Community Corner
50 Years After Saigon's Fall, Barnegat Continues To Thank Vietnam Vets
The annual event, launched by a local Vietnamese refugee, returns later this month to honor and appreciate local Vietnam War veterans.
BARNEGAT, NJ — This year marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon, the end of the Vietnam War. It was also the same year that Barnegat resident Thy Cavagnaro escaped Vietnam with her family. Later this month, Cavagnaro will continue her efforts to ensure that Vietnam War veterans are respected and appreciated with her annual Vietnam War Veterans Day celebration on March 28 at the Barnegat High School gym.
Cavagnaro, a Vietnamese refugee, came to America with her family in 1975, "escaping the fall of Saigon by the skin of our teeth," Cavagnaro said at a previous event. Read more: 'You Are Beloved': Barnegat Celebrates Vietnam War Veterans
She began the event in 2018 after an online attack from a veteran made her realize that many were in pain, and she wanted to make sure they knew how grateful she and her family were for how they fought for her freedom.
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This year's keynote speaker will be Commander Hugh Doyle, who was chief engineer on the USS Kirk, helping save 200 refugees and two U.S. Marine pilots the day Saigon fell. The ship and her crew then helped safely escort a fleet of South Vietnamese Navy ships packed with people escaping the country. One ship slowed everyone down as it was operating at half power and had 10 times the amount of people it was rated for, but the USS Kirk ensured that the ship and others had no harm come to them.
"That ship was the ship my family and I escaped on – the Chi Lang II," Cavagnaro said.
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Barnegat's own girls' basketball head coach Tammy Thu Nicolini will also be speaking. Nicolini was born in Vietnam in 1968 and brought over to America at just 13 months by her father, U.S. Marine Sgt. Charles Hoff. Nicolini, who grew up in Barnegat, was likely one of the first babies brought over from the Vietnam War.
Another speaker is Long Beach Island resident Khai Le, a 1st Lieutenant in the Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was captured as a POW after the fall of Saigon and was a prisoner in their "re-education camps" for five years.
For more information, visit the Thanking Vietnam Veterans in Barnegat Facebook page.
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