THESE ARE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS USED IN THE DOCUMENTARY FILM:
The Fall Of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Source: Creative Commons.
"Akuna In Singapore Harbor, March, 1979" by Bernard Macdougall.
In March, 2010, 31 years later, Mr. Macdougall, a former volunteer to help Vietnamese boat refugees from Brisbane, Australia, shared this photograph with Dad after reading about his Boat Journey 1979 story on Facebook.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS PHOTOGRAPH ON FACEBOOK
DAD'S VIETAM FAMILY PORTRAITS USED IN THE DOCUMENTARY FILM:
These are photocopies that Dad's family in Vietnam sent to him several years after he immigrated to America.
Dad's family last portrait in Saigon, Vietnam, early April, 1979, before his boat escape.
Dad, right and in dark T-shirt, with his brothers in Saigon, early April, 1979.
Dad, in downtown Saigon, early April, 1979.
Photographs of Dad and his family in Saigon, Vietnam, in early April, 1979. Dad's family in Vietnam sent to him several years after he immigrated to America. These are copies of the same set of photos that Dad packed with him for his boat journey. The original photos were lost from the pirate attacks in the Gulf of Thailand. The original photos were lost from the pirate attacks in the Gulf of Thailand.
Dad's uncle Nguyễn Bá Thừa and his wife, Đặng Thị Lục.
Photo taken in late 1970s | shared via Facebook by Dad's cousin Binh Nguyen on 03.26.2011
-------------------
Sau khi Sài Gòn xụp đổ ngày 30 tháng tư năm 1975, Ba tôi ở với gia đình chú Thừa vài năm tại Sài Gòn. Ba tôi tìm được cơ hội may mắn và sự giúp đỡ của chú Thừa, ông ta cho ba tôi đi theo các con của chú, em họ của ba, vượt biên, không phải trà tiền. Bình thường thì mỗi người phải tốn khoảng 5 lượng vàng, và gia đình ba tôi lúc đó rất ngèo.
Pulau Buton Refugee Camp, Indonesia, summer 1979:
Dad and his cousins lived in this hut with the family of the boat owner, Mr. and Mrs. Đồng Tôn,
for more than six months, while waiting for their sponsorships to America.
This photo was taken by Dad's cousin.
Dad's immigration documents, from the refugee camp in Indonesia, 1979.
Dad's immigration photo, from the Pulau Buton refugee camp, Indonesia, 1979.
November 27, 1979, Kearney (Nebraska) Regional Airport Terminal:
Members of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Dad's American sponsors)
waited for the arrival of Dad and his cousins from refugee camp in Indonesia.
Dad learned later on that he came to America on a Thanksgiving weekend.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PHOTOGRAPH AND DAD'S 2010 CONNECTIONS
WITH THE HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH MEMBERS 31 YEARS LATER, ON FACEBOOK.
READ ABOUT HOW DAD AND HIS COUSINS TRAVELED TO THE U.S. FROM
THE REFUGEE CAMP IN INDONESIA, "COMING TO AMERICA"
March 15, 1980, Kearney, Nebraska:
Dad posed with his first ever bike and his first American friend and neighbor, Rob, and his dog.
The yellow home, center in the background, was Dad's first American home where he lived
with his cousins for about five months.
April 11, 1980:
Exactly one year after the boat escape from Vietnam, Dad and his cousins and a nephew
gathered in front of their first American home in Kearney, Nebraska. After almost five months
living together in the U.S., Dad's cousins moved away to bigger towns and cities.
Dad remained at Kearney and living in foster homes.
Circa spring, 1980, Kearney, Nebraska:
LEFT: Dad sat in the backyard of his first American home, with the airplane
he made for his toy out of soda cans.
RIGHT: Dad was invited to a friend's barn where he got his first and only horseback ride.
Dec. 11, 1980:
Local newspaper, The Kearney (Nebraska) Daily Hub, published a story about Dad's artistic talents.
He was an eighth grader at Kearney Junior High School.
Kearney (Nebraska) Daily Hub, 1981. First award for art (or for any kind.)
Kearney (Nebraska) Daily Hub: Dad's first one-man art show, April 12, 1981, sponsored by his Kearney Junior High art teacher, Mrs. Joan Fortune, at her Decoratif Art Studio, in downtown Kearney, Nebraska. Kearney Daily Hub ad shown. Dad has only one week of preparation for the show, after returning from a three-week bus tour of the East Coast -- New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlantic City -- with Kearney State College's Political Science Department students, guided by Dr. Phu, a Vietnamese-American Professor at KSC. Read more on Dad's Facebook.
Walnut Junior High newspaper, Grand Island, Nebraska, Feb. 19, 1982. Dad was in ninth grade and was still learning basic English when he met his best friend Stan Barth, who helped him share his boat journey story, published in the school bi-weekly newspaper.
Summer 1982: A letter from a friend to Dad while he stayed at emergency teen shelter in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Dad has a rough summer of 1982 in Nebraska, hopping among foster homes and emergency teen shelters, between the towns of Kearney and Grand Island. While being a sophomore at Grand Island Senior High School, Dad kept himself out of trouble by staying busy with his artwork. He also continued attracting media attention, as shown in these newspaper clips from Grand Island Daily Independent (Oct. 1982) and Grand Island Senior High's The Islanders (Nov. 19, 1982.)
Art not only helped Dad making friends and learning English at the same time, but art also helped Dad improve his grade point averages in school. This March 28, 1983 newspaper feature by the Grand Island Daily Independent showcased Dad's acrylic, oil and charcoal drawings. These are new art mediums he learned in high school.
