NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's been just over 50 years since the fall of Saigon, marking the end of the Vietnam War.
This week, we wanted to be sure to share a different perspective of the Vietnam War aftermath with you as well.
Following the war, many people from Vietnam, including members of the South Vietnamese military, immigrated to America and built thriving lives.
However, many suffered a brutal fate at the hands of the Viet Cong before arriving in the land of the free.
On Sunday at St. Pius X School in Nashville, Thong Vo takes his daughters, their cousins, and friends to school.
"They learn not only the Vietnamese culture but also the Vietnamese language,” said Thong Vo, a Vietnamese American who came to the States with his family in the 1990s.
Vo's children are taking part in some free lessons, but sitting in a classroom is something Vo himself could only dream of growing up in Vietnam.
After the fall of Saigon, Vo said his father, who fought for the South Vietnamese Army, was sent to a brutal reeducation camp, then was required to live in something called a New Economic Zone, in Vietnam.
“It sounds fancy, but it essentially was just a labor camp,” Vo said.
That's where Thong Vo was born, a few years later, into a difficult life.
"No running water, no electricity, no health care service, no education system," said Vo. “The number one reason a lot of people died was malnourishment."
Vo said he regularly saw people die of malaria and Dengue fever as well.
It was more than 15 years of a bleak existence.
"People were killing each other over a chicken because food was scarce, scarcity,” Vo said.
Through it all, his father taught him lessons for the classroom and faith.
“Basic writing, basic math, with the hope that one day we can escape there and I can have a better future,” Vo said.
That day arrived in the mid-1990s.
"We were accepted from the US, United States, April 4, 1996,” Vo said.
A Catholic charity loaned the family money for plane tickets, they came to the US through a humanitarian operation.
"Seven of us. We live in only one bedroom apartment,” Vo said.
It was a modest life by American standards, but it opened Vo's eyes to all the possibilities in his new country.
“Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity,” Vo said.
With no English speaking ability, and only the schooling from his father.
At 15 years old, he entered the 5th grade.
However, he quickly caught up, eventually earning his Doctorate in Pharmacy. Now he works at Fort Campbell.
"I cannot believe that I'm living in America... working as a pharmacist for the U.S., the best military in the world,” Vo said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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