Brooklyn Park woman shares father's Vietnam War story for Memorial Day
Minnesotans honored those we've lost on Monday to mark the Memorial Day holiday.
Maria Tran, a Brooklyn Park city council member, reflected on her father.
She says Dang Tran was a Vietnamese officer who fought shoulder to shoulder with Americans during the Vietnam War.
Tran credits her father for instilling in her a commitment to public service.
"I think a lot about him every day," she said.
When the war ended, Tran says Dang was imprisoned for years, eventually dying while trying to escape.
"They never have a funeral or cemetery to visit," she said.
Tran believes our national memory will be incomplete if people like her father, and other groups such as immigrant soldiers, don't have their stories told on days like Memorial Day.
Minnesota is making steps toward the inclusiveness she envisions.
Last month, lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill granting some veteran benefits to Hmong and Lao soldiers who fought with the U.S. military during Vietnam.
Tran worries that without recognition, some young people could be discouraged from enlisting.
"We have a lot of Asian people in the Army, and how do they feel about how the U.S. treats their ancestors?" Tran said.
She made sure to pass down her father's love of country to her son, who currently serves in the U.S. military.
"My son wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps," she said.