April 30, 2005 will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the end of the Viet Nam War, and the beginning of the Vietnamese American experience. There are sure to be many stories in the media over the next week or so about this commenoration. I have reprinted an article published just today by Associated Press reporter Erin Texeira entitled “Vietnamese in U.S. Take Stock of Community,” in which she interviewed and quoted yours truly in her article.

Another nice collection of articles comes from the Orange County Register, home to Little Saigon and the largest Vietnamese American community in the country. They will have a different story each day this week, so be sure to check their site every day for the latest article. The Register also has an excellent multimedia presentation of the events surrounding the fall of Saigon and ensuing evacuation and resettlement of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese into the U.S.

For most Vietnamese Americans and me personally, this is a time to reflect back on how far we’ve come in overcoming the obstacles in our path, and to look forward to what the future holds for us as a collective community. As I’ve said before, as the Vietnamese American community continues to develop, flourish, and become integrated into the American mainstream, I hope that collectively, we will recognize, respect, and embrace the diverse elements that make up our community, in terms of socioeconomic position, age/generation, Vietnamese and English fluency, and most importantly, political/ideological.