| PROFILES |
Calvin Nguyen
CALVIN NGUYEN BOB AND JACKIE
C
alvin Nguyen grew up around animals on a farm in Vietnam. “I hung around the farm with livestock, but we didn’t have any horses,” he said. He would. During the Vietnam War, Calvin’s father—a very religious Catholic—was a high-ranking officer working with the American forces stationed in Guam. “When he realized the South (Vietnam) was losing, he captained a ship to go back and get my mom and us,” Calvin said. “That’s how he was captured. He tried to get his family out. He was in prison for 10 years.” Though he was only a child with three siblings, he felt the pressure of daily life of his family after Saigon fell, ending the war. “Vietnam was an oppressive country,” he said. “It was a Communist country, so my mom had arranged for us to get out for a better future.” She did, but it took years. Calvin’s mother tried to visit her husband. “She was denied many times,” Calvin said. “He was moved around a lot. She didn’t know if he was alive. Five, six years after his capture, she was allowed to visit him. He was in a labor camp. They tried to reeducate him to be a Communist.” His father resisted. Calvin was eight when his family came to America without Calvin’s imprisoned father. “The U.S. Catholic Church sponsored us, and we lived in Tallahassee, Florida,” Calvin said. “Then my uncle found out we had relatives in Southern California.” They settled in Anaheim. Back in Vietnam, Calvin’s father’s health deteriorated so badly, they thought he was going to die. “They released him in 1985,” Calvin said. “He didn’t come to the U.S. for another five years.”
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When he did, his health returned. “Miraculously, he recovered,” Calvin said. Calvin had seen pictures of his father, but meeting him was a whole different experience. “It was awkward,” Calvin said. “I really didn’t know him. I didn’t know who he was. I grew up in America and culturally, I was into certain things. My father was very religious. He had an interesting life. I was grateful to spend 30 years with him. He passed away a couple years ago. He was almost 80.” Calvin attended Western High School in Anaheim, and was two years ahead of classmate Tiger Woods. “I got to meet him,” Calvin said. “My best friend in high school was on the golf team. I don’t know if he remembers me. He was already a known figure.” In Calvin’s senior year, he and a friend, Scott, wanted to go out on Friday night to see a California Angels’ game and watch one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, Nolan Ryan. “He was on his farewell tour,” Calvin said. “I was a big baseball fan,” Calvin said. “I loved Nolan Ryan.” He had to love him from afar. The game sold out. “And back then, the Angels never sold out,” Calvin said. Now what? Scott said, “Let’s go to the racetrack.” Los Alamitos was just a few miles away. Calvin, who had never been to a track,