Huey Nguyenhuu

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Born in Vietnam in 1965, Huey Nguyenhuu's family suffered during the Vietnam war. His father was a minister of labor under the Republic of Vietnam and a skilled oil painter, encouraging his son's artistic ability. When the North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam, his fathers and uncles were captured and sent to a labor camp when Nguyenhuu was only ten years old.

On July 1, 1980, Nguyenhuu fled the country, a refugee attempting to escape from Communism. The engine on his small boat broke down, and he and his fellow refugees were stranded at sea for 15 days. As their supply of food and water diminished, many people on the ship began to sicken and some died. Somehow, 15-year-old Huey believed that salvation would come on his birthday, and he was right. On July 15, 1980, they were rescued by the U.S.S. Strauss, a U.S. Navy destroyer, and they were allowed to come to the United States as political refugees.

Grateful to the U.S. Navy for saving his life, Nguyenhuu submitted his resume for the Navy nuclear engineering program as soon as he was old enough. He became a nuclear engineering officer on the U.S.S. Arkansas and served during Operation Dessert Storm in 1991.

After serving five years in the Navy, Nguyenhuu was honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant. He has continued his career in nuclear engineering thanks to the training he received in the Navy. He currently works as a GPS engineer at the Center for Space Studies at Air Force Missile Base in Los Angeles, California. He also draws cartoons to help young people learn about Vietnamese culture, a tribute to is father.