MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Thirty-five years ago, more than 120,000 Vietnamese fled from their war-torn country to find refuge in tent cities at military bases across America.
Camp Pendleton was the first base in America to accommodate Vietnam evacuees during the U.S. military’s 1975 relocation effort, Operation New Arrivals. Within months, thousands of refugees with only a pillowcase full of clothes would call the base’s Camp Talega home.
“Thousands of South Vietnamese found refuge here,” said Col. James D. Barich, commanding officer, Deployment Processing Command West, Camp Talega. “And one of those was a young boy who is now Air Force Lt. Col. Hai Tran.”
Eight-year-old Tran was sleeping when North Vietnamese tanks opened fire on what was Saigon, Vietnam. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh when Vietnam fell only a few days later.
“I remember waking up one morning to a lot of noise outside,” said Lt. Col. Hai N. Tran, deputy chief, Resources, Plans and Policy Division, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. “The North Vietnamese tanks had begun bombarding us from across the canal because all of the bridges had been destroyed.”
Moments later Tran’s father, who was serving as a Vietnamese army airborne officer, caught one of his Navy friends crossing the street and asked him what was happening, said Tran, who is also trained as an Air Force liaison and foreign area officer to East Asia. The Navy friend told Tran’s father that if they wanted to go, the time is now.
Tran and his family quickly boarded the small Vietnamese cruiser, made their way to the Philippines, Guam and eventually flew into Camp Pendleton, said Tran. Camp Talega is where he and thousands of refugees lived in tent cities before being Granted citizenship.
Today, Tran is retiring from the Air Force after nearly 20 years of service. In recognition of his dedication, Camp Pendleton Base officials flew a flag over Camp Talega Jan. 25 in his honor and for Tran to keep as a constant reminder.
“The U.S. is the land of opportunity and I’m grateful my family was given that chance to start our life again in a new land,” said Tran.
Camp Talega remains an original footprint to Camp Pendleton’s diverse history with buildings and landscape that haven’t changed since 1944.
“If you were a World War II veteran that trained at Talega before fighting in the Pacific and you returned today, everything would be exactly the same,” added Barich.