Vietnam War Refugees in Guam: A History of Operation New Life

by Nghia M. Vo

Overview

More than 130,000 South Vietnamese fled their homeland at the end of the Vietnam War. Tens of thousands landed on the island of Guam on their way to the U.S. Many remained there. Guamanians and U.S. military personnel welcomed them. Funded by a $405 million Congressional appropriation, Operation New Life was among the most intensive humanitarian efforts ever accomplished by the U.S. government, with the help of the people of Guam. Without it, many evacuees would have died somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

This book chronicles a part of the first mass migration of Vietnamese "boat people," before and after the fall of Saigon in April 1975--a story still unfolding almost half a century later.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476686998
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/06/2022
Pages:	203
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nghia M. Vo, a Vietnamese-American, has written multiple books on Vietnamese culture. He helped found the nonprofit Saigon Arts, Culture & Education Institute and works to document Vietnamese-American culture through conferences, publications and a website.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction 1

1 The Last Days of Saigon 7

2 The Vietnamese Navy and the Truòng Xuân 23

3 Task Force 76 and USS Kirk 35

4 Guam's Preparations 50

5 Operation New Life 71

6 Life in the Guam Camps 82

7 First, Second, and Third Wave Arrivals 96

8 Repatriates and the Thuong Tin I Odyssey 110

9 Auxiliary Team and Sponsors 130

10 The Other Camps 138

11 Follow Up and Untold Stories 148

12 The Two Vietnams 159

Abbreviations 171

Appendix I Chronology of Important Events (1975) 173

Appendix II Motion 177

Appendix III By the Numbers 179

Chapter Notes 181

Bibliography 189

Index 193

Editorial Reviews

The inspiring story of how the US government, its military, and the people of Guam accepted 130,000 Vietnamese refugees. Nghia's well-researched account highlights stories of scores of evacuees traumatized by the war and loss of their homeland.”—James K. Bruton, Jr., Lt. Colonel (Ret.), US Army

From the Publisher