(FOX 5/KUSI) — Within the coronary heart of San Diego’s vibrant Little Saigon group of Metropolis Heights, alongside a small six-block stretch of El Cajon Boulevard, almost each store and enterprise proprietor has a narrative about second possibilities. The Tran household is not any exception.
Brittany, Nicholas, Victoria, Vu and San are siblings. Their household constructed the Vien Dong World Foods Supermarkets after escaping on the finish of the Vietnam Battle and the autumn of Saigon.
Nicholas Tran was simply 4 years previous. His reminiscences are nonetheless vivid. “We didn’t select to go away Vietnam. I’m emotional now, that’s what I bear in mind they needed to do.”
On April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon marked the top of the Vietnam Battle and the start of a mass exodus of Vietnamese refugees fleeing their nation.
Read more stories about the 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War
“You had to stroll via the swamp to get to the ocean. It was so scary, as a result of it was so darkish and also you have been strolling via the mud, making an attempt to not get detected,” stated Nicholas.
With 4 kids in tow – together with a toddler and a 3-month-old the household left Vietnam in the course of the evening, hiding aboard a small fishing boat.
Brittany Tran Olarsch is the eldest of the siblings. She was simply 6 years previous when the household escaped. “We had no meals, no water for 3 days at sea. I bear in mind listening to kids crying, begging for water. It was probably the most painful reminiscence for my mother.”
“Individuals have been so thirsty they have been consuming saltwater, we had a few individuals die. The our bodies, they threw them abroad and you retain transferring,” Nicholas recollects.
Read more stories about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage
After surviving days out at sea, the household spent over a 12 months in a Malaysian refugee camp. Ultimately sponsored by an American church, they arrived in San Diego in March of 1979 with no cash and simply the shirts on their backs.
Nicholas Tran will always remember what his father needed to say. “My mother cried, and he or she requested my dad, ‘How are we going to outlive?’ And my dad stated, ‘We didn’t come this far simply to fail.’”
The household survived on donations and lived in a 2-bedroom condo with different refugees. Sen, their father, a businessman in Vietnam, noticed a necessity.
Victoria Tran talked about her father’s want to open a grocery retailer. “He missed dwelling, and we have been at all times in search of our personal sorts of meals, in order that’s why he began a grocery retailer, to assist the refugees join again to our homeland.”
So, from a small streetside market, Vien Dong shortly grew right into a cornerstone of the group. What started as a technique to carry a style of house is not one, however two thriving shops in Metropolis Heights.
“We’ve come a great distance. Our mother and father made so many sacrifices, not figuring out what the end result can be. However they took an opportunity, a threat,” stated Brittany.
From the Fall of Saigon 50 years in the past, to the guts of San Diego right this moment.
“The American Dream actually is you can be something you need in case you work exhausting sufficient for it. Even when the percentages are in opposition to you, in case you’re keen to work exhausting sufficient, and also you’re right here in America, it’s doable,” stated Vu Tran.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
