Camp Pendleton and Early Communities (1975-1980)

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Camp Pendleton and Early Communities (1975–1980)

Oceanside, Calif.: Part of the first group of South Vietnamese refugees to arrive at Camp Pendleton, a sprawling Marine Corps Training Base in Southern California, get used to their surroundings in a quonset hut shortly after their arrival in the United States. As they arrived in several planeloads, word came from Saigon, capitol city of South Vietnam, that it had fallen to North Vietnamese forces.

Authors: Jacob Lê, Bryan Hoàng, Tori Phù, Duyên Tống
Grades: 11-12

Suggested Amount of Time: 50-60 Minutes
Area of Study: Vietnamese Departures and Transit

Compelling Question
  • How did Vietnamese build communities as they attempted to survive and traverse the hardships of life in transit?
Lesson Questions
  • Following the Fall of Sài Gòn, what were the impacts of Vietnamese migration on both Vietnamese refugees and the local US communities they resettled in?
  • Following the Fall of Sài Gòn, how did Vietnamese Americans adjust to life in US refugee camps and form early communities?
Lesson Objective

Students will summarize the cause and effects of Vietnamese refugee migration on both the Vietnamese and local US communities at Camp Pendleton by analyzing primary sources and completing a Visual Primary Source Analysis Tool.

Lesson Background

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the experiences of Vietnamese refugees when they landed at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, one of the prominent resettlement camps that were made available to them in the United States. This lesson focuses on how they transformed local communities, and the reaction of Americans to the sudden and rapid influx of Vietnamese to their communities. 

The first wave of Vietnamese refugees began with the Fall of Sài Gòn in 1975 with a hurried mass exodus. Military cargo planes headed back to the United States, full of South Vietnamese people who were often separated from family members due to lack of room on the planes. The US government set up camps for families for their arrival in the United States, many in California. The majority of first wave Vietnamese refugees arrived at the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton situated between Orange County and San Diego County. A sponsorship program was established, where those Vietnamese refugees in the US could vouch for family and friends still in Vietnam to be brought to America. Funding programs from churches and other non-governmental organizations to sponsor people were set up. Entry-level job training programs were established. Even if the newly arrived individual had been a medical doctor in Vietnam, they may have only had a janitorial job or nail technician position available to them once in the United States. In addition a small amount of pocket change was also given to those of the first wave.

Image Citation: South Vietnamese refugees at Camp Pendleton. (n.d.). Calisphere. https://calisphere.org/item/70bc76a9cc14483055bb7158b0744dc9/

Ethnic Studies Theme

This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of power and oppression from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students will consider war, migration and imperialism as contexts shaping citizenship and racialization. Students discuss how US imperialism, wars, and military interventions in Southeast Asia induced migration to the United States and how refugee policies and resettlement programs impacted communities.

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2021)  https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

 
Historical Thinking Skills

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in cause and consequence one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To help students to understand that there are short-term and long-term consequences of events. Students consider how events result from the interplay of two types of factors: (1) historical actors, who are people (individuals or groups) who take actions that cause historical events, and (2) the social, political, economic, and cultural conditions within which the actors operate.

