South Bay Vietnamese immigrants gathered for ceremonies on Wednesday marking five decades since fall of Saigon.
For many South Bay Vietnamese immigrants, the fall of Saigon was a traumatic point in history that forced them to flee their country and seek refuge in the United States. The Bay Area has one of the largest Vietnamese immigrant populations in the U.s. Many of them shared personal stories of what this day has meant to them.
The Brief
- Ceremonies brought many Vietnamese immigrants together in San Jose to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
- The South Bay has one of the largest Vietnamese immigrant populations in the United States.
- San Jose State University Professor Hien Duc Do says the availability of assembly line jobs in the South Bay at that time, as well as the existence of a small Vietnamese community, attracted refugees to the region.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon that ended the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975, brought together Vietnamese immigrants in the South Bay who were forced to flee their homeland and start over as refugees in the United States.…