Bill Text: CA SCR60 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 60 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon’s Disabled Veterans Memorial Highway.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 178, Statutes of 2017. [SCR60 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SCR60-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 60

CHAPTER 178

Relative to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon’s Disabled Veterans Memorial Highway.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 22, 2017. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 60, Nguyen. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon’s Disabled Veterans Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of Interstate 405 in the County of Orange as the Lt. Colonel Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon’s Disabled Veterans Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal Committee: YES

WHEREAS, Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon was born in 1927 in Hue, Việt Nam, a daughter of a field marshal of the Nguyen Dynasty; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Nguyen was married to Ly Nhut Huong, a businessman, and was the mother of nine children; and

WHEREAS, In 1950, when the French came to Việt Nam and formed the Corps of Female Assistants, consisting of office secretaries, nurses, and social workers, Ms. Nguyen enlisted and served in the corps; and

WHEREAS, When the American forces arrived in Việt Nam, this corps became the Corps of Female Soldiers and served under the regime of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces until 1975; and

WHEREAS, At the time, Ms. Nguyen served as a Lieutenant (Lt.) Colonel of the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam at the Air Force Headquarters at Tan Son Nhut Airbase; and

WHEREAS, After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Lt. Colonel Nguyen was imprisoned in a reeducation camp for nearly five years and suffered hard labor in the forest with access to little food and water, and lived in horrific conditions; and

WHEREAS, After her release, she had little options left but to find work in any capacity, from selling ice cream to selling home construction materials to support her family; and

WHEREAS, In 1990, one of her sons sponsored her to come to the United States via the Humanitarian Operation under the Orderly Departure Program and she became a resident of the City of Garden Grove; and

WHEREAS, In 1991, Lt. Colonel Nguyen joined the Mutual Society of Political Prisoners and served as its Vice President to help those in Việt Nam who qualified under the Humanitarian Operation to come to the United States; and

WHEREAS, Once those qualifying under the Humanitarian Operation arrived in the United States, Lt. Colonel Nguyen helped them find work and housing, enrolled children in schools, and more importantly, helped them to adjust to life in America; and

WHEREAS, These community efforts were instrumental in providing new immigrants with the tools to acclimate and become self-sufficient; and

WHEREAS, In 1994, when the Humanitarian Operation ended, Lt. Colonel Nguyen and the group organized a Humanitarian Operation Mutual Society for Việt Nam Wounded Veterans, of which she became president in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Through this organization, Lt. Colonel Nguyen assisted disabled Veterans of the Republic of Vietnam who were still in Việt Nam facing financial difficulties and raised awareness to help the wounded soldiers in Việt Nam; and

WHEREAS, In 2006, as the needs to serve many disabled veterans in Việt Nam increased, Lt. Colonel Nguyen organized the “Cam On Anh” Annual Concert in the City of Garden Grove, California, to raise funds to send money back to Việt Nam for disabled veterans; and

WHEREAS, Over the past 10 years, Lt. Colonel Nguyen has helped serve over 22,000 disabled veterans of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, In addition to her work in support of veterans, Lt. Colonel Nguyen helped educate students about the impacts of the Vietnam War and contributed her life story to the University of California, Irvine Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation Oral Histories Project; and

WHEREAS, Lt. Colonel Nguyen was an active member of several community-based organizations dedicated to improving the lives of Vietnamese Americans in the County of Orange and throughout the State of California; and

WHEREAS, On April 18, 2017, Lt. Colonel Nguyen passed away at the age of 90, leaving a strong legacy of community service for the residents of California’s 34th Senate District; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That, in light of Lt. Colonel Nguyen’s service to Vietnamese Americans and to the veterans in Việt Nam, the Legislature hereby designates the portion of Interstate 405 northbound in the County of Orange between Magnolia Street, approximately postmile 15.210, and Brookhurst Street, approximately postmile 13.780, as the Lt. Colonel Nguyen Thi Hanh Nhon’s Disabled Veterans Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.