The Best We Could Do: A Graphic Memoir of Family & Vietnamese Refugee Experience | Thi Bui Book Review

The Vietnam War (1954-1975) resulted in the division of Vietnam at the 17th parallel following the 1954 Geneva Agreement, triggering a mass refugee crisis where millions fled communist rule from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese military, despite conducting major counter-offensives including the 1971 Cambodian incursion, the 1972 Easter Offensive, and the defense of An Lộc in 1973, ultimately collapsed in 1975 after the fall of the Central Highlands and the chaotic retreat along National Highway 13, leading to the reunification of Vietnam under communist control.

The Vietnam War resulted in devastating human casualties: 3.6 million deaths including 313,000 South Vietnamese, 1.1 million North Vietnamese, and 58,000 Americans. Following the war, 500,000 to 1 million South Vietnamese were imprisoned. From 1975 to 1995, nearly 1 million Vietnamese fled by sea and land, with over 500,000 dying at sea. The 1954 Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with North Vietnam under Communist rule and South Vietnam under the Republic of Vietnam. In 1960, the North established the National Liberation Front. Following the 1954 Geneva Accords, approximately 1 million Vietnamese refugees fled from North to South Vietnam, with 76.3% being Catholic. The migration was organized by the U.S. Navy and French military. Before April 30, 1975, Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam and a center of culture, known as the 'Jewel of the Far East.' South Vietnam's education system was built on Humanism, Nationalism, and Enlightenment principles. South Vietnamese soldiers served at young ages, fighting in challenging conditions across the Central Highlands and U Minh forest. On April 21, 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned, transferring power to Trần Văn Hương for five days. On May 26, 1975, Trần Văn Hương resigned and appointed General Dương Văn Minh as president. Less than 48 hours later, Dương Văn Minh announced surrender via national radio on April 30, 1975. The Paris Peace Accords signed on January 27, 1973, were violated by North Vietnamese forces who launched large-scale attacks. The United States abandoned its ally, providing no military intervention, while North Vietnam received support from the Soviet Union, China, and Eastern European countries. After the fall, North Vietnamese forces launched campaigns against the South Vietnamese economy, beginning in September 1975. In 1980, the North Vietnamese government admitted to imprisoning approximately 1 million South Vietnamese civilians in reeducation camps, with prisoners forced to work from morning to night, facing starvation and various punishments. South Vietnamese currency underwent three devaluations, with the first in September 1975 exchanging 500:1 for new currency. South Vietnamese assets were confiscated and transported to North Vietnam. South Vietnamese language was downgraded, with North Vietnamese words introduced. South Vietnamese music was banned as 'reactionary.' In 1977, 700 tons of South Vietnamese books were destroyed. Many writers were arrested for 'anti-communist' activities. After 1975, millions of Vietnamese fled the country by sea, land, and air routes. Many refugees were captured by Thai pirates, who killed and raped them. Some refugees never reached safety and their bodies sank into the ocean. Rescue operations were conducted by foreign vessels, including American and West German ships. Refugees were rescued from desperate situations, with some having only 20 liters of water remaining. The government established state-controlled religious organizations that followed Communist Party directives. The government caused environmental destruction through dam construction on the upper Mekong River, blocking water flow and sediment to the Mekong Delta, causing freshwater scarcity and saltwater intrusion. Approximately 90% of Vietnam's natural forest cover was destroyed, causing significant climate changes. Before 1975, South Vietnam had two distinct seasons; after 1975, Vietnam experienced year-round rainfall. The government authorized bauxite mining in the Central Highlands, causing soil and water pollution. Hundreds of kilometers of border territory were ceded to China, including the Ailam Quang Tower at Bản Dốc. The South China Sea was lost, including the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa islands. Vietnamese fishermen were prohibited from fishing in the South China Sea. Currently, approximately 90% of fruits and vegetables in Vietnam are sprayed with harmful chemicals. Many Vietnamese continue to attempt illegal immigration to the United States and other countries.

The Vietnam War officially ended on April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. This marked the end of nearly 50 years of American military involvement and the beginning of a new chapter for nearly 2 million South Vietnamese refugees. Vietnam spent much of its early history ruled by China, and in the mid-1800s came under French colonial control. France exploited Vietnam's natural resources and suppressed Vietnamese identity. Ho Chi Minh and his army defeated the French in 1954, leading to the Geneva Conference where Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel. The two Vietnams had different flags: South Vietnam's yellow with three red stripes, and North Vietnam's red with a yellow five-pointed star. When South Vietnam fell, anyone associated with the US government or South Vietnamese military could be targeted. Refugees like the speaker's mother fled with only essential items, and she was on one of the last planes to leave the country.

Before 1975, Vietnam was divided into North (socialist, Hanoi) and South (presidential republic, Saigon). After reunification on April 30, 1975, a comprehensive revolution eliminated capitalism, transferring private businesses to state management. Many Southerners struggled to adapt and sought to leave. Cambodia's conflict with Vietnam forced refugees to flee by sea, creating the boat people phenomenon. The UN established camps in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. An estimated one million people left Vietnam, with many dying during the journey or in camps. The Galang refugee camp in Indonesia was one of the largest camps in Southeast Asia, accepting Vietnamese refugees from 1970-1996. The graves contain Vietnamese inscriptions, with some markers dated to 1980 and 1991. Some graves belong to individuals whose identities are unknown even to those who buried them.

