Oral History of Thien Nong

An oral history with Mr. Thien Van Nong, born in 1962 in Saigon, Vietnam. His family are descendants from the Nung and Tho ethnic minority tribes in the Lang Son Province of Vietnam. He was thirteen years old when he had to flee Vietnam with his parents and his nine siblings who were based in Saigon because of his eldest brother’s work with the U.S. Army. They left Vietnam on April 28, 1975 from Tan Son Nhut Airport and flew to the Philippines for a brief stay. From the Philippines, they landed in Guam and later found themselves in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. Mr. Nong and his family were relocated to Evansville, Indiana later in 1975. He discusses his experiences in Vietnam, his time assimilating into American culture, and his experiences at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT). He would be the first in his family to earn a college degree, receiving a degree in chemical engineering from RHIT. He is married, has two children, and currently resides in Irvine, California with his family.Recorded Digitall