THE FALL OF SAIGON & HAND OF HOPE - Lưu Nguyen Dat

The history of Vietnamese refugees in the United States begins with the first evacuation of 130,000 people from Vietnam when tanks and communist troops entered Saigon on April 30, 1975. At that time, those who left Vietnam by plane or boat were taken to Guam, Wake Island, and the US Navy base in Subic Bay, Philippines, before entering refugee camps on US soil.

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On April 19, 1975, I happened to meet Mr. Keyes Beech at Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Saigon when he had just arrived from Hong Kong. Keyes Beech worked as a resident Bureau Chief of the Chicago Daily News in Saigon from 1969-72. At that time, my wife, Phung Thi Hanh, a graduate of the journalism department at Michigan State University in 1965, worked as a reporter and assistant for Keyes Beech. He immediately asked, "Are your family and Hanh still here?" I replied, "We don't have any means to leave the country yet!". Per his request, the next day, at noon on April 20, 1975, our family with 3 children, Hue Chan 9 years old, Ky 6, and Khai 18 months met Keyes Beech at Hotel Continental. He arranged a large car and immediately took us to Tan Son Nhut airport, at the Air America flight base. Just a few hours later, at dusk, the plane took off, without lights to avoid random fire casualties from below, and flew to Guam, landing at Andersen airport. At that moment, we were deeply saddened to realize that we had left Saigon and Vietnam forever since that day.

While in Guam, Tony Lam and I took turns helping refugees to contact their separated relatives, while adjusting their asylum records at the Andersen and “Tin City” reception centers. Only in mid-May 1975, our family left Guam.

After arriving at El Toro airport at night, we boarded the bus and were taken directly to the "Tent City" at the San Onofre camp. A few weeks ago, Marine Camp Pendleton was ordered by the Washington government to create an emergency facility in the area of Telega and Onofre areas a "Tent Town" with a total of 8 barracks, ready to receive Vietnamese refugees.

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Southern California

When we entered a canvas tent, belonging to barrack 5, next to a small church, the military uniforms that we just received when we entered the camp were not warm enough, but still provided us a sense of security and peace. In the morning, we woke up to find out that our tent was located on the ground of the ice plants, near a snake farm for the US Marines to experiment with combat in foreign tropical forests.

In general, life in the camp was comfortable and safe during our stay. The US Marines and regional volunteers are very caring to help and guide the refugees in the camp.

In terms of material, foods and drinks are all decent, three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Food was provided sometimes in excess, even as a waste because not suitable for the regular tastes of the refugees who were not aware that American citizens paid taxes to provide food and social security needs for those in need.

Most of the refugees came to the “promised land” empty-handed, extremely bewildered because they were very unfamiliar with the language, culture, and living environment. As for our family, it was also very difficult. Hanh was pregnant and soon gave birth to our youngest son at the Navy Hospital, in Oceanside. We named him Luu Viet, to remind him of his primal origin and family legacy.

Fortunately, our daughter, 9-year-old Luu Hue Chan bravely took care of the rest of our family, lining up with her siblings to have meals, and saving food for her father who was busy in the camp, and for her mother who was about to give birth. Our two sons, 6-year-old Luu Thien Ky and 2-and-a-half-year-old Luu The Khai were actively playing with their peers and protecting each other. Because of their early independence and life initiation in the refugee camp, they became generously resourceful and (refugee-street-smart) successful when they grew up. Especially, when choosing a career, they were all proficient to understand and serve people in need.

The main wish of each family or individual at that time was to leave the camp by any legal and appropriate means, mostly opting to live in the state of California, both warm and bordering the Pacific Ocean, spiritually close to the East Sea and the ancestral homeland, which they reluctantly and painfully left behind.

By the way, I would like to mention that, different from economic refugees, the Vietnamese refugees after the Fall of Saigon, were political refugees, legally entering the United States with the “Parole status”. After 5 years of sound residency, Vietnamese political refugees can apply for US citizenship. In terms of international public law, they are Americans of Vietnamese origin and cannot be called "Viet Kieu" by the looting Hanoi communist regime. This specific appellation is reserved only for those who are Vietnamese citizens working, or studying abroad, but still have Vietnamese nationality or have a Vietnamese passport.

