DougReese Former Member
Joined: 22 May 2004 Posts: 396
|
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 3:28 pm Post subject: Re: The S. Vietnamese left behind after the fall of Saigon!! |
|
|
Harvuskong wrote: | The S. Vietnamese left behind after the fall.
What happened to them??
How many of them attempted to escape by land or sea??
Do you know where any of them are??
Would they come forward to post on this website about the days and years after the fall of Saigon??
Would they come forward to tell about the reasons why they decided to leave Vietnam and details about the journey from Vietnam?? |
What happened to them? Well, most stayed in Vietnam. Something like 125,000 escaped around the time Saigon fell. They escaped by plane (prior to April 30) and by boat out to the 7th Fleet just after April 30.
I'm not sure of the number, but at least one hundred thousand (more?)escaped by boat up until 1989-1990. Since that time, several hundred thousand came to the USA via ODP (Orderly Departure Program) which was set up so that the familys who were here already, could sponsor their relatives back home. That program continues to this day.
Similar programs were set-up for the Amerasians and the guys who spent at least three years in the re-education camps.
Where are they? Pick-up a phone book and look under "Nguyen". If you are in a city of at least 200,000, I can just about guarantee you will find a few listed under that name. Try Tran, Le, Pham, and Dang too.
What are they doing today? One example -- remember that Guided Missle Frigate, the USS Cary, that paid a port call on Saigon last month? The commander of that ship is one of the people you are asking about.
I have never seen any of them post here, but their stories are out there -- on the net and in other sources. Since this is the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, I expect you won't have to look far to see some of their stories.
Doug |
|