How Vietnam's refugees made their way to Utah
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Fifty years ago this week, refugees from Vietnam began to arrive in Utah after the fall of Saigon.
- This is Old News, our weekly relocation to Utah's past.
The big picture: After nearly two decades of conflict, the collapse of South Vietnam happened at a speed that took most Americans by surprise.
- In the final two days of April 1975, more than 7,000 American civilians and imperiled Vietnamese citizens were flown by helicopter out of Saigon — now officially called Ho Chi Minh City — as North Vietnamese troops seized control.
By the numbers: A week before that, the first wave of about 130,000 refugees had begun to flee Vietnam, most of them to Guam.
- They joined about 2,600 orphaned children who were taken there earlier that month.
- As refugees started to arrive, the U.S. military estimated space for only about 13,000 refugees on the island territory.
What they said: Then-president Gerald Ford told Americans to prepare for a massive influx of refugees being transported from tent cities in Guam to U.S. military bases — and sought funds as members in Congress increasingly fielded "anti-refugee" calls and letters from constituents.
- "It makes me damn mad. It just burns me up, these great humanitarians," Ford said mockingly of the reluctant lawmakers. "Now they just turn their backs."
How it worked: By May 8, the Utah National Guard was preparing resettlement camps for up to 1,000 refugees — though that plan was soon scrapped in favor of seeking individual sponsors to support the newcomers for at least two years.
- Hotlines for Americans to offer help were initially flooded with calls.
Yes, but: By July, about 20,000 refugees still languished in Camp Pendleton, California, waiting for sponsors as representatives from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Catholic Charities in Salt Lake tried to drum up volunteers.
Zoom in: 17 refugees — some of them children separated from their parents — were among the first arrivals in Utah.
- A West Valley City family with ties to Vietnam acted as their sponsor, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Neighbors helped provide beds as the group made frantic phone calls trying to find other loved ones who had made their way to the United States.
The bottom line: From 1975 to 2000 some 3 million refugees fled Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
- About 12,000 came to Utah.