Overview of First Wave Vietnamese Refugee Route

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Overview of First Wave Vietnamese Refugee Route

Painting sail boat

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

Suggested Amount of Time: 60 - 90 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
  • What different pathways and waves, and through what legal, historical and geopolitical contexts, did refugees follow in order to arrive in the US?
  • Why were Vietnamese people forced to leave Vietnam? What conditions made people stay?  
  • 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?
Lesson Objective

Students will be able to describe major details of the most common routes for the first wave of Vietnamese refugees by creating an interactive map. 

Lesson Background

The purpose is for students to understand the route taken by most Vietnamese refugees and understand the conditions and environments of each location. In understanding the route, students will be able to build a better understanding of the journey and tribulations of refugees. The initial group primarily comprised military personnel and urban, educated professionals. 

First wave of Vietnamese refugees were officially organized by the U.S evacuation procedures, and began in April 1975. The most traveled route (41% of refugees) of these refugees was marked by the following route: 1- Sài Gòn, Viet Nam; 2- Clark Air Force Base, Philippines; 3- Anderson Air Force Base, Guahan; 4 - Camp Pendleton  Marine Corps Base, San Diego, CA. US evacuation efforts were part and parcel of its long standing history of military colonialism in Vietnam, Philippines, Guam, and California. The first wave involved only 130,000 people or so, compared with later waves that involved millions. It is important for students to understand that the experience of the first wave refugees was not typical of the experience of later Vietnamese refugees. 

Image Citation: Journey’s end. (n.d.). Calisphere. https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/hb0g50039v/

Historical Thinking Skills

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in historical significance, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). Students make personal decisions about what is historically significant, and then consider the criteria they use to make those decisions. Students consider how events, people, or developments have historical significance if they resulted in change. That is, they had deep consequences, for many people, over a long period of time.

Supplies
  • Access to laptop device
Readings
  • SEA Refugee Camps 
  • Vietnamese Refugees on Plane (1975) 
  • Orote Point Refugee Camp Guam/Guahan  
  • Operation New Life: What they remember from the Vietnam War 
  • Exit interview with Tùng Trịnh in Philippines, tape 10 
  • Fall of Sài Gòn 1975
  • April 30, 1975: The Fall of Sài Gòn 
  • The Experience of Vietnamese Refugee Children in the United States 
  • Camp Pendleton- Vietnamese Refugees
Videos
  • Create your Google Interactive Map
  • Vietnamese refugees having their food at a camp during Operation New Life in Penn
  1. Warm-Up (five minutes)
    1. Ask students to consider the following scenario with a partner: Think of the furthest place you have traveled to. Describe the effort it took to get to that final destination (including positive and negative details). 
      1. Students may also consider sharing: duration of trip, mode of transportation, company on the trip, etc.
      2. Follow up the question with asking them to imagine that trip again but with no preparation time and no information on destination. How would that have changed their experience?
  2. Shared Learning - Map Tutorial (5–15 minutes)
    1. Teacher to host tutorial on how to create and utilize an interactive Google Map. 
      1. See video “Create your Google Interactive Map” for support: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36OCTflT2Y 
    2. Teachers also have the option to create a map on a paper with students instead. 
      1. If paper maps, students should create, label, and color the following regions and bodies of water surrounding Asia. 
  3. Cultural Production - Interactive Map (25 minutes) 
    1. Instruct students that they will be creating an interactive Google map to track four refugee camps, and alongside each of these major locations, they will be answering the following questions in a numbered list. Alternatively, teachers can have students form groups and each member will be responsible for one location. Students can work off the same Google map and then share out each other's sites at the end.
      1. State the name of the campsite and location
      2. What led refugees to come to this camp?
      3. What were the experiences of and treatment received of refugees at this site? 
      4. How long were refugees at this site, typically? 
    2. Give students time to peruse the lesson resources to gather the major details that will answer the prompts above (teacher is welcome to add additional questions or allow students to explore other websites). 
      1. Source A: SEA Refugee Camps https://seaa.lib.uci.edu/sites/all/publications/exhibits/seaexhibit/refugeecam.html 
      2. Source B: Vietnamese Refugees on Plane (1975) 
        1. Image: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/a4c11eh1ryij7hh4o8gk47p5vu7xezg3 
        2. Sourced from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/51137622213
      3. Source C: Orote Point Refugee Camp Guam/Guahan  
        1. Image: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/40y4l8zaorlm5shtryk24win26anz07c 
        2. Sourced from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/52496779284/in/photostream/ 
      4. Source D: Operation New Life: What they remember from the Vietnam War https://www.guampdn.com/lifestyle/operation-new-life-what-they-remember-from-the-vietnam-war/article_7c979d02-f5f5-11eb-abc0-eb6b5b7747f0.html 
      5. Source E: Exit interview with Tùng Trịnh in Philippines, tape 10 https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/81235/d80032/
        1. PDF link here: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/v40lbvurzskwxhba5pvtu3mwidz5vwrw 
      6. Fall of Sài Gòn Resources
        1. Fall of Sài Gòn 1975: https://libguides.fau.edu/vietnam-war/us-military-fall-saigon 
        2. April 30, 1975: The Fall of Sài Gòn https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/saigon/ 
      7. Camp Pendleton and Early Communities Resources
        1. Vietnamese refugees having their food at a camp during Operation New Life in Penn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcHHRsIsuQg  
        2. Camp Pendleton- Vietnamese Refugees 
          1. Image: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/479kbs43zfa8bt77uaqqsqdqd8zi1hul 
          2. Sourced from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/33596833064  
    3. If students need additional scaffolding to get started, teachers can model the Sài Gòn, Viet Nam location with students first. Teacher is to locate this on Google Maps and edit the description (answering the questions above). Once students get familiar with how to do this, they can continue to do the following three sites (Philippines, Guahan, Camp Pendleton) independently or with a partner or group. 
    4. Give students the independent time to continue working on their Google Maps. The end product should include the four different refugee camps with descriptions of site name, location, reasons refugees came to this camp, experiences and treatment of refugees at the camp, and typical duration of stay at the camp. 
      1. For students that do not have access to the technology, they may use their phones to do research on maps and will be provided with drawing materials and posters to present on one of the refugee camps in the United States. They will draw the map boundaries themselves and list the important information about the camp and the lives of Vietnamese refugees there as bullet points in the poster. 
      2. Teachers can give students flexibility in what to include on the map as well. For example, allow students to track distance from Vietnam to the respective sites. Or, students can look up photos of each site and add details from their observations too. 
  4. Closing Reflection (10 minutes)
    1. Synthesis: Have students consider all four locations and revisit the guiding questions. 
      1. In a write-up or a partner discussion, have students find parallels between all four sites as it relates to the guiding questions. 
    2. As an exit ticket or reflection thought to this lesson, teacher can prompt the students to think of the following:
      1. How do you think you would have survived along this path? Do you think you would be able to endure the living conditions at these camps?
      2. What was a major takeaway from tracking this refugee route? What was most shocking? 

