VAOHP0253 1 Vietnamese American Oral History Project, UC Irvine Narrator: LAM THANH NGUYEN Interviewer: Claudia Thanh Nguyen Date: May 21, 2015 Location: Montclair, California Sub-collection: Vietnamese American Experience Course, Spring 2015 Length of Interview: 01:27:13 CTN: Today I will be interviewing my dad. This is my dad. The first part will be about your biography. What is your name? LTN: My name is Lam Nguyen. CTN: And what is your date of birth? LTN: I was born on November 3 rd, 1951. CTN: Where was your place of birth? LTN: I was born in Hue, a little city in Vietnam. CTN: What are you parents names? LTN: My dad s name is Thu Van Nguyen and my mom s name is Thu Van Le. CTN: And can you describe them please? LTN: My dad is a lieutenant colonel of special force military in Vietnam and my mom is a woman in Vietnam, and they were in the middle of Vietnam too. CTN: Where did you grow up? LTN: I grew up in Hue where my born place and after that I when I was four years old, that means 1955, I followed my dad and my mom to Saigon. And I was there for elementary school and high school and after that, I return to Hue for tenth grade and eleventh grade. After that, I went to Nha Trang to take my diploma and Tu Tai part 1 and part 2 there. CTN: Describe your hometown where you grew up. So number 3. LTN: Number 3? CTN: Mhmm. LTN: I grew up in Hue and after that I went to Thu Duc, a small town in near Saigon. It s distance from Saigon 30 kilometers. CTN: Where have you lived in Vietnam?
VAOHP0253 2 LTN: I lived in Vietnam, Hue and Thu Duc Saigon, after that I went to I return to Hue and Nha Trang. When I was in army and went to Ha Tien, a small town in South Vietnam, and Phu Quoc, Island, and Kien Gia Rat Da, it s where the small town in Kien Luong in Rat Gia. CTN: Question number five, tell me about some of your childhood memories. LTN: Yeah, when I was a kid, I lived in Thu Duc, a small town, that means a cho nho, Thu Duc and the province is Gia Dinh, it s next to Saigon. And I spend my childhood there when I grow up, I play with my friends in my neighbor. It was in the my dad is in military, so all the neighbors is military. So the children is family with the army there. We spend a lot of playing some play in Vietnam with the children and we spend a lot of play like swing the jumprope, and we buy I don t know we danh dao, danh can. CTN: Played tennis? LTN: No, not tennis, but we do with the small can and a smaller can and we put yeah. We jump co lo co. We jump like CTN: Hop scotch? LTN: Yeah. CTN: What jobs have you had in Vietnam? LTN: At first, I was a student, but in the war time, I enlist in the army. I was in the air force, Vietnamese air force and after the Falling of 1975, I was in the re-education camp of communist and after that, I have released and I do everything for my rice, my house, my everything with my muscles. I don t have any vocation any vocational. I just use my muscles. CTN: What was your job? LTN: I work in you know in Vietnam have xich lo [cyclo], baguette, and we carry the heavy in the market. I do everything. So, I do the baguette, we delivery baguette in the market. CTN: Can you describe your schooling in Vietnam? Number 7. LTN: In Vietnam, at first, I spend my childhood in Thu Duc. I said elementary school in Thu Duc and that means cho nho, that means a village, and Thu Duc, that means cay quan. Cay quan is a small province. CTN: What level of education did you have? It is also number 7. LTN: I have a diploma and before I graduated high school, I have the first license and second license, Tu Tai mot and Tu Tai hai. We have two licenses when we graduate from high school in Vietnam. After that I went to science, University in Hue. I spend two years there, in 1971 and
VAOHP0253 3 1972. But on 1972, the war is expand so much, so I had to enlist in army. So I had to quit the school. CTN: What were your teachers and peers like? What were your teachers and friends like in school? LTN: Yeah, they friendship. They help together. Everything is good at that time. CTN: Oh okay. For the next part, it s family and kinship. Question number 8, what do you remember the most about your parents and grandparents when you were a child? LTN: At the time I was a child, my parents were very very busy because they have twelve children. So, that means very poor. We need food everyday, but my dad in the army. My mom have to do everything to get some more money to help for my family. My grandparents too. My grandparents too old, they didn t do anything, but they have to do on worker, they labor everything too and they re too old. But my grandparent that means my dad s dad, the dad of my dad, he was killed by communist on 1950 something. They kill a lot of because my grandpa at that time was very rich. They have ruong lua, field, the field to get the rice, a lot, but they