Mr Dat Nguyen: past Dallas-Cowboy Football Player - currently in the Coach Team of Dallas Cowboy NFL Born in September 1975 in Arkansas, Dat Nguyen came into this world just to show that hard work, motivation, and tremendous discipline can pave quiet a sterling path for one.

Like many Vietnamese families, Dat’s clan of seven, which includes his parents and five siblings, left their war-torn native country to settle in the promising land of America. Only four months in his mother’s womb, Dat could not possibly fathom or witness the turmoil and despair of what his family members and 2 million other Vietnamese refugees went through. With gunfire exploding from their enemy and the bombing of their own people, Dat’s parents frantically round their children together to make their escape. They drifted for days on the choppy sea with little food and water and finally reached Thailand. Two months later they were flown to the United States where Dat was born in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. They moved to Michigan shortly after to live with their sponsored family. Not used to the bitter cold weather from the north, Dat’s father transferred his family down to Texas where he established his business in the shrimping industry. Currently, Dat resides in the Dallas area while his family still lives in Rockport, Texas, where they own the now famous Hu-Dat Restaurant, which was named after Dat and his brother Hung.

As one of the most decorated collegiate football players, Nguyen was a consensus Texas Top 100 linebacker following his prep career at Rockport-Fulton High School in Rockport, Texas. He earned district 30-3A Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior after tallying 188 tackles. He also earned Class 3A second-team all-state honors as a punter. Nguyen graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in agricultural development in August 1998 and took post-graduate classes during his senior football season. He has taken an active role in the Dallas community. During the 2002 season, Nguyen and his wife, Becky, served as guest participants at the Cowboys annual NFL 201 Football Workshop for Women benefiting The Salvation Army. The couple talked about life in the NFL from the player's and the wife's perspective with the female attendees. He annually participates as a celebrity football coach for the club's annual Dallas Cowboys Let Us Play! Sports Camp for Girls. Coach Nguyen led his group to the mock "Super Bowl" victories in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, he took part in the Linebacker's Blitz Hunger at The Salvation Army as part of the Hams for the Holiday program, where players distributed hams to needy families. The Dallas Cowboys Salvation Army Angel Tree program, which provides clothing and toys to underprivileged children, the Children's Cancer Fund Fashion Show and Luncheon annually co-chaired by Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and the Dallas Race for the Cure benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research are charity events that the Nguyen's continue to support year after year. Dat and wife Becky added a daughter, Aubrey Mai (6/26/03), to their family in the off-season of 2005.

VCSA is grateful for Dat Nguyen’s contribution as the Keynote Speaker for the National Youth Leadership Camp Len Duong 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas and for his and Becky’s presence at our Spring Gala in 2005 as our Guests of Honor for our 15th Anniversary Celebration. Now when we celebrate our 10th anniversary of camp Len Duong, we are delighted to welcome Dat Nguyen as our Speical Honor Guest.