Colorado Springs | Colorado Public Radio

Three women dressed in extravagant white disco outfits sing on stage

Colorado Arts Spotlight: Local filmmakers debut pilot episodes at SeriesFest, DCPA and Pikes Peak Center announce upcoming shows, Governor’s Creative Leadership awards and more

By Lauren Antonoff Hart

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

Jenkins Middle School

Jenkins Middle School repairs expected to cost Colorado Springs District 11 $31.5 million

Officers stop a patron from a nightclub raid

More than 100 immigrants detained at an illegal after-hours nightclub in Colorado Springs

By The Associated Press

stack of newspapers

Colorado Springs Independent staff fired; paper sold for second time in less than two years

man walking out of a building

Colorado Springs-based Ent Credit Union to merge with Minnesota financial institution

By Andrea Chalfin

Ju'Riese Colón testifies

US Center for SafeSport parts ways with CEO Ju’Riese Colón

By The Associated Press

Space Force National Guard in uniform

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

Six people sit in chairs outside.

Colorado Springs City Council members sworn in after April’s election

By Andrea Chalfin

Marijuana buds in a container

Recreational marijuana sales begin in Colorado Springs Tuesday

A photo of the five members of Dead Pioneers, mostly dresses in black, standing in front of a black and white mural.

Colorado Arts Spotlight: Sundance incentives signed into law, new music venue coming to Centennial, punk album from local artist Gregg Deal and more

By Lauren Antonoff Hart

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

Voters to decide on fate of controversial Colorado Springs annexation. Some see it as a referendum on growth

By Shanna Lewis

Rendering of a tall, L-shaped new apartment building with a tan base and many floors of reflective glass apartments above. An outdoor pool is visible in the center of the "L."

Construction on 27-story OneVeLa, the new tallest building in Colorado Springs, may now begin

Courtney Holland and her son Trent

Richards Rubbish Roundup is keeping Colorado Springs clean

By Kiara DeMare

A display of the new Monopoly Colorado Springs Edition

Monopoly debuts Colorado Springs edition of game board

colorado springs city hall

Four new city counselors set to join two incumbents on the Colorado Springs dais

By Andrea Chalfin

Colorado Springs 2025 election results for city council

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