San Jose museum gives look at history of Vietnam War, refugees who fled to US

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Tucked into a corner of History Park in San Jose is a labor of love.

A museum that began as a collection of artifacts about the Vietnam War and the people who fled after the fall of Saigon.

"To me, it is the soul of the Vietnamese community here," said Quinn Tran, the current president of the Viet Museum at History Park in San Jose.

The museum has a broad collection of relics, from South Vietnamese military uniforms to the last suit worn by the last president of South Vietnam.

"Each artifact is a story in itself," said Tran, who gets teary eyed looking at what the collection represents.

There are many small items with big stories to tell.

Behind a glass case are several compasses used to guide small fishing boats full of refugees who fled not knowing where they would land, or even if they would survive the sea voyage.

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There are fragments of a South Vietnamese airplane that was shot down during the war killing the pilot.

It was not until many years later that a family member of the pilot went to look for the wreckage.

"She saw the little part of the airplane sticking out from the mud," explained Tran. Among the artifacts that were dug up was the pilot's watch.

Other items on display mirror Tran's family history. Her brother-in-law was also a pilot who was shot down and her brother was imprisoned in a re-education camp like one depicted on a wall.

A small bucket pinned to the display brings back painful memories.

"They call it the fountain of blood," said Tran. "This is what they carried as food or even their own blood because that is protein."

The museum was dreamt up by V Vn Lc, a former Vietnamese Army colonel who fled with his family as refugees and founded the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center in San Jose.

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When the Viet Museum opened in 2007, it was the first of its kind in the country.

"This is where you learn more about your roots, why people came here, how people survived. Why people thrive and why we should together tell our stories," said Tran.

Visitors can also see the front page of the San Jose Mercury News chronicling the fall of Saigon.

"Just looking at this page just brings everything back to those uncertain days. There was a lot of darkness and loneliness and fear.," said former newspaper reporter De Tran.

He was 12 years old when he and his family left Saigon the day before it fell.

"April 30, 1975, was the day that we lost everything. We lost our homeland, our home, our identity, our essence, but then again we gained everything by being able to be here to enjoy peace and freedom," expressed De Tran.

The exterior of the museum has monuments and statues to the soldiers who died during the war and replicas of the small refugee boats that carried up to 100 people who desperately fled the country.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea.

"It still causes a lot of trauma for a lot of people. We owe it to them to keep these stories alive and going."

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Thien Pham wanted to tell his family's story of fleeing Vietnam after the fall of Saigon, he never thought he would be able to tell it by remembering his favorite foods.

Some of those stories are told through a single South Vietnamese bank note. Quinn Tran said they became worthless after the fall of Saigon so refugees carried gold in place of currency.

That also made them targets for pirates and thieves.

The museum reflects that sacrifice and the resilience of the Vietnamese community.

"When we left the country we never knew what awaited us. There was a lot of sacrifice," added Tran. "We can rise, we can love and we can heal, but we should not forget,'

The Viet Museum is currently closed to the public while the board of directors resolve some internal issues.

However, the museum organized a special ceremony to commemorate the fall of Saigon on Sunday at the Santa Clara County government building.