Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: November 14, 2006 Baghdad, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Tracy
Foreign Country of Birth: Vietnam
From the Los Angeles Times:
After spending five months in Iraq, Tung Nguyen called his mother to let her know that he was finally coming home, in December.Read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant First Class Tung M. Nguyen here.
But on Nov. 14, two days after the call, Nguyen was killed when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was 38.
A decorated, 20-year Army veteran, Nguyen was a senior detachment communications sergeant assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.
His love for the military began as a youngster in Vietnam.
When he was 11, his mother put Nguyen, her second-oldest son, on a rickety boat with his brother and an aunt to seek a better life in America.
He was 12 when he arrived in California, and lived in Tracy with his American foster parents, Jim and Karen Cracraft.
After he graduated from Tracy High School, he immediately joined the Army.
He became a Special Forces soldier in 1992 and earned the coveted Green Beret when he graduated from the course the following year.
In 2003, he was selected to teach at the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg and remained there until he was sent to Iraq this year, his first tour there.
"He lived a very fulfilling life and he died doing what he loved," [his mother] Phan said.
She said that during their last phone conversation, Nguyen "thanked me for letting him go to America."
In addition to his mother, Nguyen is survived by his father, Tuan Nguyen; his wife, Marcia, of Raeford, N.C.; and five brothers.
Awards and Decorations earned by Army Sergeant First Class Tung M. Nguyen:
Two Meritorious Service Medals,You will find mention of Sergeant Tung M. Nguyen at this entry for Vietnamese American Armed Forces Association
two Army Commendation Medals,
four Army Achievement Medals,
six Army Good Conduct Medals,
two National Defense Service Medals,
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal,
Armed Forces Reserve Medal,
Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon,
Overseas Ribbon,
Army Service Ribbon,
Parachutist Badge,
Air Assault Badge,
Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge,
and the Special Forces Tab.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Iraq Campaign Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge.
here.
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