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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Orange County's Vietnamese immigrants reflect on historic moment

This photo exhibit is reminding young people of their parents' history and suffering during the war in Vietnam. - - Donna Poisl

Every April, as the anniversary of the communist takeover of their homeland approaches, they look back -- and try to make sure their descendants know and appreciate their history.

By My-Thuan Tran

Thirty-four years after tanks smashed through the gates of Saigon's Presidential Palace, marking a symbolic end to the Vietnam War, the bitter memories still burn among many of the refugees who live in Orange County's Little Saigon.

As decades passed and the memories of war fade with many Americans, community leaders in the largest Vietnamese enclave in the United States want to remind a new generation of the suffering and hardship that took shape on a day they still call "Black Friday."

Some in the community worry that younger Vietnamese -- fully Westernized and many reconciled with the Vietnam of today -- will forget why their parents and grandparents fled their homeland, that the memories of the communist takeover will slowly dissolve.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

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