Civics

National Security

Contributing Scholar: Lt. Col. Vinny Nguyen

Episode 1

We the People

Lieutenant Colonel Vinny Nguyen reflects on his family’s escape from war-torn Vietnam and shares his own personal story as a United States Army officer and father, providing a truly personal perspective to our country’s perhaps most famous phrase, “We the People of the United States.”

Related Resources

U.S. Army

United States Army

Up Next Episode 2 A More Perfect Union

We the People

Comment

Published May 28, 2024

“We the People of the United States” is perhaps one of the most famous phrases in American History and American culture. It speaks not only to the founding of our nation, but its makeup – a country of individuals who may share different ethnicities, different politics, but who all share common core values like liberty, justice, and opportunity. Lieutenant Colonel Vinny Nguyen exemplifies this through his family’s escape from Vietnam, his service in the United States Army in Iraq, and his experience as a husband and father. It is from these unique experiences that such a phrase like “We the People” can become deeply personal.

Learn More about our National Security Affairs Fellows (NSAFs) and Hoover's National Security Affairs Fellows Program:

Read Lt. Col. Vinny Nguyen's bio here.
Learn more about Hoover's 2024 NSAF Class here.
Click here to learn more about The Robert and Marion Oster National Security Affairs Fellows (NSAF) Program at the Hoover Institution.

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