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Phi Anhha (* 1960)

• born February 26, 1960 in Nha Trang, Vietnam

• grew up with 7 brothers and sisters with a father in the military

• moved to Saigon around 1968, the last city they lived in before leaving

• leading up to the Fall, she and her family attempted to leave Vietnam

• on April 30, 1975 she and her family left Vietnam by boat

• disembarked in Guam and stayed there for two days

• flew to Fort Chaffee and stayed there for several months to apply for American sponsorship

• family was given sponsorship by a Lutheran Church in Minnesota, USA

• in 1978, moved to San Jose, CA, USA

• began working at Intel Corporation

• in 2001, retired and continues to live in San Jose

Beginnings in Vietnam

Anhha Phi (* 1960) was born in Nha Trang, a coastal city in South Vietnam. Many of her seven brothers and sisters were born in different cities. None of them were born in Saigon, but that was the last city they saw. Her father was a military man, a high ranking Lieutenant Colonel in the South Vietnam army. “He was a military officer, so he rotated from different region to region.” This caused their family to move a lot, never staying in one place for too long. Her mother had a side business of exchanging Vietnamese dong for US dollars, something that became quite profitable and useful for their family in the days leading up to the fall of Saigon. 

Her family was not wealthy, but they were comfortable and happy. Her large family all lived in a small, two-story home. Her mother ran the household most of the time. Her family would share mosquito nets at night, one for the boys and one for the girls. She had a happy childhood and liked to mess around instead of doing her school work. Despite goofing off in her younger years, she was accepted into Trung Vuong, a prestigious high school in what was then Saigon, as a top student. The school was about 30 kilometers away from their home but despite the distance, she preferred to ride her bicycle with her friend to school rather than take the bus. She got terrible motion sickness from the bus and her family could not afford to give her a motor scooter like her two older brothers. “I actually biked by friends to high school and I loved it because it was so much freedom back then. It was really awesome.”

Leading Up to the Fall

In the days leading up to April 30th of 1975, the family knew they were going to have to leave Vietnam. Her mother’s side business of exchanging money led a lot of people to their homes, all of whom had plans to leave the country soon. They knew it was just a matter of time before they did as well. Because of her father’s military status, the family was given permission to leave several days before April 30th, under the condition that only the women and children under 18 years old would leave. This would mean her father and two oldest brothers would have to stay in Vietnam. Her mother was devastated, but knew they had to go. She and the rest who were allowed to leave packed their bags. 

However, the day before their planned departure, the Viet Cong targeted the road to the Tan Son Nhat airport. The roadblock due to the bombing was impenetrable and no one could get to or from the airport and no one was leaving Vietnam by plane. The bombing terminated their plans for departure. Despite their broken plans, her mother was glad as she would no longer have to leave her husband and two oldest sons. They continued in their homes with plans, and the fear, of staying in Vietnam. 

Soon after, however, her sister-in-law’s family came to their home to exchange money. They were shocked that Anhha’s family did not have plans to leave. This family was very wealthy and had plans to go to the pier and purchase a boat to leave the country and they convinced Anhha’s entire family to join them. This plan would soon fall through, however, as the fighting continued. Her sister-in-law’s family was wealthy enough to survive in Vietnam after the Fall and too scared of dying to leave. They decided to stay. “They carried cases and cases of money and they were afraid of dying. So they decided to take off and come back and stay in Vietnam.” Anhha’s family, however, stayed at the pier and boarded a boat the day before April 30th.

The first boat they were on held about 250 to 300 people and half of the engines were functioning properly. There was no possibility of this ship continuing on to sea. It had turned back into the pier in order to fix the engines. This day happened to be April 30th. When the Viet Cong takeover was announced, the ship Anhha’s family was on left as quick as they could. The ship captain asked for anyone who may be able to fix their engines to board the ship and they set sail. The family was finally making their way out to sea. Anhha was fifteen at the time. 

The Boats

“There were so many people trying to leave the country by boat, by ship. So it was crazy.” Getting to sea led them through a warzone. Anhha remembers bullets firing across the river they were on. Their own boat had an incredible array of military weapons. There were guns and other weapons bigger than Anhha at the time. Helicopters and planes flew above them. When they got to sea, there were hundreds of ships all around them. A large ship dwarfed the others and was the envy of everyone in smaller boats. Over a hundred small boats surrounded this large ship in hopes to board it for its size and safety. The large ship was already too crowded, however, carrying about three to four thousand people. It threatened to shoot down any boat that got within a certain distance of it. As a teenager, she was not scared at all, just excited. “To me, I was fifteen at the time, it was like an adventure.”