Grand Island Senior High Graduation, May 19, 1985:
Almost exactly six years after leaving his family behind in Vietnam for a boat journey, Dad graduated from an American high school with honors. Dad was very delighted and proud having featured in the local newspaper for this important event. Again, Dad was not hesitated to share his boat journey story and his personal struggles with learning English and making the grades at school to the reporter from the Grand Island Daily Independent newspaper.
Following his heart
Grand Island (Neb.) Daily Independent, 1988:
Dad spent two semesters in college pondering with several majors: math, computer science and art. He finally decided to follow his heart to pursue studying commercial arts and graphic design. Thankfully, this also fulfilled the wish of his former junior high art teacher, Mrs. Joan Fortune.
Oct. 6, 1988: During his senior year at Kearney State College, currently University of Nebraska at Kearney, Dad was an art editor for the campus newspaper, The Antelope. Dad was asked by the paper to share his personal story with his peers. Again, Dad took the opportunity to retell his boat journey in the South China Sea, taken place almost 10 years earlier.
Circa 1980-81:
Dad is shown with his first American best friend and Kearney (Nebraska) Junior High School classmate, Bob Fisher.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DAD'S EARLY LIFE IN THE U.S. FROM HIS FACEBOOK
CONNECTIONS WITH MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSMATES, THIRTY YEARS LATER
March 10, 1981, New York:
Dad standing in the base of the Statue Of Liberty, with the New York City skyline in the background.
After 15 months living in the U.S., Dad was able to achieve his childhood dream: to travel to New York City.
He joined the Kearney State College's Annual Political Science Tour of the East Coast as a young guest.
Dad paid for the three-week bus tour with the money he earned from selling paintings and drawings to
his 8th-grade classmates and their parents.
READ RELATED ARTICLE ABOUT DAD'S MEMORY OF THE TWIN TOWERS
ON FACEBOOK AND ON HIS PERSONAL BLOG
After 15 months living in the U.S., Dad was able to achieve his childhood dream: to travel to New York City.
He joined the Kearney State College's Annual Political Science Tour of the East Coast as a young guest.
Dad paid for the three-week bus tour with the money he earned from selling paintings and drawings to
his 8th-grade classmates and their parents.
READ RELATED ARTICLE ABOUT DAD'S MEMORY OF THE TWIN TOWERS
Summer 1987: After eight years living in the new country, Dad become a Naturalized U.S. Citizen.
May 20, 1989: Dad's Graduation at Kearney State College (University Of Nebraska, Kearney)
and became the first member of his family to graduate with a four-year college degree.
January 7, 2011: My family portrait on the deck of the Carnival Paradise cruise ship, Long Beach Harbor, Long Beach, California. Dad met Mom in January, 1989, in Nebraska. They married 18 months later, in July, 1990.
THE FOLLOWING PHOTOGRAPHS WERE USED IN THE FILM'S CREDIT SECTION:
Grandpa, Nguuyễn Hương, whom passed away in 1996, four years before I was born. Dad took this photo in 1992 when he first returned to Vietnam the first time, 13 years after the boat escape. The Orange County Register newspaper sent reporter Melissa Balmain Weiner and photographer Ana Venegas to Vietnam along with Dad to help him document the trip home.
VISIT "RETURN TO VIETNAM 1992" SPECIAL COVERAGE BY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dad lived with the boat owner family twice as a foster kid during 1981-1982, while he was a ninth grader in Grand Island, Nebraska. Dad call the couple – Mr. Đồng Tôn and his wife, Mrs. Mừng Nguyễn – uncle and aunt, because Dad has a cousin married to the Ton's daughter. Grandpa told Mr. Đồng Tôn before the boat journey regarding Dad, "In Vietnam, he's my son. When he's overseas, he's your son." Mr. Đồng Tôn passed away in 1990 and Mrs. Mừng Nguyễn passed away in 2007. This photo was taken by Dad in 1989 in Diamond Bar, California. Read a newspaper article from 1981 by the Grand Island Independent about the Ton family on Dad's FACEBOOK.
Mr. Fay (Famous) Obester was a Spanish teacher at Dad's Senior High School in Grand Island, Nebraska. He asked Dad to call him "Faymous," gave Dad a key to the house and even let Dad have a bedroom in the basement. Dad stayed at Faymous' home during the weekends, summer and holiday breaks in his college years. Mr. Obester passed away in 2001. This photo was taken in 1985.
More information about Faymous in Dad's FACEBOOK.
Grandma, Dad's mother, is currently living in Hồ Chí Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam. This photo was taken by Dad in 2008.
Dad's Uncle and Aunt in Vietnam, Mr. Nguyễn Bá Thừa and Mrs. Đặng Thị Lục, who let Dad go on a boat escape from Vietnam for free, along with their three children and a daughter-in-law. This photo was taken by Dad in 2001 in San Diego, when the couple traveled to the U.S. for the first time to visit their children.
Mrs. Joan Fortune Zimmerer, Dad's former junior high school art teacher from Kearney, Nebraska, while Dad was an 8th grader in her art class. She later requested Dad to call her "Mom" because she was acting as his guardian, while he was in transitions between foster homes and teen shelters in Nebraska. In March 2010, Dad traveled from Sacramento (Calif.) to Denver (Colo.) to visit Mrs. Joan Fortune Zimmerer. He brought along old greeting cards and letters that she wrote to him in 1980-81 to let her see and read them again. He also get to see his favorite watercolor painting, "The Boat," – a special gift to her – almost three decades later.
Dad in 1980 as a seventh grader. Link to this photo in the "Kearney (Nebraska Junior High School" album in Dad's FACEBOOK