![]() ![]() They said I’d been found in a ditch and brought to the orphanage, where I’d been named Tran Thi Ngoc Bich, “Precious Pearl” in English. One of his regular stops was the nearby Sacred Heart Orphanage, where he brought supplies, gifts, and clothes to the nuns. My dad was stationed in Da Nang as a chaplain’s assistant. I knew I’d been adopted by my father, Air Force TSgt James Mitchell, in 1972. Bush wanted to paint my portrait and include my story in his book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.įor a long time, I didn’t really know my story. So, it surprised me when I heard that President George W. In my memory, I’ve always been Kim Mitchell, the kid who grew up on a farm in Northern Wisconsin. If you’d like to understand Kim’s special connection to Vietnam Veterans, read her story below, which was published in our Spring 2022 issue of VBC Magazine.Įvery once in a while, I’m reminded that I’m an immigrant. All our welcome to join us at this event, either in-person or online, and all Vietnam Veterans registered for it will receive individual recognition and a gift bag as a token of honor for their service. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Kim will be our special guest for our Vietnam Veterans Day event at Soldiers & Sailors Hall & Museum on Tuesday, March 29, 6:00pm-8:30pm. Today, that baby, Kim Mitchell, is a Navy veteran and advocate for service members, veterans and military families. No one who joined our VBC Happy Hour with Kim Mitchell and Bao Tran in 2020 will ever forget their gripping story of how a South Vietnamese Marine rescued an orphaned baby from streets of Quang Tri City during the Easter Offensive of 1972. They deserve our thank you and the very best care we can possibly give.James and Kim Mitchell. We live in a great nation thanks to those who have worn the uniform. The facility will be ready for patients by next summer. Much of the work is now focused on the interiors, with a quarter of the space bearing near completion. ![]() Construction crews are finalizing the exterior of the building installing metal panels and windows before winter. The design of the new VA clinic is guided by sustainability and energy efficiency principles, including heating and cooling the facility using a geothermal field, and is slated to achieve a Green Globes rating.ĭream Design and the Department of Veterans Affairs broke ground on the VA clinic in July of 2021. The clinic environment is designed to feel comfortable and inviting, and it accommodates a separate entrance for patients in need of privacy. ![]() Services offered at the new VA clinic will include primary care, mental health care, physical therapy, audiology, pharmacy, lab services, and women’s care to meet the needs of the increasing female veteran population. The new VA clinic will replace an aging facility that is half the size of the future clinic. By next Veterans Day, over 7,000 Black Hills veterans will have access to a new VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Rapid City. ![]() 11th, we can also celebrate the progress we’re making as a community to serve those who have worn the uniform. We don’t take our liberties for granted and we take seriously the call to honor our veterans.Īs we tell the veterans in our lives thank you this Nov. That might be part of the reason why western South Dakotans are such patriotic people. We have a higher percentage of veterans in South Dakota than the nation at large, and the Rapid City area has the highest concentration of veterans in the state. In South Dakota, we have around 61,000 individuals who have contributed to that preservation of our freedom. As the proclamation reads, Veterans Day is a day that “a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation.” The day later known as Armistice Day became a national holiday for Americans to celebrate the conclusion of the conflict that was to be “the War to end all wars.” President Eisenhower issued a proclamation for Americans to observe Veterans Day instead. It was on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 that all fighting ceased in the first world war. ![]()
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