Stories & Interviews

Katie Hamann Alzheimer’s Crusader Senior Moving Entrepreneur Dollhouse Strategist “Whether she is preparing for a moving day or planning an outdoor Alzheimer’s event, Katie always get her weather from Nikki-Dee Ray.” by Jim Beck info@nesteasy.org

U.S News and World Report Ranked Westport Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing as one of the top facilities in the Country. Amy Gunter, Director of Rehabilitation Services, leads a therapy team that harmonizes science and art to bring healing and restoration to the lives of our loved ones.

John Nguyen of Williamsburg has been named Senior Vice President of Business Development at Simply Connect, a Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE) and Healthcare Technology Solutions Company designed specifically for the senior care and related healthcare industries. John is well known to everyone in the assisted living and memory care community in Virginia from his former position as the Divisional Director of Business Development of the Southeast Division at Brookdale Senior Living. John was born in South Vietnam and credits his leadership skills to his late father, Captain Thomas (Dzung) Nguyen , who distinguished himself in the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam. The Nguyen family narrowly escaped the communist North Vietnamese takeover of Saigon in 1975. His family was part of the “at-risk Vietnamese” community who would likely be treated harshly if captured by the North Vietnamese communists. In the closing days of the Vietnam War, Captain Nguyen was part of a heroic group of South Vietnamese who organized a naval evacuation of Vietnamese civilians and military personnel from Saigon to wait for U.S. naval vessels. Captain Nguyen’s naval evacuation worked in concert with a U.S. helicopter evacuation of Saigon named Operation Frequent Wind. Captain Nguyen utilized his fleet of South Vietnamese Army rivercraft to facilitate an overwater evacuation of some 2800+ South Vietnamese military personnel and their Helicopter evacuation Saigon family members. Many of them narrowly escaped with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing that day. Operation Frequent Wind was a 19-hour air evacuation from April 29, to April 30, 1975. It involved 81 U.S. helicopters that rescued over 6,000 Vietnamese from Saigon and ferried them to the safety of U.S. Ships. It was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. The North Vietnamese Army tanks were breaking down the gates of Saigon as American helicopters were ferrying Americans and Vietnamese out of the city. The story of John’s father, family, and countrymen is one of valor, sacrifice, and great courage. John feels an indescribable sense of pride and gratitude to his father for saving his family and neighbors from the North Vietnamese communists and securing their citizenship in the United States. The Nguyen family is grateful for their citizenship and is making a fabulous contribution to the growth of our nation. Let’s talk to John. Nest Easy: Tell us a little about yourself, John. John: I was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, and grew up in Newport News. Majored in commercial art and computer graphics. Nest Easy: What age were you when your family escaped from your Vietnam homeland and immigrated to the United States? John: I was only 10 months old when we fled S. Vietnam. Nest Easy: What family members came with you to the U.S.? John: My father was able to get our entire immediate family out (my father, mother, 2 older sisters, and an older brother), along with both of his parents and his 7 siblings and their families as well. Nest Easy: What do you remember about the experience of leaving Vietnam and/or coming to America? John: I was very young at that time, so I only remember the stories that my parents and aunts/uncles told us. But by those accounts, it was an extremely difficult journey with many hardships for all who were involved. My brother and I got very sick and almost didn’t make it. There was a lot of oppressing sun and heat, very few rations of food and water, and the conditions aboard the American barges that carried us were brutal. Nest Easy: How do your family, and the Vietnamese community reconcile the loss of leaving everything behind in their homeland, but finding safety and success in America? John: As expected, it was a difficult transition for them. They literally lost everything they owned, their homes, their careers, many of their friends, and their country. But my father was a true patriot and was fiercely loyal to America and instilled that loyalty, patriotism, and love of America in all of us. We worked to become American citizens as soon as John & his children Williamsburg we were able. Nest Easy: Can you share any of your late father’s thoughts about his contribution to the Saigon evacuation or the opportunity to save his family by coming to America? John: To be honest, he rarely discussed any of that. We knew that he was in command of the South Vietnamese riverine fleet and that he traveled to America (Ft. Eustis in Newport News, VA) many times to assist and advise in the training of the American Riverine regarding strategy and navigation of the Vietnamese rivers and Mekong Delta, but I didn’t know the extent of his contribution and leadership during the evacuation until after his death. At his funeral, hundreds of Vietnamese and Americans who had worked with him over there came out to give their respects. It was there that many of these folks told me these stories and shared his exploits. Nest Easy: You are as American as apple pie and very successful. Do many of your friends or colleagues know of your family’s harrowing and heroic experience? John: Only my closest friends know. My father never talked about it much and always taught us to be introspective and humble in our actions and in our words, so I don’t talk about it much. Nest Easy: Tell us about your new company Simply Connect . What is information sharing in senior living all about?

James A. (Jim) Beck James Beck is a senior housing advisor and owner of NestEasy senior advisory service in Richmond, Virginia. 804.241.9061 / nesteasy.org

Chestnut Grove Senior Living Andrew Millon, Marketing Director