Traveling Exhibit Details Vietnamese Experience

A traveling exhibit titled "Vietnamese Americans: Fifty Years after the Fall of Saigon" was displayed in the SJCS Library this past week.

The exhibit, co-sponsored by the SJCS History Department and the school’s Interact Club, included 26 panels that described a list of events, including the French occupation of Vietnam and the decision by the United States to abandon the American Embassy in Saigon in 1975.

Most of the panels reflected memories of nine individuals who risked their lives to leave Vietnam (mostly on boats) for a new life in the United States. The exhibit reflected a familiar American story of refugees seeking survival and a better life due to conditions in their homeland.

A common theme among the short biographies was the help offered to the refugees by boat captains, religious organizations and members of American Vietnamese communities, including here in Greenville.