P3 NEIGHBORHOODNEWS How the fall of Saigon shaped City Heights By Megan Burks KPBS
Families in cars stacked with surfboards cruise into the San Mateo Campground on the southern edge of Orange County. Warm weather and clear skies beckon them for a weekend of beach camping. But drive inland for another four miles and there’s an entirely different kind of camp. There, tidy rows of Quonsets — barrel-shaped bunk rooms made of corrugated metal — make up Camp Talega at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. A little more than 40 years ago, the first 1,000 Vietnamese refugees out of Saigon flew into the El Toro Marine Corps Base in Orange County before being bused to Talega. From there, many would resettle in City Heights, which now has one of the highest concentrations of residents of Vietnamese descent in the county. For many, Camp Talega was a critical part of their journey. “It was very bustling. There was activity all the time, like a city,” said Bob Montgomery, who retired as head of the San Diego International Rescue Committee office in March. He served in Vietnam and later volunteered at the refugee camp. Troops had just 24 hours to set up for the first arrivals, and then six days to raise another seven mini cities on the base. When troops ran out of Quonsets, they pulled World War II tents out of storage and erected those, base historian Faye Jonason said. Over six months, some 50,000 Vietnamese refugees passed through Camp Pendleton. They stayed an average of three months before American families took them in or helped them strike out on their own. One of those families was the Nguyens, who settled in City Heights. “The apartment here at 4212
Altadena Ave. is the first apartment that our family — about 32 people — stayed in,” said Quan Nguyen, 40. He’s pointing at a 1960s apartment building where Spanish-language music wafts from a maintenance worker’s boom box. Nguyen was 5 months old when his parents and extended family left the tents and Quonsets on Camp Pendleton and moved into the two-bedroom apartment a few blocks west of Colina del Sol Park. Nguyen’s parents giggle at the thought of so many people in that tiny place. But Nguyen’s dad, Harry Hien Duc Nguyen, is unfailingly grateful, no matter how much a reporter prods for tension. “At that time we’re refugees in America,” said Harry Nguyen, 62. “At least we have a place that’s nice and clean to live at that time, at least we have food to eat at that time. So everybody, no complaints.” Eventually, Harry Nguyen bought his first house just a block away. Back then, the Nguyens were the only Vietnamese family on the street. Today, people call the neighborhood’s main drag “Little Saigon.” It’s a cultural mash-up where Somali women in headscarves and Burmese women holding parasols stroll past Vietnamese supermarkets and Pagoda-style strip malls. Montgomery said the fall of Saigon built the City Heights of today. “Because of the services that grew up around the refugees that came out of Camp Pendleton, it was a good place to send people,” Montgomery said. “We had established services, there were religious institutions, and of course most importantly, existing communities where they would feel most comfortable.” Nearly 45 percent of City
Quan Nguyen’s daughters, Emma and Elizabeth, are seated with their grandparents, Harry and Tammy. Las hijas de Quan Nguyen, Emma y Elizabeth con sus abuelos Harry y Tammy. Photo: Nicholas McVicker
Cómo la caída de Saigón
ayudó a moldear a City Heights Por Megan Burks ZPBS
Familias en automóviles cargados con tablas de surf se dirigen al Campamento San Mateo en el extremo sur de Orange County. El clima cálido y el cielo azul los invitan a pasar el fin de semana acampando en la playa. Pero a cuatro millas al este, verán un campamento completamente diferente. Aquí ordenadas hileras de cabañas Quonset – moradas en forma de barril hechas de metal corrugado que contienen literas – forman el Campamento Talega en la Base de la Infantería Harry Hien Duc Nguyen looks at the first home he bought in the United States. Harry Hien Duc Nguyen mira la primera casa que compró en Estados Unidos. Photo: Megan Burks de Marina en Camp Pendleton. Hace poco más de 40 años, los 1,000 primeros refugiados de Saigón y fueron llevados en pararse para los primeros refugiavietnamitas llegaron a El Toro, la autobús a Talega. Posteriormente, dos y seis días para construir otras Base de la Infantería de Marina muchos se establecieron en City siete mini ciudades en la base. Cuen Orange County, provenientes Heights, en donde viven en la ac- ando se terminaron los Quonsets, tualidad la mayor concentración las tropas levantaron tiendas de de residentes de ascendencia viet- campaña de la Segunda Guerra Quonsets at Camp Pendleton, which now house namita en el condado. Mundial que estaban almacenaMarine reservists, housed the first 1,000 Vietnamese Para muchos, el Campamento das en un depósito. refugees out of Saigon in April 1975. Las Quonsets de Talega fue parte crucial de su Durante seis meses, unos Camp Pendleton en las que hoy viven reservistas de la trayectoria. 50,000 refugiados vietnamitas Marina, albergaron a los primeros 1,000 refugiados “Había mucho ajetreo. Había pasaron por Camp Pendleton. vietnamitas provenientes de Saigón en abril de 1975. actividad todo el tiempo, como en Su estadía duraba como promePhoto: Megan Burks una ciudad”, dijo Bob Montgom- dio tres meses antes de que faery, director de la oficina del Co- milias estadounidenses les dieran mité Internacional de Rescate de hospedaje o los ayudaran a sobreSan Diego quien se jubiló en mar- vivir por cuenta propia. zo. Prestó sus servicios en Vietnam Una de estas familias fue la fay posteriormente se ofreció como milia Nguyen, la que se estableció voluntario en el campamento de en City Heights. refugiados. “Este apartamento en 4212 Altadena Ave. fue el primero en el De acuerdo a Faye Jonason, que nuestra familia – unas 32 perhistoriadora de la base, las tropas solo tuvieron 24 horas para pre-
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