Objection to the Recognition of April 30th as “South Vietnamese Recognition Day”

April 15, 2013

Letter of Objection to the Recognition of April 30th as “South Vietnamese Recognition Day”

From: Concerned Vietnamese Americans in the USA
To: The Honorable Senators and Representatives
State of Virginia Congress
1000 Bank Street Richmond, VA 23219

Dear Senators and Representatives,

We acknowledged that some individuals had submitted a petition to name our mourning day April 30th as “South Vietnamese Recognition Day”. As a result, the Congress of Virginia State – after two day of discussion on February 21nd and 22nd - passed the Resolution SJ-455 to approve said demand.

By working on the Resolution SJ-455, you have shown your concern on an important historic event that happened in our motherland Vietnam. On behalf of the Vietnamese American Communities and Organizations, we’d like to express our deepest gratitude to your noble move to our cause.

But we also want to express our disappointment to the Resolution for the following reasons:

1.- April 30th, 1975 marks a darkest page in our Vietnamese history when the Communists took power in Saigon, thus all over our nation.

2.- April 30th is the day that tens of millions of Vietnamese people began to suffer the brutal policies of the Vietnamese Communist Party that led to the Boat People diaspora in which hundreds of thousands lost their lives on the high sea.

3.- April 30th is also the day that hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese officers and civil servants, even priests and businessmen were detained in hard labor concentration camps in years. Many of them died of starvation, torture, illness, and many other causes.

Therefore - wherever outside Vietnam - Vietnamese people commemorate the April 30th as “Ngay Quoc Han”, meaning “the Day of Mourning”.

We learned that in 2002, the Congress of Virginia State did recognize April 30th as “National Vietnamese Remembrance Day” by passing the Resolution SJ-137 which was endorsed by the Honorable Senator Leslie Byrne.

The recent Resolution SJ-455 doesn’t reflect the true meaning of the “April 30th” that the Vietnamese people have in their thought. We are not happy that “April 30th” is given any names other than Remembrance or Mourning Day.

We, Vietnamese Americans, promptly request the Congress of Virginia State to keep the Resolution SJ-455 for another day, but reconfirm the name “National Vietnamese Remembrance Day” instead.

Thank you for your concern and consideration.

Signed by

Vietnamese Americans Communities:
1.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of the USA
- Mr. Tien Ngoc Nguyen, Chairman of the Representative Board
- Ms. Thu Lan Huynh, Chairwoman of the Executive Board
- Mr. Tan Van Nguyen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
2.- The Vietnamese Community of the USA
- Mr. Quang Hong Mac, Chairman of the Representative Board.
- Ms. Hoang Hoa Ton Nu, Chairwoman of Executive Board.
3.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of Tarrant County, Texas. Mr. Luan Kinh Nguyen, President
4.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of Arkron, Ohio. Mr. Dinh Cao, President.
5.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of Cleveland, Ohio – Mr. Đinh Cao, President
6.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of North California. Mr. Tien Nguyen, President
7.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Mr. Phạm Hùng Kiệt, President- Mr. Dương văn Biểu, Vice President
8.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of San Antonio. Mr. Phan Quang Trọng, President
9.- The Vietnamese Refugees Community of Minesota. Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Đống, President
10. Cộng Đồng Người Việt Saint Cloud, MN. Mr. Nguyễn Kiếm Hoa. Đại Diện
11.- The Vietnamese Americans Community of Austin, Texas - Mr. Châu Kim Khánh, President

Other Organizations:
1. The Vietnamese Veterans Association of Michigan. Mr. Nguyễn Thanh Vân, President
2. The Ex-Thu Duc Infantry School Cadets Association. Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Nhân, President
3. Bloc 8406 of the USA. Mr. Quốc Việt, Representative
4. The Former Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association of Minnesota. Mr. Điền Minh Xuyến, President
5. The Ex-Cadets of Vietnamese Military Academy Association, Minnesota. Mr. Ngô Nơi, President
6. The Nationalist Vietnamese Women Association of Minnesota. Ms. Nguyễn Phương Lan, President
7. The Overseas Vietnamese Pen Club of North-East Region. Mr. Nguyễn Thiếu Nhẫn, President
8. The Committee for Defense of National Just Cause. Mr. Trương Như Phùng, Houston, TX.President
9. The Federation of Association of Former Vietnamese Political Prisoners. Mr. Nguyễn Trung Châu, President

(The signing process is still going on)