The Trân Family

At the end of the Vietnam War, South Vietnamese refugees made their way to the United States to escape the North Vietnamese communist regime. It has been the largest influx of Vietnamese to the U.S. in this nation’s history.

The first wave in 1975 brought 100,000 refugees to America. The second was in the late 1970s, when thousands of “boat people” fled in overcrowded vessels to neighboring countries in the hopes of freedom. In the 1980s the Amerasian Homecoming Act brought over 30,000 children (and their immediate family members) of American military and civilian personnel stationed in Vietnam during the war. Finally, several thousand more came over as part of the Humanitarian Operations program designed for families who had suffered as political prisoners under communist reeducation programs.

Minh Trân, his mother, and his four siblings were among the “boat people” who made their way to Hong Kong and eventually to America. Buffalo Toronto Public Media shares Minh’s memories of their courageous journey to the United States in 1980, and the successful life the Trân family has built in Buffalo, New York.