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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, October 17, 2018
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
City of Newburgh.. . . . . . . . . . . 22
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8
Meadow Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Town of Newburgh. . . . . . . . . . . 23
Newburgh Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . 10
New Windsor.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Police Blotter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
PUBLIC AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17
Newburgh Civil Service Commission.
1 p.m. City Council Chamber, 83
Broadway.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18
Newburgh City Council Work
Session, 6 p.m. City Hall, 83 Broadway.
Town of Newburgh Planning Board, 7
p.m. Town Hall, 1496 Route 300, Town of
Newburgh.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22
Town of Newburgh Workshop
meeting, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 1496 Route
300, Town of Newburgh.
Newburgh City Council meeting. 7
p.m. City Hall, 83 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24
Town of New Windsor Planning
Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 555 Union Ave.,
HOW TO REACH US
OFFICE:
300 Stony Brook Court
Newburgh, NY 12550
PHONE: 845-561-0170, FAX: 845-561-3967
Emails may be directed to the following :
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
PUBLIC NOTICES
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WEBSITE
www.timescommunitypapers.com
The Mid Hudson Times (USPS 000-5947) is a weekly
newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh, NY
12550, with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh,
NY Single copy: $1 at newsstand. By mail in Orange, Ulster
or Sullivan Counties: $40 annually, $44 out of county.
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Court, Newburgh, NY 12550.
FACES OF NEWBURGH
Surviving the war and spreading the word
By KATELYN CORDERO
[email protected]
A
jeep filled with South Vietnamese
army soldiers overturned tossing
soldiers out the side like rag dolls
flipping through the air. Everyone was
sent to the hospital but one. A young man
name Peter Tran Van Phat climbed out
of the truck with no serious injuries. He
had flipped with the truck, staying locked
in place.
Van Phat is a retired Monsignor at
Saint Francis and Sacred Heart Church
in Newburgh. He celebrates 51 years as
a priest this year, and his 81st birthday.
Van Phat’s time in the army opened his
eyes to a gruesome world and reinforced
his choice to follow and spread the word
of God. His life has been a series of tough
moments and decisions where he has
been blessed to make it to the age of 81
years old.
“I was protected by the good Lord,”
said Van Phat. “In the army I saw death
in my eyes, bullets flying past my head,
but there was special care there from
God.”
Van Phat became interested in
spreading the word of God at a young age
when he served as an alter boy in South
Vietnam for his church. As a Freshman
in high school he fled to South Vietnam
as a refugee when the country was taken
over by the communist regime.
He went to a pontifical school in South
Vietnam. Once Van Phat finished his
schooling with a masters degree in arts
and philosophy, he was drafted as a second
Lieutenant to the South Vietnamese
Army. He was a part of the psychological
warfare platoon. His job was to talk to the
locals and convince them to comply with
the Open Arm Policy, where opposition
would turn in their weapons and receive
amnesty.
“We had to go from village to village
talking to the people to put down their
guns,” said Van Phat. “I had to sleep in
people’s yards and outside their homes
during our missions. The sergeants
would tell us if you are going to smoke
hold your cigarette away from your body
so they will shoot your hand but not your
body.”
Van Phat was in the army for two
years, he had to flee running for his life
in some instances but he made it out of
the war physically unscathed. After two
years in the army Van Phat became an
ordained minister at the age of 30. Three
years later he decided to move to the
United States.
Father Peter inside Sacred Heart Church.
“I was scared,” said Van Phat. “I came
to this foreign place, I did not know the
language, I did not know the people or
the culture. It was like the bird going into
the forest.”
When he came to the United States
Van Phat started at St. Norbert College
in DePierre, Wisconsin on a complete
scholarship. He then decided to apply
for graduate programs. He was accepted
to Fordham University where he was
given a partial scholarship thanks to
Father James Finley and worked at St
Mary’s Church in the Bronx, NY to pay
for tuition.
“For me the United States was the land
of opportunity,” said Van Phat. “If you
have good will you can do anything.”
Van Phat stayed in the United States
longer than the original four years
because the North Vietnamese Army
took over the city of Saigon in South
Vietnam. He was not able to go back and
became a refugee.
“Coming here was exciting, I was alone
but people helped me with techniques
and the build up of the church,” said Van
Phat. “It was the people who helped me
get here today.”
Van Phat worked at the Church of
Holy Name in Otisville, NY for 11 years
before making his way to St Francis in
Newburgh. He currently is retired but
continues to make himself available to
the church and its parishioners in any
way needed.
“It has been a tough life and a long
journey,” said Van Phat. “But I am
grateful to God, and I give thanks to the
good people who have helped me along
the way. I am always grateful.”