Military | Colorado Public Radio

HOWARD BERGER AT HIS HOME IN DENVER

Life and Culture

For this 101-year-old, staying connected may be the secret to longevity

By Andrea Dukakis

Mideast Wars US Iran Strike

DU Middle East expert weighs in on US bombing of Iran

Colorado Freedom Memorial raising funds for new building, expansion

By Elaine Tassy

Security guards inspect a vehicle

Government and Politics

Researcher digs in to federal funding cuts with Impact Project map

F-16 Fighting Falcon, r m

Fight to keep fighter squadrons, including one in Colorado, continues in Congress

Chester Reed remembers the images vividly: the fall of Saigon broadcast on television, families desperate to flee. "The people, they were scared to death. They didn't know what tomorrow was gonna bring," he recalled. "Only thing the people in South Vietnam wanted to do is live in peace, raise their families and get on with their lives." Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, Reed — a veteran who served two tours in Southeast Asia — has found an unexpected bond with someone whose life the war upended: Dr. Vinh Chung, a Colorado Springs dermatologist who now treats him. “When Saigon fell in April of 1975, my mother was pregnant with me,” Chung said. “I didn't choose to go there. I wasn't drafted. I was just born there." Chung's family, ethnic Chinese business owners, lost everything when Saigon fell, he said. Born in the Mekong Delta, he spent his early childhood in the jungle before his family fled Vietnam by boat. "There's a one-way trip because when you leave as a refugee, there's no going back," he added. After drifting at sea with no food or water, they were rescued by a humanitarian ship. Eventually, a small Lutheran church in Fort Smith, Arkansas, sponsored them. Decades later, another life-changing event brought Reed and Chung together — not on a battlefield, but in a Colorado clinic. "I had a cancer on the back of my neck," Reed remembered, touching the spot below his head. Reed said a friend recommended Dr. Chung. "Two days later, he operated on me and I'm here today because he's took good care of me for the last 14 or 15 years." "Mr. Reed here took a chance on me," Chung chimed in. "I came here, opened a practice. I knew nobody. And so we started from scratch." The two men bonded over more than medical procedures. Their conversations revealed parallels between their journeys and a shared belief in the power of kindness. "You can't control the paths of your lives," Chung said. "But you can always control how you treat other people." Reed agreed: "I like to treat everybody just like I treat myself. If I treat you that way, you'll treat me right too." Fifty years after Saigon fell, both men say they carry the lessons of war and survival. "It made me grow up a little quicker," Reed said. "You go through field hospitals, you see people laying there with no legs, no arms. You just learn to live with things. You can't change nothing." Chung reflected on the duality of human nature. "Humans are capable of the most cruel and savage behavior," he said. "On the other hand, I'm just amazed at the incredible courage and generosity of people I've encountered." As the world marks the anniversary of the war's end, Chung sees it as a reminder. "Today, as we talk about immigrants and refugees, we must see humanity in them," he said. "We should never, ever lose that." Reed echoed the sentiment. "Just treat everybody like you want to be treated and life will go on and everybody will get along good."

Life and Culture

Two Colorado men shaped by the fall of Saigon share their story 50 years after the Vietnam War

By Hayley Sanchez

ICE FBI IMMIGRATION RAID COLORADO SPRINGS

Active duty military caught in immigration raid at makeshift night club in Colorado Springs, no criminal charges filed

By Allison Sherry and Dan Boyce

Wildland firefighter watches National Guard helicopter picks up water

National Guard helicopters will be pivotal this wildfire season. But first, crews must train for water drops

Space Force National Guard in uniform

Colorado and Alabama still fighting over Space Command, point to new report to back up arguments

US Air Force Academy training plane and football stadium

Army and Air Force libraries are ordered to review books for DEI material

By The Associated Press

A closeup of a mannequin in a spacesuit driving a prototype lunar rover

Amid geopolitical uncertainties, international leaders stress cooperation at Space Symposium

road, stop and other signs in a large open area with mountains in the background

Petitioners force Colorado Springs city council to reconsider controversial land annexation near Space Force base

By Shanna Lewis

Former Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar in his Denver home

Interview: Colorado’s Ken Salazar on trade with Mexico, border security, cartels, and what he calls the Gulf

By Anthony Cotton

191015 FORT CARSON GATE

Engineer Company from Fort Carson to join others at the southern U.S. border

By Andrea Chalfin

Veterans protest Trump at Capitol in Denver

Government and Politics

Colorado veterans join nationwide protests against VA job cuts and healthcare reductions

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