Sergeant Tran Quoc Binh
Tran Quoc Binh was born in South Vietnam in 1978. He was the first U.S. Army Vietnamese-American killed
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Baghdad, Iraq in 2004.
During the
Fall of Saigon, his father Van Tran a devout
anti-communist was a Lieutenant
in the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He chose to remain and protect his
family and defend South
Vietnam from the invading
North Vietnamese Army and their Viet Cong
Agents.
His father was captured and sent to a re-education camp, Binh helped his
mother Thu Truong and younger sisters Katie and Kristie through this difficult
time, and he grew to despise the practices of the Communist Regime of Vietnam.
In 1986, upon
the release of his father their family secretly left the clutches of Communism
through the jungle. Sergeant Tran Quoc Binh carried his sister Katie on his
shoulders and led his other sister Kristie by the hand through the jungles in Vietnam.
They traveled through Cambodia
and upon reaching Thailand
they then traveled by boat to the
Philippines. His father petitioned the United States Embassy in Manila, for
political asylum.
In 1989, their
family immigrated to the
United States and resided in
Mission Viejo, California.
He graduated in 1994,
from Mission Viejo High School, and then attended
Saddleback Community College studying to become a
mechanical engineer.
He joined the
United States Army before the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the
United States. Upon completing his three years of active duty, he joined the
California
Army National Guard. His battalion the 81st Brigade Combat team was based in
Camp Murray, Washington.
He was assigned to Detachment 3, Company B, 181st Support Battalion, located
in
San Bernardino, California, as an armored mechanic.
On November 7, 2004,
he died from wounds received when an improvised explosive device exploded near
his vehicle while conducting convoy operations.
His funeral was held at the Vietnamese Alliance Church in
Midway City, California and was attended by over 400 people.
He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.
On November 12, 2004,
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a state decree that the California Capitol
flags were to be flown at half-staff in honor of Sergeant Tran Quoc Binh.
Source:
This article is licensed under
GNU Free Documentation License. It uses
material from the Wikipedia article entitled
"Tran Quoc Bing"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Quoc_Binh
|