New monument pays tribute to S. Vietnamese-American ties

When Tri Nguyen decided to flee Vietnam, he knew he'd be leaving behind his two young children. And he didn't know if he'd survive the trek on foot across Cambodia to Thailand. Or if his wife would survive her flight via boat.

But Nguyen, now 66, says the political situation that followed the 1975 fall of Saigon made fleeing the only viable option for him and thousands of other South Vietnamese.

"There was no choice," says Nguyen, who served alongside U.S. troops during the Vietnam War. "We lost everything. We had no future, no nothing. Somehow, if you escape, you can look in the future again."

Nguyen has since been reunited with his family and operates a mechanics shop in Murray with his son, Thuc. It's because of the future Nguyen found here that he is part of a project to bring a symbol of the unity between South Vietnamese and American communities to life.

Through more than five years of planning and fund raising, the Vietnamese Community of Utah has worked to create a bronze statue of American and South Vietnamese soldiers, standing side by side.

The Freedom Alliance Monument, sculpted by artist Jeremy Hooley, is set to be unveiled 11 a.m. Saturday at a free public ceremony at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 W. 3100 South. A Dragon Dance and other cultural performances will follow the ceremony.

While the statue depicts soldiers, it isn't a war memorial, says Ross Olsen, executive director of the Cultural Celebration Center. Instead, it is a gift of friendship from the Vietnamese community, says Olsen, pointing out that both soldiers are looking forward.

"The war is behind us," Olsen says. "The two soldiers ... don't look back. They're looking out into the expanse."

Those who worked to bring the monument to life say they hope it will foster an interest in learning about their culture and way of life, says Tom Nguyen, a key planner of the monument and past president of the Vietnamese Community.

"We are trying to make our contribution to this community," says Nguyen, whose father was a soldier, killed in the war. "It means a lot to us because we are a part of that culture. ... The war in Vietnam affected everyone."

The cost of the war was high for all involved, says Frank Maughan of Ogden, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and state commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, who served two year-long tours of duty in Vietnam.

"The U.S. had losses, but far more Vietnamese members of their military died, and many, many more of their civilians," he says. "Many of the folks I worked with in preceding the fall of Saigon were killed."