Steelworker Selected for DPAA POW Mission

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

05.10.2021

Courtesy Story

Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Steelworker Selected for DPAA POW Mission

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By ENS Cogdill, USS STETHEM (DDG 63), Public Affairs Officer
May 10, 2021

SAN DIEGO – Sonar Technician Second Class Kevin Truong of USS Stethem (DDG 63) was selected for special assignment with the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Agency where he will be searching for American heroes in Vietnam.

Truong is going to Vietnam on temporary duty assignment to search for the remains of Army Warrant Officer 1 William Konyu, U.S. Army.

“I am looking forward to this unique chance to serve overseas and I feel incredibly humbled to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Truong said.

Konyu was a member of Company B, 101st Aviation Battalion (assault Helicopter), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) during the Vietnam War. On April 16, 1969, Konyu’s helicopter was downed due to enemy fire. His helicopter burst into flames as its survivors escaped with the wounded, but the heat of the fire made it impossible to extract Konyu’s body.

Konyu’s heroism and sacrifice is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii but his remains are unaccounted for.

Truong, a Vietnamese immigrant, is excited to return to Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, and looks forward to being immersed in the culture again. His grandfather served in the South Vietnamese Navy during the Vietnamese Civil War, which in turn inspired him to serve in the U.S. Navy.

“I always wanted to join the military due to my grandfather’s service,” said Truong. “But I joined the Navy because its ability to project itself as a global force was really appealing. I enlisted under the slogan “A Global Force for Good” in hopes of having a positive international impact.”

Truong looks forward to the rewarding yet difficult challenge ahead and hopes that he and his counterparts are successful in completing their mission. Truong will spend two months on this special assignment and will return back to USS Stethem, after which he will continue serving as a sonar technician.

“I am looking forward to working with other services in a joint environment as we are attempting to accomplish the same objective and will need to work together as a team to accomplish the mission,” said Truong.

USS Stethem is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer homeported in San Diego, California and is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 21.

• Date Taken: 05.10.2021
• Date Posted: 06.24.2021 16:08
• Story ID: 399677
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US