Month: October 2025

Vietnamese Heritage Museum Founder and President, Chau Thuy will discuss “The Vietnamese Diaspora and Little Saigon”, at the next meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. The public is welcomed.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and of the beginnings of the Vietnamese American community in the part of Orange County we now know as Little Saigon.

After the fall of Saigon, USMC Camp Pendleton served as America’s first Vietnamese refugee camp. Soon, church groups in the heart of nearby Orange County began sponsoring many of those refugees. Many families settled permanently in Westminster, Garden Grove and surrounding cities, building a new community which attracted still more displaced people. Today, Orange County’s Little Saigon is a thriving commercial and cultural center and home to the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam.

A survivor of a harrowing boat escape from Vietnam to Thailand, Chau Thuy’s personal journey fuels his deep passion for cultural preservation and education. He is an artist, author, and engineer dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the Vietnamese diaspora. He’s committed himself to safeguarding and sharing the stories of resilience, sacrifice, and survival that define the Vietnamese refugee experience. His books about the Vietnamese “boat people” include Vực Xoáy and Bloodstained Sea. He is also an expert in Vietnamese calligraphy and his artwork has been exhibited at numerous universities and museums and at the State Capitol in Sacramento.

His vision is to establish a permanent institution that preserves and amplifies the history of Vietnamese refugees worldwide, ensuring their struggles and triumphs remain a vital part of the global narrative. To learn more about the Vietnamese Heritage Museum, please visit their website at:  https://vietnamesemuseum.org.

 

 

Please join the Orange County Historical Society in welcoming Vietnamese Heritage Museum Founder and President, Chau Thuy as he helps us all learn and understand more about  “The Vietnamese Diaspora and Little Saigon”, at the next Society meeting, on Thursday, November 13, 2025, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. We look forward to seeing you!