The fall of Saigon occurred on April 29, 1975. Over the 50 years since the event, both Vietnam and the Gulf Coast have been forever changed. As the communist regime took over, Vietnamese citizens fled the Viet Cong in droves, with many ending up here in Louisiana.
Cindy Nguyen is the Co-Chair of the 50th Year Fall of Saigon Commemoration Planning Commission in Louisiana and joined WWL’s Tommy Tucker to discuss the ways that fateful event changed our state forever.
Nguyen points to the region’s weather and economy as the main reasons why Vietnamese refugees flocked to Louisiana. “Many Vietnamese at that time would fish for a living. When you come to a new country and don’t speak the language, that allowed many of these people to start working immediately,” she illustrates.
Catholic charities helped to provide housing for many Vietnamese families seeking a new life. That said, Nguyen emphasized that many Vietnamese came here with a hard-working mindset and thrived in the area. Having a job such as shrimping or fishing where they could use the expertise from their lives on the water in their home country, right here in Louisiana, was a tremendous help, according to Nguyen.
Over the 50 years since most of the Vietnamese arrived on our shores, many have gone on to have families of their own who are building their own unique legacies here. There are Vietnamese doctors, business owners, and other success stories across the region all these years later helping to add to the unique demographic mixture that makes Louisiana great.