“Today you will hear facts you have not heard before … and I trust you will share my conclusion.”

These words reverberated in Forum 1 last Thursday, when former Prime Minister and Vice President of South Vietnam, Nguyen Cao Ky, shared his experiences as a political leader during the Vietnam War Era.

Ky’s visit to the campus started with a private luncheon on campus with key representatives of the college and the Vietnamese community. President Martha Kanter thanked Ky for his appearance at De Anza and said that the shared comments will help toward “building not only America’s future but certainly the world’s future.”

After the luncheon, Ky and his growing entourage headed over to Forum 1 for his exclusive appearance before De Anza students and faculty. Ky was accompanied by his wife, Madame Ky, and Marvin Wolf, the co-author of Ky’s latest book “Buddha’s Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam.”

Ky served as Prime Minister of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1967 and was elected Vice President in 1967, a position he held for the following four years. According to a De Anza press release, Ky is widely known as “the flamboyant Vice Marshal of the Vietnamese Air Force … and his for efforts to stamp out corruption.”

Ky was one of the last Vietnamese government officials to fight his way out of an increasingly turbulent Vietnam and settle in the United States.

During his speech, Ky mostly reflected on causes for the defeat of South Vietnam and how the subsequent communist takeover affected his country and its people.

“I was there. I witnessed and shared the suffering of the people,” said Ky. He blamed the United States for letting political considerations distract them from the urgent need to support the South Vietnamese government.

Despite criticism about the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, Ky’s speech largely entertained a positive attitude and spoke fondly of the United States.

“My biggest consolation is that I have always been accepted and welcomed by Americans. I accept America as my second home,” Ky said. He also emphasized the need to let the past be the past and focus on the future.

“Let us each now put aside our feelings of guilt and let us be proud of our efforts. … I say it is now time for my generation to let go of our old pain and anger and to allow the young generation to bring Vietnam together. It’s time for my generation to stop preaching hate,” said Ky.

Ky expressed hope that a new generation of Vietnamese leaders, many educated abroad, will return to their home country and assist with economic growth. “I’m optimistic about the next generation of Vietnamese leaders,” Ky said. Aware of the high number of Vietnamese-Americans in attendance, he turned to one student and said, “prepare yourself to become the new leaders of Vietnam.”

Many students stayed after the conclusion of Ky’s speech to have a copy of Ky’s book signed. Many also seized the moment to shake hands with one of the pivotal players in Vietnamese history and have their picture taken.

Khanh Nguyen is too young to remember the war but said attending the lecture was wonderful because “we learn a lot from him.”

Kim Johnson, a Child Development major, stood in line to have her book signed. She is not American, but said her father served in Vietnam.

“I just had an interest and came to see what it was about,” Johnson said.

Dean of Language Arts John Swensson said Ky gave an inspirational speech.

“I love the message of reconciliation, which is especially important for the community who has been here for a long time and of more importance to the young people who are thinking about going back. It was really a very optimistic message at the end about the need to let the past be the past and to look to the future,” Swensson said.

After the speech, Ky briefly visited the De Cillis Vietnamese Conflict Collection in the A. Robert DeHart Learning Center. The collection encompasses 2,000 books, 300 videotapes and 400 magazines about Vietnam and is the second largest collection of its kind in the United States.

At the conclusion of his campus tour and speech, Ky said he was very happy to have come.

“I like the place very much,” said Ky.