Wife of Imprisoned Officer

Narrator: Mrs. Dinh Nguyen 
Place of birth: Hải Phòng, Vietnam 
Occupation during the War: Wife
Year arrived in US: 1994

Interview Date: September 20, 2014
Interview Location: Louisville, KY
Interviewer: Thao Tran & Linh Biscan
Photographer: Frank Bui

Mrs. Nguyen, the widow of a former South Vietnamese officer, sat down with Moving Voices to share the story of a charmed life changed dramatically after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.  Shortly after the Communist Government took over, her husband of five months was ordered to a "reeducation camp" along with her father, brothers, and in-laws.

During the ten years of her husband's absence, Mrs. Nguyen grew from a privileged, demure girl to a cunning business woman in order to help her family survive.  She talked about working and taking bribes for the communist commerce agency, achieving success in starting a business, and losing everything to help her siblings escape Vietnam by boat.

Mrs. Nguyen's narrative is one of growth, sacrifice, and the will to triumph over adversities in a post-war Vietnam and a foreign new home in Kentucky.

To hear the full interview, please contact Moving Voices via email at movingvoices.ky@gmail.com.

UofL's Commemoration of 40th Anniversary of Vietnam War

The Moving Voices team would like to invite members of the public to attend the University of Louisville's commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam War honoring Vietnam War veterans and families. The event will feature a panel discussion by five Vietnamese-Americans who either led or fought in the Vietnam War for South Vietnam and later settled in Kentucky. The speakers will share their personal accounts of the War and life after it.

The event is on Tuesday, March 31, 2015. It will begin at 6 pm in the Elaine Chao Auditorium, which is located in the basement of UofL's Ekstrom Library. A reception with appetizers will follow. The program will be conducted in English.

More information can be found online: http://louisville.edu/admissions/apply/transfer/veterans/vietnam-veterans/folder-1/unheard-tales. The event is free and open to the public. To learn more about about UofL's commemoration of the Vietnam War, you can read more at: http://louisville.edu/admissions/apply/transfer/veterans/vietnam-veterans.