The fall of Saigon is nearing its 50th anniversary on April 30, 2025. It marks the end of the Vietnam War, a decades-long battle between the communist North Vietnamese and the Southern freedom fighters of Vietnam, alongside the American army.

In the aftermath of the war, nearly 2 million people fled via boat and took refuge in other countries, including the U.S. Here in the land of the free, Vietnamese people got a second chance and started over. They learned the English language or a trade, and if that didn’t work, they learned how to set up businesses to maintain their traditions, such as cooking.

Some of the most famous food from Vietnam are shared by the very people who risked their lives to reach here. While pho is popular, other small plates and appetizers can be found in businesses like the New Cholon Market in Chinatown, referred to as “Andong” among the Vietnamese people in Hawai’i.

Vietnamese language is taught by Professor Maihan Nguyen, whose family arrived to the United States via sponsorship of a U.S.-based Humanity Organization program. She teaches the language not only to further the knowledge of Vietnamese culture, but also as a way to maintain Vietnamese identity through traditions.

Steve Nguyen, who survived as a captain of one of the boats that fled to Malaysia, shared, “I would like to tell the young generation why we’re here, because there has a reason, because we from South Vietnam, all the poor people from South Vietnam, we escape, the reason is, when the communist took South Vietnam, we [couldn’t] find the future, the future is very dark […] and we don’t think we can live with them (communists), that’s why we escaped.”

Today, survivors of the Vietnam war can find solace in the celebration of freedom in their new home here in America, as the new generation keeps Vietnamese heritage alive through cooking, teaching and other businesses.