On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to communist troops, marking America's defeat in its longest war. The event triggered the greatest refugee exodus in Vietnam's history, with a flood of boat people fleeing the country. The fall of Ban Me Thuot in January 1975 demonstrated South Vietnam's military weakness, as communist forces rolled northward with little resistance. The South Vietnamese army was described as 'paper mache' with incompetent officers fighting for a bankrupt government. This collapse created the 'convoy of tears,' with approximately 4,000 vehicles carrying refugees from the central highlands to the coast. Danang became virtually isolated as communist forces captured two more provinces, with refugees arriving by ship and on foot, crowded into ships like sardines. When Danang was expected to fall, panic prevailed, with an improvised airlift becoming chaotic as unruly soldiers led a frenzied mob trying to board. President Ford learned he could run but couldn't from Vietnam. The Ford administration refused to discuss evacuation plans, with Ambassador Graham Martin believing silence was the only way to prevent angry South Vietnamese from turning on departing Americans. More than 5,000 Americans seemed trapped along with as many as 200,000 Vietnamese who had worked for Americans. The US government set up an operation to evacuate orphans fathered by American servicemen, but shortly after the first takeoff, the plane crashed, scattering bodies over half a mile of rice paddies. Only 100 of the orphans survived. The battle for Saigon began with communist forces launching their first major assault in the capital's region since their offensive began five weeks ago. The heaviest attack was 40 miles east of Saigon at Chuan Lakh, which had been battered for a month by communist rockets. South Vietnam's 18th division put up what was called the single most gallant stand, holding out against unrelenting artillery barrage. After two weeks of assault waves and mortar fires, Wan Lock finally fell, and on that same day President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned. Confronted by continuing political pressures and military defeats, South Vietnam's president yielded to pressure. The 71-year-old vice president Tran Van Huong was named to succeed him, a frequently ill, virtually blind civilian in a military-dominated government. South Vietnamese politicians scrambled to put together a new government acceptable to the Communists for negotiations. President Ford sounded a note of reassurance, stating America could regain a sense of pride that existed before Vietnam but could not be achieved by refighting a war that was finished. The American role as protector was about to end. The final days of Saigon saw communist troops penetrate to the outskirts of the capital, with rockets waking Saigon up well before dawn. The boulevards near the Central Market were choked with smoke and flames. At mid-afternoon Saigon time, an armada of 81 US Marine helicopters descended on the capital, evacuating more than 6,000 people including 900 Americans. The evacuation order came after South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered all Americans with the US Defense Attaché Office out of the country within 24 hours. The US embassy helicopters flew from roof to roof, plucking up stranded Americans and occasionally depositing them on the landing pad atop the embassy. The Vietnamese refugees were heliported to waiting ships of the US Seventh Fleet on the Midway, with Navy crewmen leading them quickly away from the howling blast of the helicopters. Critics charged that US Ambassador Graham Martin had been blind to South Vietnam's impending defeat and became one of the last Americans to flee from Saigon. Despite predictions of a bloodbath, there was no massacre, but also no utopia. The Communists renamed Saigon Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the man whose revolution this had always been. The refugee crisis continued, with thousands risking storms, disease, and piracy on the South China Sea. Some were rescued by the US Seventh Fleet during the final hours of the evacuation, going straight to a landing craft bound for Granby Island in Subic Bay. The refugee crisis continued to grow, with refugees crowding into makeshift camps in Thailand at an average rate of 500 per month. Many refugees were ethnic Chinese who had lived in Vietnam and were long regarded with suspicion, becoming pariahs when conflict broke out between Vietnam and China. By summer 1978, 10,000 boat people per month were making it to Malaysia's shores. The Danish container ship Clara Maersk carried 4,400 Vietnamese refugees into Hong Kong, rescued five days earlier at sea from a sinking Vietnamese freighter. The Hong Kong government accepted refugees temporarily on humanitarian grounds because they were victims of a disaster at sea. The refugee boats had become refugee ships, with the HAI Hong packed with ethnic Chinese who had been turned away by Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia before Malaysia allowed the cargo ship to anchor offshore. Three decks were overflowing with people, with virtually every inch of available space occupied. The refugees were virtually every inch of available space, with hundreds and hundreds of men, women, and children lying about limply with each passing day. The refugee crisis prompted the United States to increase its quotas, with the Carter Administration announcing it was prepared to admit almost 22,000 Southeast Asian refugees. Meanwhile, Hong Kong had been giving sanctuary to thousands of refugees, particularly those on smaller boats, but by spring 1979, the numbers became overwhelming, with more than 900 people arriving each day. The refugee boats had become refugee ships, with the HAI Hong packed with ethnic Chinese who had been turned away by Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia before Malaysia allowed the cargo ship to anchor offshore. Three decks were overflowing with people, with virtually every inch of available space occupied. The refugees were virtually every inch of available space, with hundreds and hundreds of men, women, and children lying about limply with each passing day. The refugee crisis had prompted Congress to establish a pecking order for admission to the United States: refugees who had close relatives here, those who had worked for the US government in Vietnam, those who feared for their lives, and everyone else for everyone else.