Vietnamese refugee creates monument for veterans

Nearly three years ago, Thy Cavagnaro set off on a mission: find every Vietnam War veteran in Barnegat and thank him for his service.

Without them, she says she would not have survived. Cavagnaro’s family fled Saigon on April 30, 1975 — hours before the Communist forces captured the South Vietnamese capital — and took refuge in the United States. She was a little over 1 year old at the time.