don t like it, they kill, they everyone at that time. And my dad of my mom, my mom s dad, is have leukemia cancer of blood and he died at 50 years old. My dad of my grandpa, he killed in 1950 51 years old. CTN: For the next question, question number 9. You did mention that you had 12 siblings. LTN: Yes, I have 12 siblings. CTN: How many siblings? And, I know there s a lot of siblings, but what are their LTN: 7 boys, and 5 girls. CTN: Wow, and what are their names? Can you name all of them? (laughs) LTN: Oh, it s funny because in Vietnam way, the name in Vietnam, we have two names. One name is called at home, and one is name is called at school. In at home, we call A, B, C, A, B, C, D, Đ, the alphabet of Vietnamese. So I am A, and the next is B, C, D. We have 12, so we come to M. Yeah, A to M. Yeah, we have twelve. CTN: Okay, question number 10. What do you know about your family name? LTN: Yeah, I say at home we follow the alphabet, the Vietnamese alphabet. A, B, C, D, D, E, G, H, I, K, L, M. That s 12. And at school, we use different name. Lam, Suong, Son, Thuy, Thuong, Hai, etc. But the middle name is just one name, it s Thanh. T H A N H. Everybody have the
VAOHP0253 4 same middle name. So, Nguyen Thanh Lam, Nguyen Thanh Suong, Nguyen Thanh Son. It s the same middle name and the last name. CTN: Are there stories about the history or origins for the names? It s also question number 10. LTN: Yeah, that s it. I already said everything there. CTN: Oh okay. Number 11, what languages do you speak? LTN: Yeah, at first, we speak Vietnamese, of course, and at high school in Vietnam, I also learn about English. It s number one, number one language and French is second language. CTN: Oh wow, okay. Do you speak a different language in different settings such as home, school, and work? LTN: This means here or CTN: Yeah, the language you speak. Ba noi chuyen o LTN: O Vietnam hay la o day? CTN: Yes, here. LTN: Here, at home, we speak Vietnamese, the whole family. Sometimes, we speak English. Most of us speak Vietnamese at home, and English outside. CTN: At work do you speak Vietnamese? LTN: At work, we have some Vietnamese and we also speak Vietnamese and some other country, we speak like Mexico, I speak English, and Thailand and Cambodia, speak English. CTN: Okay, question number 12. What memorable stories have you have your family told you in the past? LTN: I say before, my family my grandpa and grand grandfather very rich, we have a field to make rice and we rich, but when 1945, the communist, they come, they kill every they I don t know how to call in English, but Ba Ho, Phu Ho, that means they rich and have a field to make rice, everything. CTN: Who told you this story? LTN: My dad and my mom told it to me. CTN: And it s your most memorable one? You remember that one the most? LTN: Yes. CTN: Question number 13, in Vietnam or America, does your family hold reunions or annual gatherings?
VAOHP0253 5 LTN: In here? In USA, we have a big family, big big family. So, we have anniversary of death anniversary of my member in my family, grandfather, and we have happy birthday and some Mother Day and Father Day, we have a ceremony for my dad, my mom, and we get together at that time. CTN: Questions number 14, do you have a spouse and how did you meet and marry your spouse? LTN: Yes, I marry and my spouse s name is Xuan Huynh, We meet at the time we poor. At that time I, after I return from re-education camp, I use my muscles. I had torn clothes. I had to use my muscles to earn the money to live. So, I came to Vietnam at that time, the communist have a restaurant, they sell something cheaper than outside. I came there everyday to eat lunch and I came there. At that time, my wife is working there. So, we meet everyday. I think. So, I like her and we have a date. After that, we marry. After 11 months, we married in 1978. CTN: Wow, how long have you guys been married now? LTN: That mean, 32. CTN: Wow, long time. Okay, next question, question number 15. How many children do you have? LTN: I have four children. CTN: Okay, and what do they do? LTN: The first, I have four children, two boys and two girls. And my first boy is he escape oversea with me, and now he is in US Navy now. She He in Bahrain right now, in Iraq. And he s here. CTN: Okay. LTN: And the second one is Myran Nguyen who graduated in Cal Poly University and he in Minnesota now. He s working there. And we have four children here. And the next one is a girl, Claudia, and the last girl is Jucy, who is in 12 th grade right now. CTN: And what does Claudia do right now? LTN: Claudia will graduate in a couple of weeks in UCI [University of California, Irvine], and she s in psychology. CTN: And what about Jucy? What is she doing right now? LTN: Jucy is attending Montclair High School right here and next more years, she want to UCI too.
