In July 2008 the Vietnam Archive received congratulatory letters from Senator John F. Kerry and President William Jefferson Clinton for its opening of the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA) Collection, donated by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation. In his letter Senator Kerry writes, “…Your dilligent work to record for posterity the story of the historic immigration of Vietnamese-Americans is to be commended…I appreciate your important efforts to protect and give voice to their inspiring history.” To view Senator Kerry’s letter in full and access congratulatory letters from other VIPs for the opening of the FVPPA collection visit our FVPPA Collection Webpage.

Sebastian Arandia graduated from Texas Tech University on May 10, 2008 with a BA in History. He has been accepted into Texas A&M; University’s History graduate program and will begin in August of 2008. Sebastian started working at the Vietnam Archive in May of 2007 and began working on the Familes of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (VAHF) collection on July 17th 2007. He has proven himself a very conscientious, dedicated, and hard working student assistant with a passion for History and learning. Sebastian chose to work at the Vietnam Archive so that he could have “… the opportunity to have a hands-on experience with the history of the Vietnam War.” Sebastian enjoys working with the FVPPA (VAHF) collection because by doing so he is “…preserving and making known the history of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who left their country after April 30, 1975.” Congratulations and Good Luck Sebastian. We wish you best. We know you are on the road to a bright future.

The Vietnam Center and Archive’s May 28th, 2008 opening ceremony of the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA) Collection, donated by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF), was a great success. The Vietnam Center and Archive co-hosted the event, entitled “We Did Not Forget Those Left Behind,” with the VAHF. The ceremony marked the collection as fully processed and available to researchers. The Vietnam Center and Archive held the ceremony to raise awareness of the FVPPA collection and to thank those individuals and organizations who helped these Vietnamese refugees emigrate to the U.S.

Speakers at the event included: Dr. James Reckner, Executive Director, Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation; Ms. Nancy Bui, President, Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation; Ms. Khuc Minh Tho, Founder and President, Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association; An Hoang Le, Humanitarian Operations Participant; Dr. Stephen F. Maxner, Director, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Mr. T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific, Amnesty International; Ms. Anna Mallett, Project Archivist, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Dr. William M. Marcy, Provost, Texas Tech University; and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deputy regional representative Thomas Albrecht was scheduled to speak, but had to cancel his flight and attendance due to events in East Africa, Kenya.

Distinguished guests at the May 28th Opening Ceremony included Khuc Minh Tho, T. Kumar of Amnesty International, Major General Dudley Faver, representatives of the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, and Texas Tech University Provost William M. Marcy.

Awards were given from the VAHF to Dr. James Reckner, Dr. Stephen Maxner, Mary Saffell, and Ann Mallett. The Vietnam Center and Archive also presented an award to Ann Mallett.

Letters of written for the May 28th Opening Ceremony by Senator John McCain, Senator Bob Dole, President George H. W. Bush, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Robert L. Funseth (Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Director of the Bureau for Refugee Programs) are posted on our website for researchers to read when they look the FVPPA collection. These letters, along with the FVPPA collection’s scope and content note, administrative history, finding aid, and names search database, may be viewed on the following webpage of the Vietnam Archive’s Virtual Archive: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamarchive/fvppa/index.htm

-All photos are were taken by The Vietnam Center’s Victoria Lovelady

View more pictures of the opening ceremony