Students will create an interactive map marking each of the major stops that first wave Vietnamese refugees took following the fall of Sài Gòn in 1975. Alternatively, students can draw the map. At each stop, students will answer the following questions in their map: 

  • What led refugees to come to this camp?
  • What were the experiences of and treatment received of refugees at this site? 
  • How long were refugees at this site, typically? 
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Highlight or emphasize key elements in text, graphics, diagrams, formulas 
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Provide scaffolds that can be gradually released with increasing independence and skills (e.g., embedded into digital reading and writing software) 
  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Provide alternatives in the permissible tools and scaffolds 
    • Provide prompts that guide learners in when and how to ask peers and/or teachers for help

 

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:
    • Reading: Pair students to read one text together 
      • Students turn to their designated partners to discuss prompts posed by the teacher. Partnerships are organized in teams of two. 
      • Students read with a partner and concisely summarize text together using critical content vocabulary, but limiting summary to essential words. Begin in pairs of two, but move to partnerships of four for more practice. 
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Reading: Use guided reading
      • In a shared or interactive writing format, chart out characters, setting, problem, and events (including orientation, complication, and resolution). Add theme, as appropriate.
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Reading: Use focused questions to guide reading
      • Students use inquiry posing their own questions and wonderings to guide shared research experiences. 

 

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

  1. Diary Entry - Students can take on the persona of a Vietnamese refugee who would have traveled on one of the major refugee routes (1- Sài Gòn, Viet Nam; 2- Clark Air Force Base, Philippines; 3- Anderson Air Force Base, Guahan; 4 - Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, San Diego, CA.). Students can write a one to two page letter in first person point of view to share their experiences as if they were at the air base or camp site. 
  2. Before and After - Students can conduct research to compare and contrast the air force bases and their conditions before, (during), and after the Vietnamese refugees stay. They can also look into each site in present day conditions.

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

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

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

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 

LDDI UBC. 2017, January 31. Create your Google Interactive Map [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36OCTflT2Y 

Flickr. (n.d.). Camp Pendleton - Vietnamese Refugees. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/33596833064 

Florida Atlantic University Libraries. (n.d.). Primary Sources: Vietnam War, Fall of Sài Gòn (1975). Florida Atlantic University Libraries. https://libguides.fau.edu/vietnam-war/us-military-fall-saigon

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

SEA Archive. (n.d.). Refugee Camps. SEA Archive.  https://seaa.lib.uci.edu/sites/all/publications/exhibits/seaexhibit/refugeecam.html 

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

Texas Tech University. (n.d.). April 30, 1975: The Fall of Sài Gòn. Texas Tech University,The Vietnam Center and San Johnson Vietnam Archive. https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/saigon/

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

Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project (VAOHP). 2005-2007. Exit interview with Tùng Trịnh in Philippines, tape 10. UCI Southeast Asian Archive. https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/81235/d80032/ 

Wen, A. 2021, August 10. Operation New Life: What they remember from the Vietnam War. Pacific Daily News.  https://www.guampdn.com/lifestyle/operation-new-life-what-they-remember-from-the-vietnam-war/article_7c979d02-f5f5-11eb-abc0-eb6b5b7747f0.html 

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

HSS 11.9 RI.11-12.7 SL.11-12.2 W.11-12.6

Grade(s)

Grade 11 Grade 12