TEXAS — A tiny percentage of the Army identifies as Asian American or Pacific Islander. U.S. Army officials say it’s a little more than 6%.

AAPI soldiers are critical to the Army and have made major contributions to the military.

An Asian American soldier stationed at Fort Hood hopes his experience in the Army inspires future generations. It took scholarships, hard work and encouragement from his mom for 1st Lt. Vincent Nguyen to get to where he is today. 

“Seemed like a pretty good thing to do. And I also wanted to serve my country,” Nguyen said.

The Vietnamese American and Dallas native is a platoon leader stationed at Fort Hood.

“I never had any [Asian American soldiers] to look up to,” Nguyen said.

Brigade Engineer Major Ryan Kim understands the feeling. 

“It can also be difficult at times to, you know, have mentors who are Asian American because there’s just not a lot in there,” Kim said. “We are a very proud minority whose population’s been steadily growing and a lot of the times our contributions are often overlooked.”

Yet, a combat team composed of Japanese Americans, who fought in WWII, is still one of the most highly decorated units in military history.

"It's an honor to be serving," Kim said. "Asian Americans are doing a great service to this country."

One thing is for sure, Nguyen hopes seeing leaders like them shows the next generation they can do it, too. 

"I know in my family I have some relatives that are wondering about what it's like to be in the military," Nguyen said. "Some of them picked up ROTC scholarships already. I think overall I showed them that that's another option for them."