they could pay taxes and vote.”

    Pay taxes and vote, not take! My Lord we just don’t hear that enough! The illegals and “refugees” we have now want to take our land of opportunity and make it into the shit holes they came from and live like they did there. This man, wanted to be an American along with his family and did so with pride. Of all else he is, he is an honorable man to be looked up to as an example to all coming here and many who call themselves citizens. His life and story should be mandatory reading for every person seeking entry to our country.

    Rest in peace now in YOUR country Mr. Nguyen, America. We are proud you are one of us.

  6. I saw this story on the PBS show. I thought at the time exactly what you have written, “What a badass”. Here in Michigan, I know of several Vietnamese families who came escaped. All of them are hardworking and ensure their children get a good education.

  7. Awesome. And the actions of the sailors, not just that day – but so many years later – reflects well on the true values of American society and US military. This story is truly an exemplar of the things US military personnel admire and value. Lots of good in that story.

  8. There are MANY unknown stories, similar to this one, recorded in the military history archives of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, the Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, the Saints at War Project, the Veterans Association for Service Activities Abroad (V.A.S.A.A.), and the personal knowledge of Dr. Virgil N. Kovalenko, Major, United States Air Force (Retired), who currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    Because the server is down, and the organization has ceased functioning, it’s not currently possible to access the V.A.S.A.A. web site.

    All of the V.A.S.A.A. files have been turned over to the custody of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, where they are archived.

    1. Here is a URL for information about the Veterans Association for Service Activities Abroad (V.A.S.A.A.):

      https://www.lds.org/ensign/1992/06/of-good-report/giving-new-meaning-to-military-service?lang=eng

      And another:

      http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/22678/Tears-hugs-mark-gathering-of-LDS-veterans.html

      And another:

      http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705383504/Saigon-Shepherd-keeps-flock-in-his-heart.html?pg=all

      And another:

      http://ldsmag.com/article-1-3666/

      Here is the URL where you may read of a successful V.A.S.A.A. project:

      https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/06/out-of-the-tigers-den?lang=eng

      Here is a URL for the Saints at War Project:

      http://saintsatwar.com/

      Here is the URL of something I wrote about V.A.S.A.A.:

      http://writesong.blogspot.com/2008/04/27-april-1975.html

  9. http://www.bartleby.com/360/7/158.html

    But the Consul’s brow was sad,
    And the Consul’s speech was low, 210
    And darkly looked he at the wall,
    And darkly at the foe;
    “Their van will be upon us
    Before the bridge goes down;
    And if they once may win the bridge, 215
    What hope to save the town?”

    Then out spake brave Horatius,
    The Captain of the gate:
    “To every man upon this earth
    Death cometh soon or late. 220
    And how can man die better
    Than facing fearful odds
    For the ashes of his fathers
    And the temples of his gods,

    “And for the tender mother 225
    Who dandled him to rest,
    And for the wife who nurses
    His baby at her breast,
    And for the holy maidens
    Who feed the eternal flame,— 230
    To save them from false Sextus
    That wrought the deed of shame?

    “Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
    With all the speed ye may;
    I, with two more to help me, 235
    Will hold the foe in play.
    In yon strait path a thousand
    May well be stopped by three:
    Now who will stand on either hand,
    And keep the bridge with me?” 240

    …

    And still his name sounds stirring
    Unto the men of Rome,
    As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 560
    To charge the Volscian home;
    And wives still pray to Juno
    For boys with hearts as bold
    As his who kept the bridge so well
    In the brave days of old. 565

    And in the nights of winter,
    When the cold north-winds blow,
    And the long howling of the wolves
    Is heard amidst the snow;
    When round the lonely cottage 570
    Roars loud the tempest’s din,
    And the good logs of Algidus
    Roar louder yet within;

    When the oldest cask is opened,
    And the largest lamp is lit; 575
    When the chestnuts glow in the embers,
    And the kid turns on the spit;
    When young and old in circle
    Around the firebrands close;
    When the girls are weaving baskets, 580
    And the lads are shaping bows;

    When the goodman mends his armor,
    And trims his helmet’s plume;
    When the goodwife’s shuttle merrily
    Goes flashing through the loom; 585
    With weeping and with laughter
    Still is the story told,
    How well Horatius kept the bridge
    In the brave days of old.

  10. The first in our established pattern of abandoning allies to satisfy those of our own homefront who had and have given themselves over to the will and propaganda of our enemy, heart, mind and soul.

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