MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Phillip K. Nguyen is improving the quality of life aboard an installation he fled to almost 30 years ago this week.
Nguyen, one of 130,000 Vietnamese refugees who fled to the United States after the end of the Vietnam War, serves as an engineer for the Public Works Department here. He designs infrastructure far more elaborate than the canvas confines and portable toilets that marked the lifestyle of Nguyen and 50,000 other Vietnamese refugees who called Camp Talega's tent city home for a while in the war's aftermath.
"I can still picture all of the tents set up everywhere, the children running around, the long chow lines and the Marines always willing to help out my people," Nguyen said, his Vietnamese accent still thick.
"I appreciate what the Americans were able to do for my family and me. We are glad the Marines were there to help."
When the Vietnam War ended April 30, 1975, the communist North Vietnamese took over. Thousands of South Vietnamese were displaced and seeking refuge in other countries.
Congress approved the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, which allowed Vietnamese refugees to enter the U.S. Many of them were ex-military and government officials, along with their families, who had worked for the U.S. during the war.
Vietnamese refugees who flocked here had no idea what the future held, Nguyen said.
Nguyen was 19 when his journey began on a ship headed for unfamiliar territory.
Now 49, Nguyen says he has seized the opportunities the "country of hope and freedom" has offered to him.
He graduated from the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona with a bachelor's degree in electronics after years of long hours working by day and attending school at night.
After holding various jobs over the years, he wound up back at Camp Pendleton in 1999 - working to improve the base to repay Marines for helping him a generation ago.
"I am glad I have been given the chance to give back to the Marines since they were there to help me out," Nguyen said.
Nguyen met his wife , Kim, prior to departing Vietnam. Unknown to Nguyen then, she was also one of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who arrived in the U.S. nearly 30 years ago. He met her again, by chance, 10 years after their arrival to U.S.
They've been married for 20 years and have three children.
It's destiny they found each other again, he said.
He vividly remembers the harsh trip from Vietnam to the U.S. It included 7-1/2 days on a ship bound for Guam. The ship's capacity was 2,500 - but wound up crammed with 8,000 refugees.
"Seeing all the people made it difficult to see hope through the struggles of finding comfort on the ship," he said.
People onboard were sickly and constantly hungry, Nguyen said.
"I can remember being worried and uncertain of whether or not I would see my parents again," he said.
He spent two months in Guam with about 20,000 people before he made another voyage ---- this time to America. He still had not seen his family since leaving Vietnam.
"At this time, I was still worried about my parents and little sister, but I tried to keep myself occupied by helping the Marines with my people," he said.
That help included delivering water, blankets and other necessities.
"By helping the Marines, I was able to keep from thinking and worrying too much about my family," Nguyen said.
But at the same time, he was looking for help too.
"Once I arrived at Talega, the Red Cross helped me locate my parents and sister," he said. "They were in the U.S. at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas."
After 2-1/2 months at Pendleton, the Red Cross sent him to Arkansas to reunite with his family.
Although his stay here was short, the memories are ingrained in his mind like the thanks he harbors in his heart. He hopes others are also grateful.
"Anytime I pass by the campsite at Talega, I still have memories of me delivering water or blankets to other Vietnamese in need," he said. " I hope that the future generations never forget how we arrived in the U.S., and continue to carry the treasure of our history and culture."