Moving From Vietnam

Growing up in a family that have many relatives immigrating to the U.S in different ways, I always want to know more about people’s journey to the United States. Therefore, I decided to interview my Professor, Dr. Lan Hong about her journey coming to the U.S after Vietnam war.

It was very tough for the Hmong’s that were still in Vietnam and Laos after the war. The American armed forces was these people’s only protection and after they just picked up and left for their home shores the Hmong people that were still alive faced severe hardships. They had no food and water and most of their homes were all destroyed. Most of the men and young adult boys were killed in the war and the Vietnamese and Laos soldiers were still pursing the Hmong people because they wanted to terminate the Hmong people. It was also tough for the Hmong people that were left because the American’s had stopped bringing food drops along with medical supplies.

The following paper will discuss Vietnamese Americans and their journey to America. I will talk about how these incredible and resilient people fought to succeed it a world that seemed to hold the odds against them. The culture, beliefs, and challenges of Vietnamese people are a precise paradigm of their strength and perseverance.

I have learned a lot about what life was like at the time of the Vietnam War by interviewing my grandfather. My grandfather, Franklin Torr, was living in Dover, NH at the time, in his late thirties, married, and had three young children. The Vietnam War impacted my grandfather’s life in a unique way. One aspect of his life that changed at the start of the war was that a lot of his tenants, in the mobile home he owned, were in the New Hampshire National Guard and were stationed in Vietnam, flying missions, and some were advisors. He said the following about them; “Of the tenants that fought in the war, they thought they were doing the right thing at the time” When asked if he could provide a story of one of his Vietnam War veterans, he said that not a lot of them liked to talk about their war experiences in depth, two of his tenants that served in Vietnam died in Vietnam. One of his former classmates was a Marine Colonel, one thing he remembers this man mentioning was; “the troops did a great job while they were there”. The most shocking thing that he remembers from this

Throughout America’s history, few things have left the nation in such controversial turmoil as the Vietnam War. With an American death toll of almost 60,000 troops, the Vietnam War has gone down in infamy as one of the most tremendous struggles Americans have faced both overseas and on the home front. Because of the tumultuous controversies caused by the war, Americans split into two social factions – those against the war and those who supported it. During the years of 1961-1975 - the era in which the war had its greatest effect on Americans - the population of citizens from 18-35 years old and the Presidency were both affected irreversibly.

After the South Vietnam has fallen to the communist in 1975, many had flee to America in search for refuge. These are the “boat people” that risked everything to go to America in such of a better life. Like many other minorities, they came with empty hands; no family, money, education, or spoke the same language; however, their only objective was to survive. Another group of Vietnamese immigrants, were those that were imprisoned after the war. After they were released from the “reeducation camp”, they were adopted by America under the “Help Operation”. These people came here legally with supports from the government, because they were fighting side by side with American troops during the war.

Just under 42 years ago, the United States fought a war against Vietnam for almost 20 years. The United States lost. It was a tragedy because many lives were lost and our Presidents made multiple mistakes and false promises. The U.S. had lost its first war in history and it would go down as one of our worst mistakes. In the following paragraphs, we will go over two separate accounts from two people living in the same area, Buffalo, New York. Patricia “Pat” Musiak had family members and loved ones fight for America and Raymond “Ray” LaMarca, Sr. fought for the U.S. in the Army.

