Students will have an exclusive opportunity to meet a pivotal player of recent Vietnamese history this Thursday.

Nguyen Cao Ky, former prime minister and vice president of South Vietnam, will speak at De Anza College this Thursday, June 13, at 1:45 p.m. in Forum 1.

“We are most fortunate to have visits from distinguished leaders such as General Ky,” said De Anza College President Martha Kanter.

Ky held a series of commands in the South Vietnamese Air Force before serving as prime minister from 1965 to 1967. After that, he was elected vice president and held that position for four years.

Ky will present remarks and read from his autobiography “Buddha’s Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam.” Ky’s wife and his co-author Marvin Wolf will also be in attendance.

According to Kanter, De Anza has long-standing relationships with the Vietnamese communities in the area.

De Anza boasts a Vietnamese American student enrollment of 2,000, out of a total student population of 26,000.

The event will be held exclusively for De Anza students, staff and faculty, but Ky will also entertain a public reading and signing appearance at Borders Books in Milpitas at 7:30 p.m. the same day.

The Borders Books store is located in the McCarthy Ranch Marketplace, 15 Ranch Drive, Milpitas, at the intersection of McCarthy Drive and Highway 237, near I-880.

Janice Winkel contributed to this article.

Buddha’s Child:

My Fight to Save Vietnam

Event Information

What: Public reading and book signing by General Nguyen Cao Ky, former prime minister and vice president of South Vietnam

Where: Borders Books in the McCarthy Ranch Marketplace; 15 Ranch Drive, Milpitas; at intersection of Highway 237 and McCarthy Drive, near I-880

When: Thursday, June 13

Time: 7:30 p.m.