Supplies
  • Access to laptop device
  • Map: Indochinese Refugee Camps in US in 1975
  • Map: Boat People No Longer: Vietnamese Canadians
  • Photo: Camp Pendleton – Vietnamese Refugees
  • Photos From Before, During and After the Development of Little Saigon in the Westminster Area
Videos
  • Vietnamese refugees having their food at a camp during Operation New Life in Penn.
  • Oral History of Charlie Lam, time 19:56 – 23:06
Handouts
  • Visual Historical Source Analysis
  1. Warm-Up (five minutes)
    1.  Ask students if they have ever been camping or been to a campsite, and to share their impressions of the camping experience. 
    2. Solicit student responses to the class. 
    3. Introduce lesson objectives and lesson questions to the students and inform them that they will be learning about camp experiences that were unique to Vietnamese refugees. 
  2. Lesson Introduction (six minutes)
    1. Play the video (“Vietnamese refugees having their food at a camp during Operation New Life in..”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcHHRsIsuQg and have students watch and note their observations according to the following questions: 
      • Who do you see in the video? 
      • What are the people doing? 
      • When and where do you think this is? 
      • What do you notice about the faces and expressions of the different people?
      • What is one question you have about the video? 
    2. Alternative Prompt: Have students use a See/Think/Wonder thinking activity to organize their thoughts about the video before sharing with small groups. 
  3. Direct Instruction/Background (15 minutes)
    1. Review the journey of first wave Vietnamese refugees following the Fall of Sài Gòn in April 1975, including the following key topics: 
      • First wave refugees were primarily urbanites and those associated with the American government or military. 
      • Many refugees first went to refugee camps in places such as Guam, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. 
      • Following these initial camps, many refugees went to four major military bases turned refugee camps in the United States: 
        1. Camp Pendleton in Southern California, the largest of the four 
        2. Fort Chaffee in Arkansas 
        3. Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania
        4. Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the smallest of the four 
      • Map of Refugee/Resettlement Camps for Vietnamese Refugees in the United States 
  4. Community Collaboration: Primary Source Analysis (20–25 minutes)
    1. Analyze the following primary sources using the 4C’s Visual Primary Source Analysis Tool (Content, Connections, Communications, and Conclusions) (see: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/o4tztos67zupda3gze6hsvjfgd81o5cn or https://cpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.uci.edu/dist/5/2530/files/2019/08/4-Cs.visual.pdf)
      1. Inquiry Questions: Following the Fall of Sài Gòn, what were the impacts of Vietnamese migration following the Fall of Sài Gòn on both Vietnamese refugees and the local US communities they resettled in? Following the Fall of Sài Gòn, how did Vietnamese Americans adjust to life in US refugee camps and form early communities? 
    2. Teachers should model the use of the tool and analysis of sources as necessary.
    3. Teacher Modeling of Primary Source: A - Camp Pendleton - Vietnamese Refugees https://ucdavis.box.com/s/2g3rx1zxdtytptt70awaaelf6lk3qk1v  
      1. Sourced from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/33596833064 
      2. Review the following 4C’s with student: Content, Connections, Communications, and Conclusions
        1. (Optional) additional guiding questions: Describe the living conditions of the Vietnamese refugees at Camp Pendleton. Based on the photographs, how would you rate or characterize the living conditions of the Vietnamese at Camp Pendleton?  Support your answer with evidence from the photographs.
    4. Students to collaborate on remainder of sources to complete the 4C’s 
      1. Primary Source: B - Oral History of Charlie Lam, (PDF link here: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/hyojpsfvc6m8zl38p75rb4t5m7pk6sx2) 
        1. Sourced from https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/81235/d87k2q/?order=1 (Play from 19:56 – 23:06)
        2. (Optional) Additional guiding questions: Summarize Charlie Lam’s experiences at Camp Pendleton after his arrival in the United States.What feelings or attitudes did Lam have as he stayed at Camp Pendleton? Would you feel the same way or would you feel differently? Why?
      2. Primary Source: C - Photos From Before, During and After the Development of Little Saigon in the Westminster Area, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/albums/72157691967162062/with/41078150962/
        1. (Optional) Additional guiding questions: Look at the images. How did the influx of Vietnamese people change Westminster, CA.? How do you think the local community reacted to increasing numbers of Vietnamese people in Westminster, CA?
  5. Cultural Production/Lesson Assessment (15–20 minutes)
    1. Students can choose from one of the following assessment options (The final product can be open to a written, visual, or audio narrative). 
      • Causation Written Response: Have students respond to this prompt in a written paragraph (at least five sentences): How did Vietnamese resettlement in the United States affect both the Vietnamese refugees and the local communities to which they relocated? Remind students to utilize their graphic organizer to help them construct their response. 
      • Storyboard: Students will create a digital or hand drawn storyboard with two sides to it. One side will illustrate the impact of Vietnamese resettlement on the Vietnamese refugees, and the other side will illustrate the impact of Vietnamese resettlement on the local communities to which they relocated. The storyboard should have an illustration, or image, and a caption for each perspective. 
      • Social Media Post: Students will create two social media posts. The first post will be in the perspective of the Vietnamese refugees, the other post will be in the perspective of the local community members who were impacted by the refugees resettlement. Each social media post should include a visual element or representation, a caption, and hashtags that reflect the overall experiences.
    2. Once students are done, provide opportunities for students to share with a peer. This can be done through a Gallery Walk, Lines of Communication, or small group presentations.

