Rep. Howrylak Introduces House Resolution to Honor the Fall of Saigon

The following information was provided in a press release - edited Saturday, Apr. 27 at 6:20 p.m.

State Rep. Martin Howrylak, R-Troy, this week introduced a resolution to declare April 24-30, 2013, as Black April Memorial Week in the state of Michigan. The resolution was co-sponsored by eighteen other representatives and was passed on a voice vote. April 30, 2013, marks the 38th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon.  

Howrylak was joined at the Capitol by the Vietnamese American Association of Michigan and their president Mr. Vinh Duong. Participants included many members of local communities from Holland, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Detroit. Other attendees were members of Thu Duc Military Academy Alumni of Michigan, South Vietnamese Veterans & Former Civil Servants of Metro Detroit and Amerasian Fellowship Association of Michigan.

Tri-Tuc Pham of Troy, widow of a colonel in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was quite excited about the resolution:

Our younger generation needs to know the hardship that the Vietnamese had to face for liberty. We were so blessed to be able to settle in the United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

It is my hope that this resolution passes and that every year Black April will motivate our children to continue fighting for basic human rights for the people of Vietnam.

Rep. Howrylak introduced the resolution to honor the sacrifices made by the US military defending freedom and to recognize the great struggle of the Vietnamese people in their fight for freedom and democracy.

This resolution is the least that I can do to honor the 2.59 million Americans who served in Vietnam and the hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese who lost their lives fighting against the evils of communism and tyranny.

After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, 800,000 Vietnamese fled their homeland searching for freedom.  At least 300,000 lost their lives on the high seas in rickety and dangerous boats. Today, the United States is home to a vibrant Vietnamese American community of 1.7 million people, including 17,000 in Michigan.