Shortly after arriving at Camp Pendleton, our family became acquainted with Lieutenant Colonel David Plank, who was serving at Camp Onofre. He had the opportunity to introduce me as a lawyer and sculptor to General Paul Graham, the commander of Camp Pendleton. When we first met, I expressed my interest in creating a memorial statue as a symbol of the positive integration of Vietnamese refugees in the Promised Land of the United States. I quickly sketched a Left Hand Holding Two Vietnamese Children, one standing upright, the other flying out of the hand. I further explained:

“The left hand near the heart speaks of our firm guidance and the acceptance of the American community, especially towards the young Vietnamese generations who came to take refuge in the Promised Land of the United States. It is also the upward hope of our future Vietnamese generations who want to succeed and highly contribute to meritorious prosperity in this land of human freedom. For this perspective, I named this monument “Hand of Hope”.

The work received the precious response of Camp Pendleton Commanding General Paul Graham to commemorate the great exodus of Vietnamese refugees from the communists, arriving first in California, after the fall of Saigon. Perhaps because of some transcendental affiliation, my proposal was immediately accepted by General Paul Graham, who unanimously agreed, without the slightest hesitation.

Astonishingly, with just a simple draft, a large monumental sculpture project in the US, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at that time, took shape.

A few days later, a lieutenant colonel of Marine Corps Engineers and I chose a place to build the monument, near Barrack 8, at the entrance of the "Tent City". Right after, we got a large excavator to dig the foundation 8 feet deep, 8 feet square, large, and deep enough to support the free-standing Hand of Hope. The monument raised from the ground was all cast in rebar-reinforced concrete mix cement, from a hand-made wood mold, and then chiseled with a power chipping hammer to complete the details.

There was a moment when I soldered iron with a turbo torch and forgot to wear glasses, I was immediately blinded by the torchlight and had to go to the hospital to heal my eyes. After a few days, I was still dizzy, so when I used the power chisel, I fell from the height of the hand frame, and my nose hit the steel armature, causing bleeding all day. Indeed, I left some blood of myself in the concrete creation of the "Hand of Hope" monument.

Hand of Hope steel armature

The project took nearly two months and was thoughtfully completed with the assistance of two young Marine corporals.

Luu Hue Chan standing on the right, Luu Thien Ky and Luu The Khai sitting up on the "Hand of Hope" when it was just completed on July 4th, 1975

On the "Hand of Hope", only refugee children are seen as figuring the opportunity for the young Vietnamese generations to stand up and start a meritorious life of freedom and human dignity.

Directly related to the end of the cold (ideological) war, the Vietnamese "voted against the communists" by air, by foot, and by boat, in an unprecedented diaspora adventure. Today, nearly 4 million Vietnamese have abandoned the country to escape communist harm and malediction.

When Camp Pendleton closed at the end of September 1975 and the tents were removed, the only relic of the refugees was a monument called "Hand of Hope" by Luu Nguyen Dat, artist painter, and sculptor, former general secretary of the Saigon Young Painters Association before 1975.

Original commemorative plate showing the creation of "Hand of Hope" by Luu Nguyen Dat

at its inauguration date July 4th, 1975 in Camp Pendleton, California.

In April 2015, US Representative Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) awarded a certificate of appreciation to lawyer Luu Nguyen Dat, Ph.D., LLB/JD, LLM, author of “Hand of Hope” in recognition of his successes and contributions to the United States during the 40th Anniversary of Black April and the Vietnamese Community's Journey to Freedom.

Indeed, “Hand of Hope” is not only an artistic creation, but also a topical “way of life”, a committed endorsement of courage, kindness, humanity, and success among young Vietnamese generations.

It is clear that the Vietnamese people are self-respecting, longing for freedom and human dignity, so they cannot live with the inhuman and malicious communist regime. They endorse the iron "Hope" of restoring honor and human rights while recreating a safe and progressive space for their descendants to stand up with dignity and to fly high with merits.

Only with straightforward and sustained enforcement can Vietnamese refugees connect themselves to progressive citizenship worthy of dignified expectations.

From this perspective, every five years, the Free Vietnamese Community in the USA gathers around "Hand of Hope" at Camp Pendleton, then moves to the city of Westminster, Orange County, Southern California, to commemorate the Black April 1975 and to nurture the hope of Freedom, Kindness, and Humanity among the descendants of Vietnamese refugees in the Promised Land.

The reunited Luu Family in the visitation of Hand of Hope,created by “Ông” (Luu Nguyen Dat)

In conclusion, right after the fall of Saigon, and after a short stay in Guam and the Philippines, 18,000 people and then more than 50,000 Vietnamese refugees were brought to Camp Pendleton to complete immigration procedures, under the “Parole status”, or political immigration. Slowly refugees move to different places in the United States of America, after being sponsored.

In August 1975, our family settled in East Lansing, when “Ông” (Luu Nguyen Dat) was enrolled in the doctoral program, Romance Languages Department, and started teaching French at Michigan State University.