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SAIGON KID CHUC VAN DANG GRATEFUL FOR *THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD* BY SALLY BUSH LYNCH

Submitted by Chuc Van Dang (ACS)

On or about 2015-11-09 I read an article sent to me by my brother Chi and I wrote the following to the writer:

Dear Ms Sally Bush Lynch,

Kindly let me introduce myself. I am one of those VNese kids you mention in your “Through the Eyes of a Child.”

My brother, who sent me your written recollection, is another. An elder brother, Bob DANG (1951-2011) was another.

I believe I attended ACS from 1961 to Feb 1965. Names I remember include: Mrs. ARMISTEAD, my homeroom teacher; Joe MOTTO, a very close friend; and David BLACK, an excellent swimmer.

Bob LUTZ, I recall, was in my elder brother Bob’s class.

On the last day of school (Feb ?, 1965), a classmate, whose name I cannot remember, was crying his heart out because his father was very recently captured by the VCs. I drew a picture of a tender plant and gave it to him, telling him that the plant will grow into a mighty tree, and he’s that tender plant. I wish I know who he was/is.

I believe our yearbook is The Gecko and would love to see what’s in it.

After ACS closed and was converted to Army Third Field Hospital, my brothers and I attended various make-shift classes, including some held in our house.

My elder brother Bob came to the USofA in the fall of 1965 and eventually owned a computer service in Berkeley, CA until metastatic cancer untimely stopped him in Mar 2011, forty-six years after ACS closed.

Eventually, I believe, a Christian organization created AVIS (American Vietnamese International School) which my younger bother and I attended until we arrived in Flint, MI in Mar 1967, two years after ACS closed, at LBJ’s order because of the ‘escalation’ in the war.

My younger brother Chi and I did ‘return’ to VN for five weeks in the summer of 1969, when astronauts Neil ARMSTRONG and Buzz ALDRIN left their boot prints upon the lunar surface.

Memories will eventually fade away but written works will last.

Thanks for writing ‘Through the Eyes of a Child’.

Regards,
Chuc

CLICK HERE to read *THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD* by Sally Bush Lynch

2 comments to SAIGON KID CHUC VAN DANG GRATEFUL FOR *THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD* BY SALLY BUSH LYNCH

  • Karen Hunt

    Hi.
    I was in 4th grade at ACS in 1964 to Feb 1965.
    I believe the boy whose father was captured was probably one of the Hertz kids. His father Gus Hertz was captured in Jan or Feb 1965 and many years later was confirmed dead.

    There are several internet references about the Hertz family and what they went through to try to get Gus Hertz released.

    How awful for them.

  • George Gottlieb

    I believe that name is correct – Gus Hertz, the kid’s name was Steve Hertz. He was in my class. There were a number of rumors at the time, first, that he had ridden his motorcycle out into the jungle, and he went up a road that he wasn’t supposed to go. Another story was that he was lured to a meeting with a woman. I can’t vouch for the veracity of either one.

    A number of the kids in my class wrote letters to President Johnson asking him to try and get Mr. Hertz released. I got a reply a few months later from one of Johnson’s aides, and my parents kept it for years. We were all heartbroken when we heard he had been killed.

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