When the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the Geneva Accord divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. North Vietnam, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, established a Communist political system supported by China and Soviet Union. Supported by American military and economic aid, South Vietnam adopted a democratic system of government. After thousands of years of colonialism under the Chinese and French, both the North and South Vietnam governments wanted to reunify Vietnam under their respective political system. The resulting war decimated the country as the South Vietnamese and US Army fought against the North Vietnamese. With the eventual withdrawal of US troops and the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the exodus of refugees from Southeast Asia to America begins another chapter in the immigrant history of America.

The life of my parents during those years I can only begin to understand through their stories. Even so, my rudimentary command of Vietnamese it is difficult to question and understand all they have to say. Most of my knowledge of that time comes from history books, history classes, and Hollywood movies. From 1975 till now, so much has changed for our family. War, politics, struggle, sacrifice, and compassion, interweave to form our family history. Click the image to share in on our history.