TBS 2-67 Cruisebook_Updated_7Jan23

One of the most memorable trips involved somehow
fitting Pete, his Dad, and Hien into a fastback Corvette…
no small feat for sure. Hien volunteered against (Mr.
Oatis’ wishes) to scrunch into the small back area;
however, it was pretty humorous and became a great
family story when Pete’s Dad somehow managed to
scrunch there for the return trip. This was a great
laugh for Pete and Hien for a long time, especially the
effort to help remove Mr. Oatis from the rear of the
car. Another humorous development was when Hien
was helping Pete learn some basic Vietnamese
language…(he gave Pete a Vietnamese-English
dictionary that Pete has to this day, as a treasured
memento of his friend)….I guess he could not resist
teaching Pete certain phrases, that when Pete practiced
by delivering his carefully practiced pronunciations to
the other Vietnamese Marines resulted not so much in
an understanding, but in surprise and uproarious
laughter, as the learned phrase was something totally
different than what it was supposed to be. (for
instance, instead of Pete saying something like, “good
morning, gentlemen…I hope you are having a nice
day”, it came out as “you people look like a bunch of
crazy monkeys”. Even in the worst of times, Hien
retained his sense of humor; and his smile and laughter
over the smallest things, good and not-so-good, were a
source of joy and inspiration for many of us.
Thanks to the capabilities of the Internet, we were able
locate four of our original ten classmates, and “reunite”
with several of our lost brothers. Hien was one of the
first of our ten VNMC classmates that we were able to
track down during the work up to our TBS 2-67
Reunion in May of 2019, and it was through eventual
contact with his VNMC brothers living in the US that
we learned that he had passed away in 2008 . Following
the fall of Saigon and the aftermath of the war, these
former officers were targeted by the Communist
regime and all, including Hien, spent many years in
brutal “re-education” camps before being allowed to
leave their home country under the “Orderly
Departure Program”.
Kenny Moore Remembers:
Third Platoon
"Like so many of us 'green behind the ears' we had a
lot to learn...I found the nearest RVN Marine to me at
TBS was Hien, who lived across the hall from me in
the BOQ. We worked out occasionally with Hien (&
with Pete Oatis almost every day after our training
ended). Hien was a major exception, tough as an old
oak board, never stopped, and although he only had
sight in one eye, he was a great inspiration to me
personally and a fount of knowledge on the tactics or
real combat. My life was enriched by his friendship.
Pete and Hien made a great team! I will miss not
having the opportunity to reacquaint with him at the
Reunion!
...On the way to RVN, I received a photo from
Hien....he had accomplished one of his life dreams.
He was driving a new Vespa, with his whole family
behind him wife and kids standing and sitting all over
the Vespa. Hien had a grin bigger than a watermelon
on his face!"
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