Their boat was crowded. The family had no rooms and little space to lay down. A little while into their trip, an American military speed boat came to their boat to help lighten the load of the ship and carry some of the passengers to a large American Navy ship. Anhha and her family were of the two hundred people who were allowed to board the ship. This ship was much more comfortable. They were allowed to go up on deck during the day and come back down to the refugee quarters at night. There was enough food and much more space. Anhha and the other children were given milk and snacks, though the cookies were not a hit among the kids. At times, dolphins could be seen following the ship. “To me it was wonderful. In the afternoon they would let us on the deck, watching the dolphins.” This was a great time for Anhha, who enjoyed the ship and the treats. The adults were much less joyful about their endeavors. 

Sponsorship

The Navy Ship stopped in Guam and the family disembarked alongside the other thousands of Vietnamese, who were now considered refugees. They stayed in tents surrounding the bay while they figured out their next steps. Her father frantically filed paperwork for entering the refugee camp in Fort Chaffee and the family was able to leave. They were of the quickest refugees to leave Guam, many stayed for months after first arriving. “A lot of people stayed there for years, but my father stayed up in line and did a lot of paperwork fast so we were only there for two days.”

They were flown in Fort Chaffee in Arkansas, USA where they stayed for the next several months. During this time, they began applying for American sponsorship. A relative in Germany had offered to sponsor them, but her parents did not want to burden them with their large family of ten. The family thought it best to find a sponsor in the United States, as that seemed the most practical way. They ended up finding a sponsor in Minnesota, a Lutheran Church in Winona. Upon arrival in Minnesota, they were given a place to stay in the dorm rooms of Winona University, a nearby university. Anhha and her family stayed in the dorms for several months before being able to move into a small home they were able to rent with help from the church. 

Beginning Again

Adjusting to life in the United States was difficult. The Lutheran Church gave the family much aid to help them find jobs and schools. “They didn’t tell us about the government funded program. They rather have us on our feet.”  Her father was able to get a manual job in construction. Her mother got a job looping for a high-end sweater company. Her two older brothers also worked and Anhha, herself, worked part-time alongside her mother. Between them all, they were able to support their family. 

Anhha had finished 9th grade in Vietnam, but her language barrier prevented her from advancing to the next grade. She knew little to no English at the time. After school each day, she worked for hours with the ladies from the church to improve her English and go over what they learned in school. She did not understand a word that was said by her teachers. “I had a major English barrier. I didn’t even understand anything the teachers teach.”  She loved math, as that was the only class subject that requires no language other than numbers. She took the SAT, a university entrance exam in the United States, to apply for university and her math section was able to boost her score and grant her an acceptance into a few universities.

Her father was going through an even tougher time. He suffered from PTSD from his days in the military and his pride was slowly diminishing. He despised how he, a formerly respected and high ranking officer, was now doing what he considered slave labor with very little pay. His job working construction outside in the cold months in Minnesota was also detrimental to his physical health. “He was not happy. From being a really powerful guy to [doing] very intensive labor work running the machines.” After three years, Anhha’s mother suggested he go to California and visit some old friends who were residing in Santa Ana at the time. She hoped it would help relieve some of his pain and it did exactly that. After a few months, her father was so happy in California that he decided to move their whole family there. 

California

“It was the best decision that my dad did, to let us move to California.” Anhha’s family moved to California in 1978, though not all together. They had plans to sell the house they were living in and drive to California in two Station Wagons. At the last minute, however, the buyer for their house backed out. Anhha and her mother stayed behind in Minnesota to stay in the house until they could sell it. Her and her mother had good jobs at the sweater company so it made most sense that they stayed. After a few months, they were able to sell the house and join their family in California. Relatives of Anhha’s family that her father had helped drive to the pier in Saigon in April,1975 were residing in San Jose and had offered them help as a thank you. This, along with the large Vietnamese community there, led them to moving to San Jose in Northern California instead of Santa Ana where her father had originally visited. 

Since then

At the time the family arrived in California, Anhha was applying for university. She attended both Evergreen College and then City College for a semester before transferring to San Jose State University, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She got a job at Intel Corporation doing clerical work before receiving a job as a programmer at the same company. She married her husband in 1986 and they had two children. She retired from her job in 2001 and continues to live in San Jose to this day.