Finding Refuge After The Fall

American service men, service women and many others around the world who were affected by the Vietnam War would be reluctant to discuss their experiences and emotions even decades after the denouement of the historical event. According to one military journalist, many people think of war in terms of the military. However, he said those who suffered the most are the people—citizens of the country where war is present. Many Vietnamese, from the north and the south, would experience great loss, witness the Communists’ cruelty and live with the tragedies of war and its aftermath. An intensified uncertainty plighted their lives after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Some of the Vietnamese survivors would flee the country, enduring the struggles as a refugee. Many of them would later find safety, freedom and opportunities to rebuild their lives in a new place. However, other Vietnamese would remain under the Communists’ regime, living in fear and without freedom. My thesis recounts the stories of the Vietnamese during their war. It documents some of the major events retold by refugees, American troops, journalists at the scene and others who were thrust into the Vietnam War