[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 66 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3391-S3392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAN CHERRY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a good 
friend, Dan Cherry. A retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, Dan 
Cherry is a respected Kentuckian and a man of character.
  During his time in the Air Force, General Cherry volunteered for 
combat duty in 1966 and 1971, flying over 295 missions, most of them 
over North Vietnam. On one of those missions in April 1972, General 
Cherry shot down the plane of a Vietnamese soldier, Nguyen Hong My.
  General Cherry always wondered what happened to the pilot that he 
shot down, and he recently was given the chance to meet him. General 
Cherry and Hong My met face to face in Vietnam almost 36 years to the 
day of General Cherry's shooting down Hong My's MiG-21 fighter.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Brigadier 
General Dan Cherry, who through his actions of patronage and 
reconciliation has shown us what it means to be a true American, and 
Kentuckian. Recently

[[Page S3392]]

the Bowling Green Daily Newspaper published a story about General 
Cherry and the remarkable story of his journey to Vietnam. I ask 
unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Bowling Green Daily News, Apr. 13, 2008]

          Vietnam Vet Reunites With Pilot He Shot Down in '72

                            (By Jim Gaines)

       Bowling Green, KY.--On April 6, Dan Cherry and Nguyen Hong 
     My were back in the air near Hanoi, capital of Vietnam.
       Almost 36 years before--on April 16, 1972--Cherry shot down 
     My's MiG-21 fighter in the same area.
       My parachuted as his plane crashed, breaking his arms in 
     the process; and now Cherry's plane, an F4D Phantom II, is 
     restored to its wartime colors and parked in the Aviation 
     Heritage Park on Three Springs Road.
       Last week, the two men flew together past the scene of 
     their earlier encounter, chatting in the comfortable seats of 
     a jetliner on their way to My's home.
       ``It was, I guess, the most amazing experience I've ever 
     had in my lifetime,'' Cherry said.
       Cherry volunteered for combat duty in Southeast Asia in 
     1966, then for a second tour in 1971. He flew 295 missions, 
     most of them over North Vietnam. He retired as a brigadier 
     general in the U.S. Air Force and went on to a career in 
     Kentucky state government and managing the Kentucky TriModal 
     Transpark.
       But, Cherry said, he often wondered what happened to the 
     pilot he shot down. When the Aviation Heritage Park was in 
     its planning stages 2\1/2\ years ago, one of its local 
     backers half-jokingly suggested trying to find the MiG pilot.
       Cherry worked through friends to contact a reunion show on 
     Vietnamese TV, which worked through the Ministry of Defense 
     to identify Nguyen Hung My.
       In December, a producer of the show--called ``As If We 
     Never Parted''--e-mailed Cherry with the news and asked if 
     he'd appear on the show.
       After flying to Vietnam for his first visit since the war, 
     he went to the TV studio April 5. According to Cherry, the 
     show's host introduced him and told the audience about his 
     life. After showing pictures of Cherry's family, she 
     introduced My.
       Cherry said he was nervous, wondering how he'd be received. 
     But My smiled as he came out and shook Cherry's hand. Through 
     an interpreter, My said he was glad to meet Cherry. The 
     anchor told about My's life, his four years of flight 
     training in the Soviet Union and his war service.
       Thanh Nien News, a major newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City 
     which publishes in Vietnamese and English, reported on the 
     pilots' meeting. According to that story, My said he'd never 
     thought about looking for the pilot who once shot him down. 
     After the war, he studied English and finance, and worked for 
     an insurance company, the paper said.
       My flew for two more years after recovering from his bail-
     out injuries, speaks Chinese and Russian, has a great sense 
     of humor, and is obviously highly respected by friends and 
     family, Cherry said.
       After the show, the two sat down backstage and talked about 
     flying and their respective families.
       ``We hit it off really well,'' Cherry said.
       Later, they and the TV staff went to a rooftop restaurant 
     in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Over dinner, My asked if Cherry 
     would visit his home in Hanoi. Cherry--already planning to go 
     to Hanoi the next day as a tourist--thought My meant some 
     indefinite time in the future; it turned out he meant the 
     next day. When Cherry agreed, My changed his own travel 
     schedule so they could be on the same flight.
       My's house, it turned out, was within walking distance of 
     Cherry's hotel. That night he and his friends Larry Bailey 
     and John Fleck made their way to My's house along streets 
     teeming with motor scooters, Cherry said.
       They had dinner with My's family, and Cherry got to hold 
     his former opponent's 1-year-old grandson, he said.
       ``It was just a tremendous experience to be welcomed so 
     completely,'' Cherry said. ``I've made a good friend in Mr. 
     Hong My.''
       In return, he gave My a bottle of bourbon and invited him 
     to visit Bowling Green, perhaps later this year, he said.
       My offered to guide them around the city the next day, 
     showing up at 8 a.m. in a car with his son-in-law and friend. 
     He took them to one site after another, including a number of 
     military museums that ordinary tourists wouldn't get to see, 
     Cherry said. They saw past displays of Soviet-built fighter 
     planes, including MiG-21s like the one My flew in 1972, he 
     said.
       Cherry also visited the ``Hanoi Hilton''--the building made 
     notorious as a prison for American pilots shot down over 
     North Vietnam. It's now a museum. Most of the exhibits, 
     though, are devoted to the Vietnamese who were held there 
     during the decades of French rule, Cherry said; there's only 
     one small room describing its time as a prison for Americans.
       The overall impression he had of Vietnam is that what the 
     Vietnamese call the ``American War'' has been put far behind 
     them, he said.
       ``They're moving on to the future. They don't hold any 
     grudges,'' Cherry said.
       My also asked for help with one task: He shot down an 
     American plane, too, but believes that pilot was killed, 
     Cherry said. So he asked if Cherry could help him find that 
     pilot's family. He would like to express his respect and 
     condolences, Cherry said.

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