VAOHP0253 6 CTN: Same question in question number 15, do you talk to them about your history? LTN: Yes, I did. I was in military, air force, in Vietnam at the time of the Vietnam War. CTN: And you tell your kids? LTN: Yes. CTN: Why do you choose to tell your kids? And how come sometimes because I know sometimes people don t their kids about their history. So, just why do you want your kids to know about your history? LTN: Yeah, I want to they know, but they know, why we have to escape from Vietnam because of communist. They are very cruel and they everyday kill everyone and everybody very very hungry. We don t have anything to do, so we have to and we have to escape communist. CTN: And you want your kids to know that? LTN: Yes. CTN: Okay. This section is about culture, traditions, and religions. Are there any special family traditions, customs, songs, or foods? LTN: In USA, we are a big big family. So, we have some tradition Vietnamese. At first, it s the new year, the Vietnamese new year each, you know, moon new year. We get together everybody in my family, siblings, and nephew, niece, get together in my house to do Chuc Mung Nam Moi. Yeah, it s a greeting and we have Li Xi. We give the money as Vietnamese traditional and we play cards, lotto, and karaoke and everything at that time. We also have anniversary, death anniversary, and happy new year happy birthday and anniversary. I think it s we have traditional food like bun bo hue and bun rieu and everything. I think it s help for my big family to get together at that time because we always busy the whole year. So, my family and the children can get together at that time and have time to greeting. CTN: Does your family keep an altar for your ancestors? LTN: Yes, we have a religion, it s Buddhist. So we have altar of Buddhist in my house. We also altar the great great parents, it means ho tien ong ba in Vietnamese. And we have altar grandparents of my dad s side and my mom s side. My dad just passes away 2 years ago and we have an altar. Somebody in my family. CTN: What kind of traditions or celebrations do you maintain for you ancestors? Like how was it Vietnam and how has it changed in America?
VAOHP0253 7 LTN: Yes, we have to it s almost the same because Vietnamese we have go to temple every have a big celebration and Le Phat Dan, Trung Thu, something. In here, we also celebration at temple at the Le Phat Dan and Trung Thu, and community, Vietnamese community here. CTN: You mentioned that you were Buddhist, does your whole family practice Buddhism? Number 18. LTN: Yes, we have some temple Phap Van, we have usually to come there and my children come there to learn how to speak Vietnamese and write and speak and we have dance. They have dance and sing a song, play and something in the big celebration is there. CTN: What family heirlooms and mementos do you possess? Like pictures, figurines, jewelry and what is the history? LTN: We have a lot of but after 1975 we lost everything, so right now we don t have any. CTN: Okay. What did you have before you lost it? LTN: We had pictures, some memory product, and we don t have any right now. We lost a lot of pictures. I was in my army time, I have a lot of army pictures, but we don t have any after 1975. We lost a lot. CTN: Do you have any photo albums, scrapbooks, or home movies and who made them? LTN: We just have some pictures of family. They all lost and we have something like this, picture of my family, but they have some more, but I cannot bring them all of them right here. CTN: Did you have any home movies? LTN: Yes, we have some video when we make the video of family every celebration, happy birthday, mother day, father day. CTN: And who makes them? LTN: I do it. Almost, I do them. CTN: For the next part, it s about war time and post-war experiences. How did the war in Vietnam affect your family and community? LTN: Yes, in Vietnam, the war it affected everybody. Fortunately, we don t have anyone in my family don t have any deceased, but my uncle is Vi Dong Quan. He died on war, but we have 12 siblings after 1975, my whole family is alive. CTN: Okay, where did you live during the war. LTN: During the war, I was a student and in 1972, the war is expand so much, so they call every boy go to enlist in military and I have to enlist to army in 1972.
