The Scars of War: Ngô Van Qui

Introduction and Pre-War

Ngô Văn Qui was born on September 1st, 1944 a year before the end of World War II. Subsequently, in 1946, the French tried to reclaim their old colony, and in doing so, started a war with the North that last for more than 10 years. Ngô Văn Qui described the French as young men who never tried to do anything wrong, nonetheless they were foreigners staying in his country, and this led to him, as well as his peers, developing a deep hatred for the French as he was growing up. Growing up he moved around a lot due to his father's work, eventually moving to Saigon to continue his education in the 10th grade, where he would meet a friend that would convince him to join the special forces.

Ngo Van Qui with his CIDG team, 1964

Ngo Van Qui with US 1st Infantry Division (G5), Date: Unknown

Service and Injury (1962-1975)

Ngô Văn Qui would join the army in 1962, where he served as a member of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group until he was injured in 1964. The Civilian Irregular Defense Group, or CIDG, was a program designed to reduce counterinsurgency efforts by the North, and gain support for the United States backed Diem Regime in the South, by basically having villages across South Vietnam work with special force units, such as the Green Berets. Initially designed to just protect villages while gaining support for Diem in the South, eventually the goal would be to directly fight off the Viet Cong, and in 1963 a military operation was launched codenamed OPERATION SWITCHBACK, designed to reduce Viet Cong exploitation throught southern Viet Nam.

In one of the operations, Ngô Văn Qui was shot through the left side of his chest/shoulder, and sent to the United States second field hospital in Long Biên. This would end his work with the CIDG team, but not in the war. Once healed from his injury, he would be sent to service with the US 1st Infantry Division, and in 1965, he began working there.

Once the majority of United States' units began pulling out of Viet Nam in 1970 Ngô Văn Qui was transferred to work with the United States advisory team in Long Thanh. It was through his work with here where he would meet his captain, and eventually lifetime friend, Ron McCloud. He introduced Ron McCloud to his family, and served for a long time with him during the war. Early in 1970 however, while with a team that included McCloud, Ngô Văn Qui and his unit were ambushed by the Viet Cong and the GMC truck they were riding on crashed, throwing Ngô Văn Qui into a ditch. When he looked around, he saw Ron McCloud and braved gunfire to run and pull him down into the ditch, saving his life. Ngô Văn Qui was a true hero during the war, earning a purple heart as well as multiple bronze stars, a quality he has kept with him, even to this day.

Escaping Viet Nam

After 1973, Ngô Văn Qui went to serve as a member of the South Viet Nam Navy, which actually served a crucial role in his escape from Viet Nam. After sneaking away from his post in the Navy on April 29, 1975, he was able to find his wife and children and pay someone $5000 US dollars to take them to the airport, having no idea if they were going to make it safely or not. The next day, he went down to the dock, and, with the help of others there, were eventually able to get a US Navy ship working, with which they were able to use to escape, eventually being picked up by the United States Navy once they reached open waters.

He would become a member of a refugee camp, earning a job that payed him a mere $2.10 US an hour He did not stay long however, and seeked a better life, and a hope to reunite with his family in America, eventually sneaking away from his post and going to Camp Pendleton. Interestingly enough, when his captain could not find him the next day, he suspected he had gone to Camp Pendleton, and called the people there telling them to help Ngô Văn Qui!

Post-War Life in America and Activism

Qui Van Ngo Working in America (1978)

When Ngô Văn Qui arrived in America on May 15, 1975, and was able to find work there for his first six months living in America. During the entirety of this time, he still had no idea if his wife and children had made it safely out of Viet Nam. Eventually, he spoke with his captain at Camp Pendleton and was told that his wife and children would be arriving in America in 24-48 hours, greatly relieving Ngô Văn Qui. From this, his life in America truly began. He moved to South Central, Los Angeles, where he was able to get a car, a home, and get his kids situated in a school 2 blocks down the street, it may not have been the best living conditions, but it was a start. Eventually though, he began getting more successful, and due to his English speaking roles and service during the war, was able to start the first Vietnamese newspaper in his community as well as serve a role in a film Hollywood was making about the war.

He remains incredibly grateful of the help he received from America during this time, saying:

"Many people see how difficult the refugee from Viet Nam didn't want to help the American heart at that time is very wild and loving."

He has also remained committed to giving back, and while he became more successful in America, he often would give to those in need around him, to friends and family, even those back in Viet Nam, who need his help. He has also remained committed to telling his story, to advocating for what he believes is write and the history of the Viet Nam war that needs to be told. He has become a well known member in a community of veterans that still celebrates their role in the war through local events, plays, and dances.

Scars of War Last a Lifetime

The hardest part of the war for Ngô Văn Qui, were the scars both mentally and physically he endured during the war as well as the fact that those scars have stayed with him throughout the entirety of his life, up until now. During the interview, he became emotional describing one of the firefights, describing his inability to understand why those from the North were shooting at their fellow Vietnamese, when all they were doing were defending their country.

