He still carries trauma from Vietnam War
After serving in the South Vietnamese Army, Cuong Truong moved to the United States when he was 20.
“I was very young when I was in the Vietnam War. I didn’t think about it a lot at the time because I just did what I was told to do. But the trauma, actually, I still carry with me today.
“About five years ago when I was having dinner, suddenly I broke out in tears. My wife asked me why I did that, and I told her a story.
“I remember we had killed an enemy. When we found him, he had written half a letter to his mother. Usually when we kill an enemy, we go over to see what information our unit needs to know, what intel we can pass along. Because I have children now I suddenly said, no, this is not right. My wife said, no, that was during the war. If you don’t shoot him, he will shoot you. He was Viet Cong. I told her I wasn’t the one who shot him. I don’t know who did. But I found the letter. I remember when he died. I remember how he died. Something like that, you never forget.”
— Cuong Truong
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