VAOHP0253 8 CTN: Where did you live during the war? LTN: After I have the academy, I was an officer on 1973. I was in Kien Gian, Thu Duc, and Phu Quac, and Saigon. I was in the last place, was Da Nang airport. I was in air force, so in 1975, I Da Nang airport. CTN: So, that s where you lived during the war? LTN: Yeah. CTN: What occupations did you have during the war? LTN: Oh, I was a student. After that, I was in the military. I was an air force officer. CTN: Okay. How were you or your family members involved in the war? LTN: Yes, we do. It s my father, who is lieutenant colonel in special force in Vietnam. He involved the war a lot. So, he fly in helicopter almost everyday. He air born, Vietnamese air born, USA air born, and he did a lot. After that, is me. I was in the war. I enlist in 1972 and after in academy army, I was an officer. I fighting in the last area is Da Nang airport. At that time, in 1975. CTN: Okay, were there any other family members involved besides grandpa and you? Was anyone else involved? LTN: Yes, my siblings. My third sibling, Suong Nguyen. She had to enlist the military too. We have uncle was die in the war in 1967 who is Biet Long Quan, that means in Vietnamese, military. CTN: What was his name? LTN: His name was Nguyen Van Mung. CTN: Okay, do you know how he died? LTN: He fighting with Vietnamese communist a lot and he died 1967 in Quan Nai. CTN: And this was your uncle? LTN: Yeah, my uncle. CTN: What do you remember the most about that time period? LTN: The most memory remember on the war is the I all of us die a lot. I see coffin for the soldiers who died from the war in a lot. So I am very sad about that. On 1975, is the last war, everything is happen, we die a lot. So, I am lucky. I have some friend who died in the war. CTN: So, that s what you remember the most is all the
VAOHP0253 9 LTN: Yes, the most is when I live in Da Nang airport. Da Nang is lost on March 29 th, 1975, one month before the Fall of Saigon. So, I have to escape from the airport to the harbor. The harbor in but we don t have any transportation to escape from Da Nang. So, I have to arrested by Viet Cong and they put in the re-education camp. CTN: Okay, did you come in contact with or have a relationship with American soldiers? And if you do, what were your opinions about them? LTN: I think they a good friend and my father have some friend with the American soldiers who is co van, they help us to fight and they help the weapon for us to fight the Vietnamese communist. And they I appreciate their sacrifice. They have eight 58,000 American soldiers die in Vietnam. I love it (cries). CTN: Okay. Were you ever captured or held by enemy forces during the war? LTN: Yes, I said on the Da Nang province is lost by Viet Cong, by Vietnamese communist on March 29 th, 1975. I escape them and in harbor, in Da Nang, but I cannot escape because they around me and arrested me at that time. After that, they put me in the re-education camp. CTN: How did you feel? LTN: Yeah, I feel scared. I assumed that they killed me at that time because they put the gun in we have 12 people is arrested at that time when we escape the Da Nang harbor. We assume that they kill us, but fortunately they put me in re-education camp. They not kill us, so I am lucky. CTN: That is very fortunate. Were you or you said you were in re-education camp, did you know anyone else who was in re-education camp, and what was it like in the re-education camp? LTN: Some of we in re-education camp in Hiep Duc, Quan Nam Da Nang, Quan Tinh province. I don t know exactly because they change right now, I don t remember. Hiep Duc, Quan Tinh, Quan Ngai, something. It s near Ho Chi Minh road and we have in my camp at that time 500 people. Some were in the air force, my friend in there at that time. Some of them right now are deceased, they re dead, but some in the war. One in France, one in Holland, most of them in America right now, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Louisana. Yeah, we still have some friends in re-education camp. CTN: Right now? LTN: Yes. CTN: Oh okay. And you were in re-education camp right? LTN: Yes.
