Danielle Ngo was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. She and her family fled as refugees when she was just 3-years old. In 1980, they were resettled in the U.S, where she eventually attended the University of Maryland and earned a degree in finance.
In 1989, Ngo enlisted in the Army as an operating room technician. In 1991, she left active duty to return to school, this time at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. There, she worked in the university’s Veteran Affairs office and joined its ROTC program.
Ngo earned her commission in 1994, becoming a combat engineer. She became the first female combat engineering company commander. As an engineer, she helped equip and supply combat brigade convoys from Kuwait to Tikrit, Iraq. She also led construction projects across the Pacific, from Hawaii to Korea. In addition to serving in Iraq, she deployed to Afghanistan, as well.
After retiring from over 30 years of military service, Ngo now supports the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).
We honor her service.
Nominate a Veteran
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s “Honoring Veterans” social media spotlight is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission
A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.
Topics in this story
Link Disclaimer
This page includes links to other websites outside our control and jurisdiction. VA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-VA Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy or terms and conditions of those sites to fully understand what information is collected and how it is used.
Statement of Endorsement
Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
More Stories
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Coast Guard Veteran Alan Spielman, who served in Alaska.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Air Force Veteran Jan Klebukowski, who served in the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran James McDonald, who served as a Chief Metalsmith during his service.
What a wonderful person! She is certainly a motivated member of the Army. I wish her the best as she begins another new chapter of her life!
This is an incredible story of resilience and dedication. I am proud of you and all that you have accomplished.
There is no such branch or AOC as “combat engineer”, as an officer you are simply an “engineer officer”
i salute you. as a vietnam vet stationed in saigon70-71. god bless