[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING MR. VU VAN LOC FOR HIS SERVICE TO SANTA CLARA COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2015

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a distinguished 
member of my community, Mr. Vu Van Loc. Mr. Vu has been a leader in 
Santa Clara County for nearly forty years. As the founder of the 
Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center, Mr. Vu provided essential 
resettlement services to Vietnamese refugees immediately after the Fall 
of Saigon and for decades following. He pioneered the historical 
preservation of the journey of the Vietnamese Boat People when he 
created the Viet Museum in San Jose, which displays their journey.
  Mr. Vu was born in 1933 in Nam Dinh, North Vietnam. He became a 
Lieutenant upon graduation from the Dalat academy in 1954. During the 
Vietnam War, he held multiple leadership positions in the South Vietnam 
Army, including Colonel Director for the General Logistics Department.
  After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, Vu Van Loc came to the 
United States and settled in San Jose, California. Shortly after his 
arrival, Mr. Vu began working with the Indochinese Resettlement & 
Cultural Center, or IRCC, to assist immigrants arriving from Vietnam, 
Cambodia, and Laos who were beginning to settle in Northern California. 
The Social Planning Committee of Santa Clara County created the IRCC as 
a temporary office in 1976, but it was Mr. Vu who spearheaded IRCC's 
efforts and ensured the organization's mission was fulfilled in the 
decades that followed.
  Over forty years, Mr. Vu built the IRCC as a community-based 
organization to serve Vietnamese immigrants in resettlement. Due to his 
efforts, IRCC, which changed its name to the Immigrant Resettlement & 
Cultural Center in the 1990s, has provided over 20,000 immigrants with 
access to resettlement services, such as ESL classes, job training 
programs, housing assistance, U.S. citizenship application assistance, 
and voter registration information.
  Mr. Vu's work with the IRCC has also ensured that the history of the 
Vietnam War, and the sacrifice of many South Vietnamese soldiers, is 
not forgotten. In 1993, Mr. Vu gathered contributions to help restore 
the abandoned Bien Hoa Military Cemetery in Vietnam. With this support 
he helped ensure the Vietnamese government would not destroy the site 
as it had other military cemeteries.
  Mr. Vu also had a vision for the creation of a museum that preserved 
the history of South Vietnam, the Vietnam War, and the diaspora of 
Vietnamese Boat People. In 2008, the Republic of Vietnam Boat People 
Museum opened at History Park in San Jose. Mr. Vu's efforts were 
critical in building community support to establish the museum. Today, 
the Viet Museum is a San Jose treasure that ensures the courageous 
stories from survivors of the Vietnamese Exodus are never forgotten, 
especially by young people.
  Vu Van Loc has been a dedicated leader within the Vietnamese 
community in Santa Clara County. I had the pleasure of first meeting 
Mr. Vu when I served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. He 
has been an important friend throughout my public service to Santa 
Clara County. I am grateful for his dedication, and through these 
remarks I hereby recognize and commend Mr. Vu for his service to Santa 
Clara County and our immigrant community.

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