VAOHP0253 10 CTN: What was it like in the re-education camp? What did you do? What did they do to you? LTN: At first, we have to write down our background. One month, two month, they do it again. I have to do it. And 2 month, we have to do it, to write down the background, again, again, again. We don t remember they ask a lot. We have some problem at that time and they we very hungry, they just I don t know how Khoai Mi and Khoai Lan. It s the food at that time, we don t have rice. The rice is very mot, bi hu, bi damaged. The rice damaged. So because they hide it under the ground and they take it out, they let me they let us to eat it. So, it had a lot of germs, but we don t have a lot of rice. We have Khoai Mi, Khoai Lan. Everything is khoai mi. So, I m scared of Khaoi Mi right now. CTN: Really? LTN: Yeah. After that, we have to labor on the field, lao dong, on the forest. At first, we have to do the I don t know how to cai may, cai nha o, banh tranh, khong biet kieu tranh la ca gi, nhung ma we have to do the house for us and they have to cut the big big evaluation booth for them to bring them home. Somebody have wounded because of the we do in the forest and we hungry. Sometimes, they hit us because some people not obey him, obey them. CTN: What do they do? LTN: They hit, they hit. They use the gun, the rifle to hit us. CTN: Did they ever do that to you or you saw LTN: I saw on someone else. I was scared, so I obeyed him. Somebody not obey them, they hit. CTN: Is there anything else that happened in the re-education camp? LTN: We have to grow up the vegetables, mi, khoai mi, khoai lan, on the big hill. We do it everyday no and we have to lao dong, labor, use our muscles. CTN: How long were you in re-education camp for? LTN: I was just in it for one year, but my dad is 7 years. My uncle, Chu Thuong, is 13 years. It depends. CTN: How did you get out of re-education camp in one year? LTN: They release me because you know I live in Da Nang and I was arrested in Da Nang, and not go anywhere, so that s why they leave me early. CTN: Can you describe any disabilities or injuries in your family members that resulted of the war?
VAOHP0253 11 LTN: I have an uncle my dad s brother have, his name Chu Thuoc, whose name is Thuoc, who have an injury in the stomach. CTN: A what injury? LTN: Bi bang, bang xung aca, mot trang gio cay bung. He injury a lot. Now he died. CTN: From that? LTN: Yeah CTN: Did you have any injuries? LTN: Oh no. I have I don t know how to phao kich they use at phi truong Da Nang. At Da Nang airport, I had a light injury. CTN: What injury was it? LTN: Phao kich, no not a bomb. A big gun. It s in my hand. It s light, no problem. CTN: What about the one on your side? LTN: The bullet shot me, but it s a minor injury. But now I have a manh dang o trong day, trong cay tay. It s okay, it s no problem, light injury. CTN: How did that one on the side, the bullet, how did that one happen? Was it during the war? LTN: Yeah, during the war. They shoot in Da Nanh airport, but I am lucky. CTN: Where were you during the last days of the war? LTN: Cay nay, ba noi ho nai roi do. In Da Nang, not the fall of Saigon. When the Fall of Saigon, April 30 th, 1975, I was in re-education camp in Da Nang because Da Nang lost before one month before Saigon. So, when Saigon April 30 th I was in re-education camp in Da Nang. CTN: What was life like after the war? LTN: After I have been released from re-education camp, I already said I have to use my muscles to earn money. CTN: So, where were you after the war? Where did you go after the war? LTN: After re-education camp, I worked. CTN: You worked? Where did you work? LTN: In Nha Trang because my family at that time in Nha Trang, I released from re-education camp in Da Nanh, and I come back to Nha Trang. CTN: How did you rebuild your life? LTN: When I was released from re-education camp, I used my muscles and labor and I escaped oversea. I came to Cambodia and Thailand and Philippines and I come to America.
