Nghia M. Vo is a retired physician who independently researches Vietnamese history and culture.
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Vietnam War Refugees in Guam: A History of Operation New Life by Nghia M. Vo (McFarland, 2022)
This independently researched book by Nghia M. Vo, who was processed on Guam as a Vietnamese refugee, presents an informative account of Operation New Life. The following excerpt is from the book’s opening pages:
“Guam, 1975. This territory of the United States in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean is so small, so far away and so isolated that it was unknown to a lot of people. . . . When the South Vietnamese arrived on this island, some Americans, friends and potential sponsors, tried to reach them by postal mail. Many placed Guam in the Indian Ocean, the Philippines, or South America. A letter was addressed to a faculty member of the university: ‘University of Guam, Agana, Guam, British West Indies, 96910.’ The zip code was correct and saved the day.
As for the Vietnamese, they surely could be forgiven for their lack of geographical knowledge, for no one was allowed to travel abroad during the war, except students and military personnel. However, some had heard a few times about these great metallic birds–the B-52 strategic bombers–coming from Guam to unload their deadly bombs on war zones in Vietnam. But they had never thought of trying to locate that island.
This book details the story of how the displaced and distraught South Vietnamese landed on Guam on their way to the mainland U.S.; it is also a tribute and an expression of gratitude toward the good-hearted Guamanians and U.S. military personnel who pulled out all the stops to welcome them on the island. Without their heart-warming welcome, it is possible that many evacuees would either have died somewhere in the Pacific Ocean or suffered from severe psychological problems following the fall of Saigon. The operation, code-named New Life, was one of the most important and most successful U.S. military operations in the last five decades: it brought comfort and saved 130,000 lives” (1).
This independently researched book by Nghia M. Vo, who was processed on Guam as a Vietnamese refugee, presents an informative account of Operation New Life. The following excerpt is from the book’s opening pages:
“Guam, 1975. This territory of the United States in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean is so small, so far away and so isolated that it was unknown to a lot of people. . . . When the South Vietnamese arrived on this island, some Americans, friends and potential sponsors, tried to reach them by postal mail. Many placed Guam in the Indian Ocean, the Philippines, or South America. A letter was addressed to a faculty member of the university: ‘University of Guam, Agana, Guam, British West Indies, 96910.’ The zip code was correct and saved the day.
As for the Vietnamese, they surely could be forgiven for their lack of geographical knowledge, for no one was allowed to travel abroad during the war, except students and military personnel. However, some had heard a few times about these great metallic birds–the B-52 strategic bombers–coming from Guam to unload their deadly bombs on war zones in Vietnam. But they had never thought of trying to locate that island.
This book details the story of how the displaced and distraught South Vietnamese landed on Guam on their way to the mainland U.S.; it is also a tribute and an expression of gratitude toward the good-hearted Guamanians and U.S. military personnel who pulled out all the stops to welcome them on the island. Without their heart-warming welcome, it is possible that many evacuees would either have died somewhere in the Pacific Ocean or suffered from severe psychological problems following the fall of Saigon. The operation, code-named New Life, was one of the most important and most successful U.S. military operations in the last five decades: it brought comfort and saved 130,000 lives” (1).