Vietnamese and American veteran pilots, who were once enemies of each other in the air during the anti-US war, reunited in Hanoi on October 3 for the third time.
Vietnamese and American veteran pilots, who were once enemies of each other in the air during the anti-US war, gather in Hanoi on October 3 for the third time.
Present at the gathering were Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duc Soat, hero of the People’s Armed Forces and head of the Vietnamese veteran pilot delegation, Charlie Tutt, head of the US veteran pilot delegation, representatives from the Air Defence – Air Force Service under the Vietnam Defence Ministry, and veteran pilots of the two countries.
In his remarks at the event, Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duc Soat said the Vietnamese and US veteran pilots met for the first time in Hanoi on April 13, 2010 and their second meeting took place in San Diego, California, the US, in September seven years later.
This event is not only a chance for the aviators to recollect their air battles nearly a half-century ago, but also demonstrates the desire to boost the Vietnam – US relations as reflected in the motto “From dogfight to detente and cooperation for development,” Soat noted.
This year’s gathering saw fighter pilots from both sides of the war who fought in air battles during the war in Vietnam more than 40 years ago. Some shot down their enemies; some were shot down. They had the opportunity to tell their part of stories back then and learn about others’ life at present.
Soat called this type of meetings between Vietnamese and American veteran pilots “historic” and “humane.”
More and more veteran pilots from Vietnam and the US become interested in these meetings, which show the strong development of the two countries’ ties, Tutt said. – VNA
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
In October 2011 Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi published my book "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống).
In December 2013 Phu Nu Publishing House published my book "10 Core Values for Success".
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
Xem tất cả bài viết bởi Trần Đình Hoành
CVD 