Born on April 10th, 1952 in Long-An, Republic of Vietnam, Si Van Nguyen was always surrounded by tension and conflict. His father being a military man meant having to daily hear and deal with the ongoing Vietnam War. He spent most of his early years moving to different provinces because of his father's duty and stationing throughout the Republic of Vietnam. As a teenager, Si loved school and was top of his class for four years. Unfortunately, the ongoing war made him put his books to the side, as he felt it was his duty to serve and protect his country fresh outta high school. In the ARVN Navy is where his movie-like story begins. Following his ARVN Navy training, he was sent to San Diego to get experience as a machinery repairman. This meant he was able to learn how to fix ships that were damaged from ongoing combat. After spending three months in the states, he returned to Vietnam to begin his duty as a boat patrol. Si's job was to patrol the coast of Vietnam while providing artillery support to troops on the ground. After the fall of Saigon, Si decided he had enough of the communist rule and took a risk in seek for a better life. Si was a part of the boat people exodus and a couple of weeks later found himself in the United States. Si's first stop was Amarillo, Texas where he spent around a year working at a Levis factory. After spending a couple of months in Minnesota but realized the cold weather wasn't his cup of tea. Eventually, he decided to take a road trip along the east coast and stopped in cities like New York and Orlando. Following his road trip, he made his way towards California. In Garden Grove, Si is now retired and spends the first Sunday of every month honoring the flag of the Republic of Vietnam.
Oral history with Richard Hauser. The hour and a half long interview consists of Richard describing his life prior to joining the Marines, his experiences during boot camp and training, his time in Vietnam, and then what he did with his life after returning home.