VAOHP0253 12 CTN: What was it like leaving your home and your country? LTN: Yeah I have to, I love my country, but I have to escape my country because I don t like Vietnamese communist. They re cruel, they I cannot live with them, so I escaped. CTN: How did you feel about leaving? LTN: I love my family, my country. CTN: Did you want to leave or you just have to leave? LTN: I don t want to leave, but I must leave. CTN: What do you think of the US policy during and after the war? LTN: Yeah I think the US is very open their arm to cover the policy HO, some Vietnamese reeducation after the release to come to America. They Vietnamese called HO, that means so I have involved in some Vietnamese community around here and my parents too to fight against Vietnamese communist. CTN: So this section is about immigration. Why did you come to the United States and how did you leave? LTN: I escaped oversea from Vietnam, I don t know where I will become. I just leave Vietnam by I came to Cambodia and went to Thailand and escape oversea to Thailand. I don t know. CTN: Did you come by boat? LTN: By work and by boat too. When I came to Thailand, I lived in refugee camp and I don t know where will I go, America, Canada, and whatever. But I was a soldier, army, so the Americans accept me to come to America, to USA. CTN: Did you fly over here? LTN: Yes, we lived in Thailand for 6 months and after I have station in Philippines and we fly to America. I live in refugee camp in Thailand and Cambodia. So, after that I come to America. CTN: What possessions did you bring with you and why? LTN: At that time, I don t bring anything, just clothes. I don t dare to bring some just the ID only because I was arrested at that time, they could kill me, they know me to escape oversea. I don t want them to know that I escaped oversea. So, I don t bring just I can to Cambodia, if there are, I just said I m visiting my friend and my relatives, no escape. If I bring some paper like this, they know me to escape oversea and they kill me or arrest me. CTN: What s this one?
VAOHP0253 13 LTN: I have clothes to escape. I keep it 26 years. The shirt is lost, so I have pants right now. I wore it when I escaped oversea. CTN: Oh wow. What was your journey like and describe your conditions? LTN: I escape oversea with my son, my first son. We went to Cambodia by car and when we come to Cambodia. It was 1987, I lived in Nompei for 2 ½ months, and I escape by boat to the Thailand from Cambodia. I came to Thailand on September 29 th, 1987. CTN: And you said your son came with you? Which family came along or stayed behind? And did you lose anyone in your family during the journey? LTN: Go with me, I have my sister, Co B and Chu Vu, we came to Thailand, but I leave my wife and my second son, Myran Nguyen, in Vietnam. CTN: Did you lose anyone in your family during the journey? LTN: No. CTN: What was your experience like in the refugee camp? LTN: I and my son and my brother, my sister family live in refugee camp. We at the refugee camp, we learned English and orientation, and how we come to America. CTN: So that s all you did? You just learned English in the refugee camp? LTN: Yes. CTN: Did you do anything else in the refugee camp? LTN: No. We it s some vocational school for learning and just to wait to interview by Cao Y Ti Nang, phong van de interview for the immigrant. CTN: How long were you in the refugee camp? LTN: I live in Thailand for 6 months. At that time, I had an interview 2 or 3 times and when they accept to come to America because I am ex-soldier army. So, I have to accept by American. CTN: Did you stay at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station or Camp Pendleton when you first came to the US? LTN: No, it s for people who escape from 1975. After that, they don t came there. I came to Philippines to learn how to orientation to USA for 6 months. After that, I come to I sponsored by my sister and I have a sponsor to Ontario, Upland in USA. CTN: Which sister was it? LTN: Co B. My sister have some my sister s husband have some sibling here. So they sponsor her to here and I follow them.
VAOHP0253 14 CTN: Oh okay. What were some of your first impressions and early experiences in this country? LTN: Yeah, I don t have any in my hands when I come to America. So, I had to learn, I had to do everything to live, to catch up in America. CTN: What did you think about America when you came here? LTN: It s heaven at that time. CTN: Where did you first settle and why? LTN: When I come to America, I don t have any money, anything. I don t have anything when I first came to America, but I learn, I learn vocational and I catch up At first, I worked at the Silvery Factory to do the clothes. CTN: Where did you live when you first came? LTN: Upland. CTN: And why Upland? LTN: Because my sponsor lived in Upland. CTN: Oh okay. Did you family settle in the same place? LTN: Yes. CTN: How did you come to live in Southern California and why do you live where you live right now? Why do you live here? LTN: I live here. That s it. I don t do anywhere. I live in here, around here from 1988 to now, it s 26 years. CTN: Where did you you lived in Upland first? LTN: Upland, Ontario, and now Montclair. I don t go anywhere too far. CTN: When you first arrived, did you receive any financial support from an organization, church? LTN: Yes, of course. I appreciate it. USCC is an organization in church to cover all of us at that time and we have financial from USA because Refugee financial support for one year. CTN: How did you make a living after resettlement? LTN: I say, I have follow my sister sponsor I follow my sister and live here and I do first in Silvery Factory to get money. CTN: How do you feel about your decision to come to the US today?
