Member-only story
MAJOR NAM VAN NGUYENG
A GUN-HO WARRIOR PAR EXCELLENCE
WAR IS A NASTY BUSINESS
From Buddhist to Warrior fighting for Family
A heartrending story so painful, you cannot bring yourself to put it down.
For example, an AK-47 round that Nam Van Nguyen took in the leg one day wasn’t by happenstance. It left the chamber intent on making a name for itself, leaving the South Vietnamese Army officer screaming in horror as his leg snapped like a twig in a Monsoon wind. He went into shock, losing consciousness just as the initial euphoria from the Kalashnikov rifle had subsided.
“I WILL AMPUTATE YOU MYSELF!”
The medic, unable to live up to his own expectations, shrank back from the mutilated limb. Gathering himself, he called for immediate amputation and decided to do it himself, unmindful of a warrior’s instinctive will to survive.
The major awoke at the critical moment and exploded, threatening to shoot the medic.
The measure of courage it would take a Vietnamese family to give back to America the best years of their lives, and a broader perspective on the virtues of freedom, cross-cultural understanding and sacrifice, ever since they arrived on our shores as boat people.
