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.

Beginning with the withdrawal of French forces from South Vietnam in 1955, the U.S. took an ever-widening role in defending the country against invasion by North Vietnam. By 1965, the U.S. had "Americanized" the war, relegating the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) to a supporting role. While the U.S. won many tactical victories, it had difficulty controlling the territory it fought for. As the war grew increasingly unpopular with the American public, the North Vietnamese launched two large-scale invasions in 1968 and 1972-both tactical defeats but strategic victories for the North that precipitated the U.S. policy of "Vietnamization," the drawdown of American forces that left the ARVN to fight alone. This book examines the maturation of the ARVN, and the major battles it fought from 1963 to its demise in 1975. Despite its flaws, the ARVN was a well-organized and disciplined force with an independent spirit and contributed enormously to the war effort. Had the U.S. "Vietnamized" the war earlier, it might have been won in 1967-1968.

This comprehensive review of the gulag system instituted in communist Vietnam explores the three-pronged approach that was used to convert the rebellious South into a full-fledged communist country after 1975. This book attempts to retrace the path of these imprisoned people from the last months of the war to their escape from Vietnam and explores the emotions that gripped them throughout their stay in the camps. Individual reactions to the camps varied depending on philosophical, emotional and moral beliefs. This reconstruction of those years serves as a memoir for all who were incarcerated in the bamboo gulags.

The Battle of An Loc was one of the bloodiest battles in the Vietnam War and a defining moment in the history of the Republic of South Vietnam. A few square blocks tucked among vast rubber tree plantations, the provincial town was thought to be of little strategic value to the North Vietnamese. Yet for 66 days in 1972, it was the scene of savage house-to-house street fighting as artillery and mortar fire pounded the town daily until almost nothing was left standing. Facing three North Vietnamese infantry divisions, General Le Van Hyng defended the town with 7,500 men, vowing to "die with An Loc". A decisive victory for the South Vietnamese, the battle came at a time when the United States had begun pulling out of Vietnam and few American troops were on the ground. No foreign reporters were on hand and the action was ignored or misreported by the world press. This book tells the story of An Loc from the unique perspective of an officer who shared a bunker with the general during the fight.

Throughout its 300-year modern history, Saigon has remained the unknown city of the Mekong Delta. This historical text examines the development of the city from 1698 to 2010, from the years as a Khmer village in the swampy and lush lands of the delta through its evolution into a huge, industrialized city. The book examines in detail the numerous political and cutltural transitions through the hands of the Chams, Khmers, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Japanese, Americans, nationalists and communists. By way of Saigon's story, the story of the South Vietnamese is also told.

The biggest diaspora in Vietnamese history occurred between 1975 and 1992, when more than two million people fled by boat to escape North Vietnam's oppressive communist regime. Before this well-known exodus from Vietnam's shores, however, there was a massive population shift within the country. In 1954, one million fled from north to south to escape war, famine, and the communist land reform campaign. Many of these refugees went on to flee Vietnam altogether in the 1970s and 1980s, and the experiences of 1954 influenced the later diaspora in other ways as well. This book reassesses the causes and dynamics of the 1975-92 diaspora. It begins with a discussion of Vietnam from 1939 to 1954, then looks closely at the 1954 ""Operation Exodus"" and the subsequent resettlements. From here the focus turns to the later events that drove hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese to flee their homeland in 1975 and the years that followed. Planning for escape, choosing routes, facing pirates at sea, and surviving the refugee camps are among the many topics covered. Stories of individual escapees are provided throughout. The book closes with a look at the struggles and achievements of the resettled Vietnamese.

The field of legends has long been neglected by serious intellectual minds who have considered it to belong to the realm of children's literature. Legends, however, are a mirror of the culture that creates them, a revealing lens through which to observe society, religion, history, and traditions. This volume explores Vietnamese legends from 1321 to today--tales of gods, spirits, ghosts, giants, extraordinary individuals, heroes, common people, and animals; legends that have delighted both young and old for centuries. It explains the mores, thought processes, and religions that formed the genesis of Vietnamese legends, traces the development of legends through time and space, and highlights the historical and social differences between northern and southern legends. Over time, this work shows, Vietnamese legends have evolved from a 14th century means of government propaganda to become a form of news, entertainment, and thought for the masses.

Our life is a reflection of the times we lived in. "The Vietnamese Mayflowers" is about growing up within a culturally and spiritually vibrant South Vietnamese society, about a uniquely challenging and enriching wartime medical education, about losing the only world and life that one ever knew, about surviving the rigors and humiliation of reeducation camps, about embarking onto dangerous and unpredictable odysseys, and most importantly about the poignant rebuilding of personal and professional lives. Humbled by chains of events beyond human comprehension, many referred to fate, providence, luck, karma, destiny, fortune, miracle, grace or God in their accounts. This endeavor is designed to provide a historic document written by people who actually lived the events for future reference. Included are reviews of Vietnamese history and culture, descriptions of a peaceful way of life in the South before the winds of war, recollections of an American Professor assisting medical education in Saigon, as well as emotional accounts of the younger generations to define and preserve their roots. The Editors attempted to maintain the book's uniqueness and preserve its veracity by using a trilingual approach and avoiding strong political overtones. The Editors hope that the book will entertain, inform and inspire, and that it will grow to become a written memorial to the largest maritime diaspora to occur in human history.

The fall of Saigon in 1975 triggered an exodus of 2 million persons in search of freedom. "The Vietnamese Mayflowers of 1975" tells the experiences of a group of professionals who left their homeland under dire situations. Now well adjusted within a diverse American society, they identify themselves with the Mayflower pilgrims as they too crossed the seas in search of freedom. For anyone with an interest in Vietnam and her people, this book will be a source of information and inspirations. "The Vietnamese Mayflowers of 1975"is about growing up within a culturally vibrant South Vietnamese society, about a uniquely enriching wartime medical education, about losing the only world and life that one ever knew, about surviving the rigors of reeducation camps, about embarking onto dangerous odysseys, and about the poignant rebuilding of professional lives. Written by people who actually lived the events, this historic documentary is complemented with synopses of Vietnamese culture and history, descriptions of a peaceful way of life before the winds of war, and recollections of an American Professor assisting medical education in Saigon. The book also contains emotional accounts of the younger Vietnamese-Americans to define their lives and rediscover their roots. Striving to maintain the book's uniqueness and preserve its veracity by avoiding strong political overtones, the Editors hope that the book will entertain, inform and inspire.