WAKE COUNTY — April 30 marks the 40th anniversary of the North Vietnamese Army taking over Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, which marked the end of the Vietnam War.
"April 30, 1975, that day is not a day of freedom, because the Vietnamese people are under the strict control of the Communists,” said Dr. Phung Nguyen.
Dr. Nguyen now lives in Wake Forest, but he fought for the South Vietnamese Army during the deadly war.
"It cost the North about three million people and the South about one million people and more than that, after the war,” he said.
Vietnamese American Association of Raleigh president Henry Nguyen was 3 years old when his family escaped Vietnam after the war.
"My mom was about nine months pregnant at the time and she had to walk 120 kilometers, which is about 80 miles,” he said.
During the escape, Nguyen was literally tossed from a small fishing boat to a larger ship, to continue traveling overseas.
"I was lucky someone caught me because otherwise I wouldn't be here today,” he said.
Dr. Nguyen said the American Army abandoned the South Vietnamese.
"They promised to give us enough weapons to thrive against communists for many years, but within just one to three months, they cut, and we did not have enough weapons to fight,” he said.
However, 40 years later, he is thankful for the opportunity to thrive in America.
"We are good people, law-abiding citizens, and we learned the language and other things necessary for us to move up in American society,” said Dr. Nguyen.
While many people will never forget April 30, also known as the Mourning Day, Dr. Nguyen said more could be done to teach younger generations.
"To educate the young people the legitimacy, the significance of the Mourning Day,” he said.
The Vietnamese American Association of Raleigh says in the last 40 years, the number of Vietnamese Americans in the Triangle area has grown to 10,000.