VAOHP0253 15 LTN: I am not decided to go to America. When I escape, I did not know where I will come. I was ex-army of Vietnamese army. So, America accept to become American. When I come here, I very happy. It s heaven. CTN: Okay. This next part is about in America. What were some challenges you experienced in starting a new life? LTN: Yeah, very difficult when I came here, when I first came here. I have some language English, but it s not so good. I don t have any skills. At that time, I was almost 40 years old. I had a child. So, some people go I live first here, then they recommend to have a job at Silvery Factory and I follow them to earn money. CTN: Okay. What were the occupations you had in the US? LTN: Yeah, I say already? CTN: What were all your jobs in the US? LTN: I do anything, but at that time I do in Silvery Factory. I had mow lawns, I helped my friend. I worked in computer company to assembly and right now I am doing electronics company. CTN: Oh okay. Have you ever encountered racism in your neighborhood or in the workplace? LTN: I think we don t racism in my neighborhood in my workplace. I don t think we have it. CTN: Why do you think that? LTN: Because I respect them and they respect me. So, we live together and very kind. CTN: What is the ethnicity and race of most of your neighborhood and how do you get a long with them? LTN: We have a lot of neighborhood, Hispanics. So, they the same as Vietnamese because we do everything to live here, so we love together, we work together, we like together. Sometimes I eat Hispanic food, and sometimes they eat Vietnamese food. So, it s okay. CTN: And that s for your co-workers too? They re most Hispanic or Vietnamese? LTN: Some are Filipino, some Cambodian, another country, but Korean. They good. CTN: Did you expect America to be so racially diversed and how do you think the different groups get along? LTN: Yeah. CTN: Okay. Number 52. Do you have a funny or memorable experience of culture shock?
VAOHP0253 16 LTN: We have a lot, but I don t remember. When in my country, we do this, it s come here. In Vietnamese, it s an animal, my dog come here, but in Vietnam come here. It s like this, no, no good. CTN: Oh really? What does that mean? LTN: It just means that you call a dog, animal. Come here, but in Vietnamese for people come here. Not like this. CTN: Okay, what is the right way for Vietnamese? This way? LTN: Yeah. And now you see it and it s okay. It s different, it s okay. CTN: Do you vote in the US elections? LTN: Sure. I have a naturalization in 1995 and I have a citizen at that time. I elected every have the vote. CTN: And why do you participate in the US elections? LTN: Yeah we have to obligation to elect, to vote and in my I have some Vietnamese. I vote for them. CTN: Do you keep in touch with family or relatives from Vietnam? If so, who and how do you keep in contact with them? LTN: Yes, we have a lot of relatives in Vietnam on my father s side and my mother s side and we have two siblings there. CTN: How do you keep in contact with them? LTN: I call them by phone and sometimes I send money to them. CTN: How often do you talk to them. LTN: When we have spare time. CTN: Have you gone back to visit Vietnam? LTN: Yes, I came to Vietnam when my son get a wife in Vietnam. So, I come there to the wedding for them. CTN: What was it like to go to Vietnam for you? LTN: I bring my children to Vietnam. Just my daughters were born here, and they didn t know Vietnam. So, I bring them there to know what Vietnam is, what the Vietnam and Nha Trang, and Saigon. I bring them to know the Vietnam. CTN: How did you feel about going to Vietnam? Because you didn t go back in a long time right?
