While black and gold dragons shook their heads and danced through the crowd, guests celebrated new lives and new beginnings for the Vietnamese New Year at the celebration Sunday at the Col Ballroom, Davenport.
For most guests, the celebration full of bright colors, song and dance (including the four young people in the dragon costumes), reflected joy in their culture and hope for the future.
For other guests at the ballroom, 1012 W. 4th St., the ceremonies brought back memories of war. Among them was William Albracht of Moline, a retired U.S. Special Operations member and Secret Service agent.
“The Vietnamese community invited the Quad-City Chapter of Vietnam Veterans as their guests to honor us, and we accepted,” said Albracht, past president of Vietnam Veterans of America Quad-Cities Chapter 299.
“They really appreciate the sacrifices that the Vietnam veterans made.”
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Albracht served in the Army Special Forces in 1968-1970 in the highlands of Vietnam. “We’ve always looked for a little recognition and redemption,” he said. “This helps. I’m very proud I served my country, and I’d do it all over again tomorrow.
Likewise, “This is a visit back in time for me,” said Rock Island’s Ray Hamilton, chapter president. “We’re talking 40-plus years. I came back from Vietnam in 1968,” said Hamilton, who served from 1963-1970.
He said the chapter enjoys a good relationship with the Quad-City Vietnamese community.
“We invited them to be part of our ceremonies last July when we dedicated the (Interstate 280 Mississippi River) bridge to John F. Baker Jr., the Medal of Honor recipient,” he said. “This is reciprocity. It’s nice to be a part of their tradition, their culture, and see how well they have assimilated into our community.”
Celebrating with Hamilton was Simon Cotran, owner and operator of Simon Cotran Jewelry Inc. in Davenport and Urbandale, Iowa.
“American soldiers protected our freedom,” he said. “We tried to escape out of the country, looking for freedom. We came here not for the food, not for the clothes, but for the freedom.”
Many died in their attempts to leave Vietnam, Cotran said. Of those who successfully made the journey, “I think 85 percent of us are U. S. citizens right now, trying to build this beautiful country — this is what we were looking for.”
Cotran said the dragons bring luck with them.
The Lunar New Year celebration, known was “Tet,” became a household word in 1968 during the Vietnam War.
According to The Oxford Companion to American Military History and other sources, Communist armies began attacks in major cities about Feb. 1, the high point of an offensive that lasted over several months. Americans referred to this as the “Tet Offensive.”