In 1975, the ‘Fall of the Saigon’ marked the end of the Vietnam War, which prompted the first of two main waves of Vietnamese emigration towards the US. The first wave included Vietnamese who had helped the US in the war and “feared reprisals by the Communist party.” (Povell)

For centuries the Vietnamese people resisted being controlled by their powerful Chinese neighbors. They struggled to unify their country as an independent state. Ultimately they freed themselves from China 's claim for control of political authority and achieved national unity only to fall victim to French imperialism (Anderson 1). French ruled Vietnam and neighboring kingdoms as colonies from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II influenced the Vietminh war against the French in 1945. September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declares independence from French rule shortly after Japans surrender from World War II (www.history.com). France 's rule over its colony was incredibly brutal and exploitative (Anderson 6). French colonialism deprived the Vietnamese of their political independence, and it impoverished many of the Vietnamese people (Anderson 7). Many villagers lost their lands and became low-paid plantation

Dad: They do give each person a cup of water and a piece of bread a day to live. On the first day, you would get a cup of water and a piece of bread; then during lunch time, you would get the same meal again. You were able to get more food if your family came and brought you food and water. The gallon of water was for us to drink or bath or whatever you wish to do with the water.

I grew up in a Vietnamese family of four. My parents lived in Vietnam before I was born. They migrated over here because they knew that their lives would be much more stable, and in the long run it would benefit them. I was raised to respect my elders and those around me, to be kind and humble. I value my family and friendships, because they are the one who helps me and supports my decisions. Without my family and friends, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I believe that if people work hard enough they will become successful. My parents were given the opportunity to come to the U.S. They knew that coming to the U.S means that they had to start all over. Like learning a new language to be able to communicate with peoples. They knew that they had

The conference panel I attended was for Dr. Thuy Vo Dang, regarding Vietnamese American identity and the role of archives in shaping epistemology. The speaker mentioned several points regarding how the archive allowed for members of Vietnamese descent to offer their narrative, and essentially give perspective to a community that had inherently omitted and censored itself. It is interesting to have found out that at one point in time, the Vietnamese identity was primarily focused on the Vietnam War, and the Vietnamese were primarily associated with labels such as victims or enemies. From the presentation I learned that the Vietnamese American community identity changed as they adopted a new mentality that stems from them being refugee. The media back then and even today in regards to the Vietnam war had generalized and simplifying the act of being a refugee and being displaced into the US. Vietnamese refugees were characterized as being indebted to the US, and grateful. In addition, the action of becoming a refugee and escaping to the United States were commonly described by various sources to have done so in desperate, cramped, and out of their control. This description appears to have

Thousands of people fled Vietnam to escape the Vietnam War. Tam L. took his wife and children to escape Vietnam and go to America because he didn’t see any other option. He was afraid that “communist soldiers would come knocking at the doors” (Vietnam: Why the War Still Matters Today). There were three waves of immigrants coming to the U.S. The first wave was mostly U.S. military and government employees, as well as people from the South Vietnam government and military. The second wave included farmers, fishermen, and soldiers. The third wave was made of immigrants of many different ethnicities. (Vietnamese History and Immigration to the U.S.) “Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have fled to various countries to escape war and persecution

The subject of my interview is a 68 year elderly Vietnamese man named Minh “Bi” Ngo. Mr. Ngo has white long hair, a medium long white beard and a distinctive mole on the bottom of his left eye and a thick Vietnamese accent. He was born and raised in Vietnam on April 3rd, 1947. He is also a widow who is currently living with his daughter in Westminster, Orange County. Originally, Mr. Ngo was from the city of Buon Ma Thuot in the province of Dak Lak, Vietnam. He then immigrated to Falls Church, Virginia where he began his new life in the United States. At the time of the interview, Mr. Ngo looked very exhausted yet grateful at the same time. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ngo through his daughter, who is a friend of my cousin. I conducted the interview on the afternoon of September 24th, which lasted for two hours. During the interview Mr. Ngo shared with me his experiences during the Vietnam war, his times in the Vietnamese Reeducation camps, his immigration to the United States, and his involvement in the Vietnamese community today. As the interview continues on, I began to comprehend a little bit more on the way it was back then and how the common folks

I am a man who is in need of money. In Vietnam, getting work is easy if you live in a family that had been in business. However, when it comes to food, that would not be the case. In Vietnam, the food and everything there is so expensive, the only way for people with no job is to either steal, eat anything that is on the street, or the cruelest way, dies out in the street.