All throughout May, 草莓传媒 is聽celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with stories about the people and places shaping the D.C. region.
Dzung Tran was 17 years old when communist Vietnamese soldiers forced his family to flee his homeland.
The journey for him, his mother and five siblings included monthslong stops in Guam, Arkansas and Texas.
The family ended up in a growing Vietnamese community in Clarendon, Virginia, in 1976. His father, who couldn’t get out of Vietnam quickly, arrived later.
鈥淚t was a very hard journey. We never forgot how lucky we were,鈥� Tran told 草莓传媒. 鈥淲e always look back at escaping Vietnam, and we were able to find friends and family and engage in community.鈥�
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, the moment that ended the Vietnam War. The event caused more than 2 million Vietnamese refugees to flee to safety in the U.S.
Many of them landed in what was then called “Little Saigon” in Arlington.
Since then, Tran has worked in fast-food restaurants, graduated from college, gotten married and raised his own family. He said optimism about the future of Vietnam keeps their community strong.
鈥淥ne of the things we all strive for is … a better Vietnam,” Tran said. “We all look back to help steer Vietnam to a more democratic society and move away from a dictatorship.鈥�
Vietnamese culture and food have also aided former refugees鈥� survival in the U.S., he added.
鈥淓very year, we get together for New Year鈥檚 festivals and other events for children and families,鈥� Tran said. 鈥淎nd food definitely brings us together.鈥�
Quang Le agreed. He was about 9 years old when his family posed as people of Chinese descent who lived in Vietnam, known as the Hoa people. The communist government implemented policies forcing Chinese Vietnamese to leave the country.
It was the only way out, Le said.
鈥淲e are as pure Vietnamese as can be,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e assumed Chinese identity because there was no guarantee that we were going to make it.鈥�
His family made a stop in Utah before arriving in the growing Vietnamese neighborhood in Arlington in the spring of 1980.
鈥淣ever underestimate the power of community,鈥� he said.
After years of struggling financially, his mother got an idea. She began baking and selling bahn mi sandwiches filled with meat and pickled vegetables. It paid the bills, helping her and Le鈥檚 father, who arrived a few years later, raise eight children.
鈥淚 remember being hungry all the time. There was a lot of uncertainty,鈥� Le told 草莓传媒. 鈥淪he made sandwiches, and her boys went out and sold them and that鈥檚 what we did. It鈥檚 a proven formula.鈥�
Since then, the venture has morphed to a successful eatery — the Huong Binh Bakery and Deli. Le’s mother passed away in 2021, but his 94-year-old father still helps with the business.
Le said he still remembers escaping Vietnam but has lived in the U.S. longer than in his birth country.
鈥淔ifty years goes by fast when you鈥檙e busy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is my reality now and we鈥檝e done well for us. I don鈥檛 know how my life would have been (in Vietnam).鈥�
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