BROTHERS-IN-ARMS: Vietnam War soldiers reunite on Beach
Two “brothers” born in different parts of the world held a reunion on Fort Myers Beach to reminisce about the times they had together during the Vietnam War.
Beach resident George Dzyacky and former Vietnamese interpreter Young Nguyen, who now resides in Colonial Height, Va., were reunited at Southwest Florida International Airport and held a celebration with their respective families at Dzyacky’s home at Privateer Condominium.
“I love the fact that he calls me brother,” said Dzyacky, fighting back tears. “I will take any opportunity to get together with him.”
“George is like a big brother to me,” said Nguyen, also teary-eyed. “When I was young, George really helped me. I’m glad I came to America to find my brother.”
The two first met when Dzyacky was a 19-year-old enlisted man serving his country overseas during the Vietnam War. Between August 1968 and December 1969, Dzyacky was assigned to the U.S. Navy Civic Action program (what can be described as the military version of the Peace Corps) in Da Ning with a mission to live among the villagers, along with two other Navy men, in a settlement called Binh Thuan and provide them with medical assistance and building materials.
That’s when he met Nguyen, a 13-year-old boy who knew “reasonably good” English and was assigned to translate requests from the villagers.
Camp Tien Sha was not a quiet place.
“This neighborhood used to get rocketed quite frequently because it was close to the South Vietnamese Army headquarters,” Dzyacky said. “After destruction, villagers from businesses, temples and schools would appeal to us for material to rebuild or build new buildings. We were there to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people.”
An interpreter was needed between Vietnamese and American languages.
“Young’s dad struck up a deal with this Navy petty officer to allow his son to live in the village with us so that he could attend a nice school there and interpret for us,” Dzyacky said. “We needed an interpreter, and he ended up staying with us. There were four bunk beds, and he had one of them.”
During 12 months of a 16-month stay in Village Assistance Team 3, Dzyacky and Nguyen became very close. While being treated like a younger brother, Nguyen was intrigued by photos of the United States, Dzyacky’s girlfriend at the time (now his wife), Susan, and a dream to live in America.
“When I came home in December of ’69, I didn’t know if I’d ever see Young again. Thirty-four years later, I get a call from this second class petty officer who told me that Young was looking for me. He made it to this country in 1975, found the other guys in VAT3 and was now looking for me. He gave me Young’s information, and I called his house.”
Nguyen had difficulty finding Dzyacky because he forgot how to spell, let alone pronounce, his last name. He did have the Indiana state flag -a gift from George, who hails from Gary, Ind.- and started his search that way.
When Dzyacky called Nguyen, he was not home because he was working an evening shift at a Honeywell software plant. Nguyen did return the call the very next morning. That phone call came in January 2003.
“The very first thing he said was, ‘Did you marry Susan?’ and then asked if I was still married to her,” said Dzyacky. “We spent weeks talking to each other and catching up on the last 34 years. Young wanted to go on The Oprah Show and tell her how he found him.”
Dzyacky found out that Nguyen had escaped Vietnam at age 21 with his 10-year-old sister, after being wounded twice and discharged from the South Vietnamese Army. Their escape was on a fishing boat in the South China Sea, and they were picked up by a U.S. civilian cargo ship within governmental control called “The Greenville Victory.”
“The captain of the cargo ship came there specifically to rescue people,” said Dzyacky. “He was told by the boat owner to take on only 5,000 to 6,000 people, but actually rescued 10,000 in two days.”
“In my recollection, that ship had seven levels, and people were lying flat on the steel beam floors,” added Nguyen. “It’s amazing that the ship crossed international waters.”
Nguyen had to spend time at an Arkansas refuge camp, but was later taken in by a family in Virginia. He contacted his childhood sweetheart -who was living in Los Angeles at the time- and proposed to her. Unfortunately, ‘Nancy’ was engaged, but Nguyen was determined to win her back and did so after visiting her in LA. He found out that his now wife was in the same refuge camp as he was.
“During our phone conversations, I learned what he went through (since I saw him as a teenager) and told him that his finding me was just a footnote to what his sister and he went through and what his wife and he went through to build a family,” said Dzyacky.
Now, both “brothers” have lived similar lives in that they have married their childhood sweethearts and raised two children.
The whole story may actually become a movie. Nguyen’s oldest son, John Wynn, lives out in Los Angeles and is an award-winning independent director/actor in Hollywood.
“We’ve put together a script with a working title of VAT3,” said Dzyacky. “We want to tell this story.”
The Beach reunion comes after only two other times the two have physically seen each other since the war. The first time was during the summer of 2003, when Dzyacky had business in Washington D.C. and drove to Virginia to see Nguyen.
“When I first saw him, I kept looking at him because he wasn’t this 13-year-old boy anymore. I wanted to make sure it was really him,” said Dzyacky. “Then he started laughing, and I recognized this certain tick he had when he did laugh.”
The second reunion was more of a family affair. The Dzyackys flew out to Virginia and spent the weekend with the Nguyens.
Back to present time. This Beach reunion is the first time Young has visited Florida. This time, the Dzyackys were able to play host at their Privateer condo.
“It’s a beautiful state and very warm,” Young said. “You can’t get any better. It was good to get out of the cold a little bit.”
One day, the two hope they have the opportunity to travel back to Vietnam together with their respective families. The VAT3 building is still standing and operational.
“We have good memories in that building,” said Nguyen. “We are from two different cultures, but we became brothers. We understand each other.”