VAOHP0253 17 LTN: I don t go back to live in Vietnam forever, but I just visit. CTN: Did it feel different? How did you feel when you were back there? LTN: Yeah, I like to live in USA, I don t like to live in Vietnam. CTN: You didn t like it when you went back to Vietnam? LTN: Yeah because they are communist. So I don t want to. CTN: But you brought your kids just to show them what Vietnam is like? LTN: Yeah. CTN: What traditions and customs have you made an effort to preserve? LTN: Yeah, we have some to keep Vietnamese traditional to respect the elderly, but in America, they not so much like Vietnamese. So, I want to keep it, keep the ceremony, Tet, so it has traditional, Vietnamese traditional, to keep Banh Tet, Banh Chung, some kind like that. CTN: Are there any traditions you have given up or changed? LTN: We altar the grand grand parents, but we don t want to fire the face money. CTN: Okay, you changed that? Why did you change that? LTN: Because I don t that helps for them. CTN: You don t believe in it? LTN: Yeah, I don t believe it. CTN: What do you think are the difference between the first generation and the second generation? LTN: In my life, I have two children born here. So, I they live in here in their room, not in Vietnam, they go everywhere, but in America, my children live in their room and computer. But in Vietnam, they go outside to get together to play together. It s different. CTN: How else do you think it s different with you and your kids? Like what else is different? LTN: It s the same. CTN: Okay. If you have grandchildren, which you do, how different are there experiences compared to yours? LTN: In Vietnam, I think different because in America it depends on the American traditions. So, it s different. CTN: How do you think it will be different between you and your grandchildren? LTN: I cannot say, but it s different. I don t know how. (laughs) CTN: Do you visit Little Saigon and Orange County, and how often?
VAOHP0253 18 LTN: We have some a Vietnamese supermarket here. We go to market every week, every weekend. So, we don t sometimes I have celebration, a big celebration in Orange County or something to go there, we it s 2 month, 3 month, we go to little Saigon. And if you Little Saigon, I go to the market over there because its better, it s cheaper, but we it s 2 months, 3 months we go to Little Saigon. We not go there every week. CTN: What do you think of Little Saigon? LTN: The Little Saigon, it looked like in Vietnam, because every Vietnamese is there. So, they speak Vietnamese, and friendly, look like Vietnamese. So, I want to come there. I would like to come there. CTN: You want to live there? (laughs) LTN: Yeah. CTN: What do you do for entertainment? LTN: I have in sport, I like football, I like basketball, but I am not gamble with that. I hate that. My brother spend a lot money for that, but I no, I hate that. But I look football, I like to see them on the TV and basketball. Yeah. After football, sometimes I see a movie and sometimes, shopping, sometimes. But a lot of time, in my computer. CTN: What do you do on your computer? (laughs) LTN: Oh! I like Chinese checkers and some games, and Youtube and my email. Yeah. Message. CTN: What are the most important things that future generations of Vietnamese-American should remember about their heritage? LTN: Of course. I want my children to know the Vietnam. They have to know they are Vietnamese-American. CTN: What do you want them to remember the most about their heritage? LTN: You know, Vietnam has four thousand in the world, Vietnamese have a lot of student have top 10. Vietnamese good. CTN: Are there any other memories or stories you would like to share? A lot of times when you get reminded about the Vietnam War, I see you cry, what are the stories that you are thinking about? LTN: Sometimes, some songs have tearing because I memory my background and have emotion with that and some movie. So, I just know myself. CTN: What is that you think about when you hear the songs or the movies?
VAOHP0253 19 LTN: Because when I hear the song when I was a soldier, I was at war in Vietnam. So, I memory at that time. CTN: Can you tell one story that you remember the most? LTN: Yeah, when in in the war, in the Thu Duc, I watch on the border on and I hear a song, and now, I hear the exact song at that time, and I remember that time. CTN: And what happen during that time? LTN: Because the song tell about the lives of a soldier. So, it make emotion. CTN: One more question, not on the paper, what are some things that you are most proud of? What are some things are you happy for yourself? LTN: I am proud for my military life. It makes me to protect my country from the communist. We don t like communists because they are very very cruel. They kill every good people and we have to protect them. I protect in South Vietnam and they invade from the North to the South to invade the South Vietnam. So, I have to protect and I am proud to fight against them. CTN: And you said you were happy about the US coming in to help? LTN: Yes, I am happy to live here now. CTN: Okay. Thank you very much for allowing me to interview you. That was all very great. LTN: Thank you for the interview so I can tell my idea. Thank you very much. CTN: Thank you! -- End of Interview