T. Harry Williams Center for Oral
History Collection
ABSTRACT
INTERVIEWEE NAME: Hungson Van & Tinh
Nguyen # 4700.0972
IDENTIFICATION: Vietnamese in America
INTERVIEWER: Dudley Meier, Jr.
PROJECT: Americans in Vietnam
DATES: 3/2/76
FOCUS DATES:
ABSTRACT:
Tape 1421
Family background of both speakers; leaving Vietnam; floating in
a boat for two days; education in Vietnam; coursework in school;
hopes to visit Vietnam again; Tet celebration in Shreveport;
describes Tet celebration in Vietnam; have lived in US for one
year; differences between US and Vietnam, division between rich
and poor in US; differences in customs, Americans more private
and territorial; fast pace of American life; learning English;
mention of Mr. Fong, violinist, who speaks English well; working
as a policeman in Vietnam; worked in Cam Ranh, gathering
intelligence for the government; duties as policeman; contact
with American soldiers in Vietnam; dialects; how Vietnamese
police work, police work for city or for government; religion,
they are Catholic; traveling in Vietnam; favorite places in
Vietnam; Army school in Vietnam; what they might have done if
they'd stayed in Vietnam; considers whether it would be better to
be in Hong Kong or Thailand than US, would rather be in US; can
work your way up in US; drawbacks of US; problems friends have
had in US.
Tape 1421, Side B
Vietnamese beer; Louisiana cities; comparison of Louisiana
cities to Vietnamese cities; French language; population of
Vietnamese in LA cities; Vietnamese newspaper published in
California; Chinatowns in US; Blue Dragon restaurant in Texas,
Vietnamese people in Texas; interviewer recommends book;
interviewer's difficulty with Vietnamese language; tips on
learning English; involvement in combat; Vietnamese heroes; story
of two Vietnamese sisters; opinions on Diem; opinions on Ho Chi
Minh, good man but Communist; interviewer talks about General
Giap, Dien Bien Phu.
TAPES: 1
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 1 hr, 20 min
# PAGES TRANSCRIPT: 2 page index
RESTRICTIONS: copyright retained by interviewer
and/or his heirs