Alderman Harry Osterman
4 8TH WARD RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, John "Vietnam" Nguyen, 19 years old, died Thursday, August 30, 2012 from an accidental drowning while helping to save another person in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin; and,
WHEREAS, The City Council has been informed of his passing by The Honorable Harry Osterman, Alderman of the 48th Ward; and
WHEREAS, John Vietnam, as he was known, was born in the Uptown neighborhood and is the son of Joe 'Saigon' Hartel. Joe used to run the Vietnam War museum in the Argyle area and has been an active member of the community. John was his only son; and
WHEREAS, John lived at Winthrop and Argyle for most of this life. He attended McCutcheon and Goudy Schools and Lane Tech High School. He was very active with a number of community organizations: Chinese Mutual Aid, Vietnamese Association of Illinois and Alternatives Inc., are among them. He was extremely community-oriented and engaged. He used hip-hop culture & performance as a way to unite and inspire people, especially youth.
WHEREAS, He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a proud Badger. He was a member of the Vietnamese Students Association, Asian American Student Union, First Wave Spoken Word and Hip Hop Arts Learning Community on campus.
WHEREAS, According to his peers and mentors, John centered his life around his spoken word and hip hop work, which often focused on his heritage and fighting for civil rights and social justice. He was known as a brilliant young performer as a MC, Dancer, Poet, Produce, Videographer and Scholar.
WHEREAS, John Vietnam will be deeply missed; now, therefore, Be It Resolved, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this 12th day of December, 2012, do hereby express our sorrow on the death of John Vietnam Nguyen and extend to his family and friends our deepest sympathy; and
Be It Further Resolved, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John Vietnam Nguyen
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