A Child of the Vietnam War comes home to America

Coming Home to America

Living a half block from the beach may sound luxurious, but growing up in the 1970s in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, Thao Nguyen said it was a sign of poverty. She was born an Amerasian: a child of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier.

In 1988, Vietnamese government officials notified Nguyen’s mother of the Amerasian Homecoming Act, a law passed by the U.S. Congress allowing Amerasians and their immediate families to immigrate to the U.S. Nguyen was 17 at the time.

“My life was simple. My goal was to focus in school,” Nguyen says. “English, I barely know the language. But I say, in my mind, ‘I’m gonna try. If I try hard enough, and I can’t make it, I don’t feel sorry, because I did try. And if I give up, then I will feel sorry now.’”

In 1998, she graduated from the Oregon Institute of Technology and became a dental hygienist. Though she prospered, her husband, brother, and mother tragically died in a car accident.

She remarried in 2006, settled down in Happy Valley, and is a mother to twin boys. “I will put all my energy and support them with everything,” she says. “I actually really enjoy my life now.”

Thao Nguyen, Amerasian memoirist and a healthcare professional

As one of the “Children of the Vietnam War,” Thao was born a societal outcast in a country that saw her as an outsider—blood left behind by the enemy. In 1989 at 18, she immigrated to the United States with her mother and her younger brother as part of the Amerasian Homecoming Act.

Leaving Vietnam, Thao spoke no English, but she overcame the obstacles of attending school in English. She graduated from High School at the age of 21 with high honors and earned an award for Outstanding Attitude.

Thao is grateful to have earned a Bachelor of Science from the Oregon Institute of Technology. Since then, she has spent over 20 years working as a Dental Hygienist.

At age 31, Thao was married, happy with her career, and making good money. That was when a car accident en route to the beach for her birthday celebration changed everything. The loss of her family resurfaced past traumas, prompting the need to embrace and learn how to recover, not just from her present grief, but from a lifetime of hurt.

After the tragic loss of her family, she began a journey of healing and self-discovery that led her to write her debut memoir, Lotus Rising: An Amerasian Memoir. Her incredible memoir is due out later this year.

Here is her website.

I “met” this beautiful and resilient woman on LinkedIn and learned some of her story, and that Thao was working toward publishing her memoir. I’m really looking forward to reading her book.