Students can choose from one of the following assessment options:

  • Causation Written Response: Have students respond to this prompt in a written paragraph (five or more sentences): How did Vietnamese resettlement in the United States affect both the Vietnamese refugees and the local communities to which they relocated? Remind students to utilize their graphic organizer to help them construct their response. 
  • Storyboard: Students will create a digital or hand drawn storyboard with two sides to it. One side will illustrate the impact of Vietnamese resettlement on the Vietnamese refugees, and the other side will illustrate the impact of Vietnamese resettlement on the local communities to which they relocated. The storyboard should have an illustration, or image, and a caption for each perspective. 
  • Social Media Post: Students will create two social media posts. The first post will be in the perspective of the Vietnamese refugees, the other post will be in the perspective of the local community members who were impacted by the refugees resettlement. Each social media post should include a visual element or representation, a caption, and hashtags that reflect the overall experiences.
  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Differentiate the degree of difficulty or complexity within which core activities can be completed 
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Link key vocabulary words to definitions and pronunciations in both dominant and heritage languages 
    • Provide written transcripts for videos or auditory clips
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Provide models or examples of the process and product of goal-setting 

 

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST,  2018  http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

  • Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:
    • Writing: Require vocabulary notebooks with non-linguistic representations or L1 translations 
      • During integrated ELD, teachers may sometimes offer strategic primary language support for EL students who are newcomers or at the earliest level of Emerging proficiency.
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Writing: Teach signal words (comparison, chronology, cause effect, listing) for academic writing 
    • Writing: Provide writing frames
      • When posing a question for discussion and writing, teacher offers a coordinated response frame to support the use of particular grammatical structures and vocabulary
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Writing: Require academic writing and the use of target academic vocabulary 
      • Apply domain­-specific vocabulary and general Academic vocabulary in open sentence frames to perform functions, like describing or explaining, that target specific grammatical structures.

 

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

 

  1. Students can read and/or listen to the audio of the interview with Evelyn and Jessica Kheo, sisters who were once at Camp Pendleton refugee camp. Source: Remember When Camp Pendleton Was a Refugee Camp? These Vietnamese Sisters Do. (2017, October 20). KQED. https://www.kqed.org/news/11620897/remember-when-camp-pendleton-was-a-refugee-camp-these-vietnamese-sisters-do                      
  2. Photo Analysis Reflection- After analyzing the sources, ask students to write a brief reflection on what they learned from the sources and how their understanding of the refugee experience has changed. 
    1. Ask them to choose one photo in which they give a description on the context of the photo, what life must have been like, what challenges refugees could face, and how they feel about leaving their home country in this new environment. How do you think the Vietnamese American communities we see today reflect the vision, as well as nostalgia, of Vietnamese refugees taking all of these new parts of American culture while also attempting to retain their times to a lost homeland?

American Initiative. 2022. Asian American Studies K-12 Framework.  https://asianamericanresearchinitiative.org/asian-american-studies-curriculum-framework/ 

Britt, K. 2020c, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents.  https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

California Department of Education. 2021. Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

Camp Pendleton - Vietnamese Refugees, https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/33596833064  

CAST. 2018. The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Civilization.ca - Boat People No Longer: Vietnamese Canadians - Leaving Vietnam. (n.d.). www.historymuseum.ca.  https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cultur/vietnam/vilea07e.html

CriticalPast. 2014, May 19. Vietnamese refugees having their food at a camp during Operation New Life in Penn...HD Stock Footage [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcHHRsIsuQg 

Heang, S. 2021, July 21. Indochinese Refugee Camps in the US in 1975. ArcGIS StoryMaps.  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/89ef306b0f24468fbab7cae2dc0cd379 

Little Saigon: Photos from before, during and after the development of Little Saigon in the Westminster area [Photo Album]. Orange County Archives.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/albums/72157691967162062/with/41078150962/  

manhhai. 1975, May 1. Camp Pendleton - Vietnamese Refugees. Flickr.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/33596833064

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding.  https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

UCIHP. 2019. 4-C’s Visual Historical Source Analysis [Worksheet & Teaching Tool]. The History Project at UC Irvine. Available at:  https://cpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.uci.edu/dist/5/2530/files/2019/08/4-Cs.visual.pdf   

Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project (VAOHP). 2019, February 24. Oral history of Charlie Lâm. UCI Southeast Asian Archive. https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/81235/d87k2q/?order=1 

 

Supplementary Materials

Remember When Camp Pendleton Was a Refugee Camp? These Vietnamese Sisters Do. 2017, October 20. KQED.  https://www.kqed.org/news/11620897/remember-when-camp-pendleton-was-a-refugee-camp-these-vietnamese-sisters-do     

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

HSS 11.11 RI.11-12.7 W.11-12.8

Grade(s)

Grade 11 Grade 12