On the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War's end, younger Vietnamese, like Victoria Ngo, reflect on their identities shaped by history. Growing up as a child of war refugees in a Chinese-speaking community in the U.S., Ngo initially identified primarily as Chinese. As she sought to understand her Vietnamese roots, she faced barriers, including her father's rejection of her interest in Vietnam's history. This generational contrast highlights the struggle many Vietnamese-Americans experience when reconciling their complex identities with their family histories and their nation's past.
I lived with people who only spoke Chinese. My siblings and I went to Chinese school on the weekends... But Vietnam was just not spoken about.
Curiosity about her identity increased over the years, partly because questions she asked about Vietnam went unanswered by her parents and other relatives.
Trying to fill in the missing pieces of her family's past, Ngo recounted how she signed up to attend a conference about the war in Vietnam.
But the stark and unexpected response from her father was, 'If you go to that conference, you are not my daughter!'
Victoria Ngo represents a younger generation grappling with their Vietnamese identity while reflecting on the historical impact of the Vietnam War.
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