He also talked about how it was difficult to have friendships during the war, and recalls how, during one of his missions, he was smoking and talking with one of his friends when a firefight suddenly ensued. Once it was over, the man he had been talking to no more than 15 minutes earlier, had died. It was clear during the interview how emotional he felt recalling memories like these, that the pain was still very much with him, even to this day.

He has used this pain for good however, and with some of his fellow military friends, continues to be outspoken about his views towards the war and modern day Viet Nam. One thing he talked about, was how after the war, while he was lucky enough to escape, many more Vietnamese were not. One of those who did not manage to escape, was Ngô Văn Qui's brother. After the war, he was interned at a "re-education camp" for 14 years. Ngô Văn Qui was very angry because he does not understand what his brother did wrong, and believes the United States left so many people, like his brother, suffering in prison camps and did nothing about it. He also described a woman who had gone to Hanoi to support the communists during the war, and how this person was someone who he and his community did not respect, and were planning to demonstrate a large protest against her in the days following our interview.

The Broader Picture

Ngô Văn Qui's story is one of many, and when looking at the difficulties of war and living in a country that is engaged in a civil conflict, many different accounts of what happened are going to pop up. My partner and I listened to two other oral history accounts. One of Donald Boardman and one of Bui Diem.

Donald Boardman's account was very interesting because it differed greatly from Ngô Văn Qui's account. Broadman, an American, described his experience in the country as mostly peaceful, and really not seeing any Vietnamese soldiers of experiencing any amount of conflict at all. He even stated he enjoyed his time in Viet Nam, and believed it gave him opportunities and guided him along his career path. He even visited Viet Nam back in 2005, something Ngô Văn Qui has decided not to do.

Bui Diem, like Ngô Văn Qui, lived in the South during the war, and similarly to Ngô Văn Qui, spoke of major corruption on the half of the ARVN during wartime. He talked about his belief that the Americans could have won the war had they committed less mistakes and put more of an effort into it, something Ngô Văn Qui seemed to agree with during our interview of him.

Below our both of the other oral interviews discussed above:

Donald Boardman: https://dvp.dartmouth.edu/s/dvp/item/41

Bui Diem: https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C7D27730D41E4E18A2E45F7E17899A94

Interview (3:09:18):

Full, unedited interview here (excluding names and personal information*)

Ngo Van Qui Vietnam War Interview (Thursday, Nov 3, 2022) (edited).wav

Primary Source Collection

Below are some extra primary sources given to us by Ngô Văn Qui

A Vietnamese newspaper Ngô Văn Qui was involved with

A play Ngô Văn Qui was in, he and his fellow veterans often dress up and meet up for events!

Ngô Văn Qui with his family in their Los Angeles home

Miscellaneous Information (overview of the site: title, summary, etc)

Summary:

An oral history with Mr. Ngô Van Qui, born on September 1st, 1944, in the city of Hue, Central Viet Nam. He served as part of a CIDG team with the US Special forces until 1964, then as a member of the US 1st Infantry Division (G5), then as part of a US advisory team until 1973, and ended his service in Viet Nam with the Vietnamese Navy, until the fall of South Viet Nam on April 30, 1975. Growing up, Mr. Ngô Van Qui spent much of his youth among the French, as his father worked for them and he was forced to go to French school, where he learned to speak French but also developed a disdain of the French people growing up in his country. Due to the increasing conflict of the war growing up and his fathers work, his family was forced to move around the south and eventually to Saigon when he was 15, but he did not stay there for too long. As he went through school, many of his peers started joining the military, and eventually he did, as part of the Special Forces Unit in Viet Nam, in 1962. He did this until he was injured in 1964 during a firefight, and he spent a few months in the 2nd field hospital, for which he received a purple heart. He went on to discuss much of his time with the US 1st Infantry Division, as well as the time he spent with the US Advisory Team, and detailed his feelings towards the war, and how it was hard losing friends and fighting against fellow Vietnamese. The time he spent with the Navy he mostly discussed his experience getting out of Viet Nam, including his hurried effort to get his wife and children out of the country. He described in great detail his life following the war in America, including working at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, reuniting with his wife and children after months, and the work he did in local newspapers as well as for films and shows, focusing on his time in Viet Nam. To this day, he still meets with some of his friends from Viet Nam who came to the United States, and during the interview had even discussed his plans to organize a protest against a woman, who had shown her support for the Communists in Hanoi in 1973, and apparently was coming down to where he lived to gather support for a candidate in the upcoming elections.

Date of Birth: September 1st, 1944

Interviewers: Liam Matthew and Dante Hernandez

Date Created: November 3rd, 2022

Duration: 3:09:18

Language: English

Type: Oral History Interview

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