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(San Jose, CA May 10, 2009) The Vietnam War may be a fading memory for many people, but the

stories of how it impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and American

soldiers are being preserved by a creative group of young video producers in San Jose,

California.

They will be sharing a selection of short videos produced with a cross section of Vietnamese

Americans from their community at a special public benefit screening and dinner event that will

be held in the University Room at San Jose State University, on Sunday, May 17, from 5 PM to

7:30 PM.

The Vietnamese American Heritage Project is mobilizing tech savvy high school and college

students to use computers to document the personal reflections of the “Boat People” who fled

Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War, braving the high seas and attacks by predatory

pirates to find their way to freedom and a new life in America.

“Our history books stop with the fall of Saigon and the end of the war, “ said Cang Le, a 22 year

old college student who started the program two years ago. “We don’t really know what our

parents and other members of the older generation went through so that their children and

grandchildren could have the opportunity to grow up in America.”

Cang was born in Vietnam, and moved to the US with his parents and his two younger brothers

when he was 8. His father served in the South Vietnamese Army, and spent 6 years in a

concentration camp. Cang’s brothers, Cuong and Binh, and his sister, Jennifer, age 12, started

the program as a way to honor their parents, and to encourage other Vietnamese Americans to

learn and share their history.

Cang says he wants the project to break down barriers between the generations, as well as to

build a bridges between the Vietnamese American community and Vietnam War veterans,

including those who served in the South Vietnam Army like his father.

“It is still very painful for many of these people to share their memories, but we believe that they

must come forward and tell us their stories if we and they are going to be able to truly complete

the healing process,” said Cuong Le, who is majoring in Health Sciences at San Jose State, and

believes the program has significant therapeutic value for those who participate.

Nguyen, Dao Van Binh, a writer and activist who was blacklisted by the Vietnamese government,

Kim Delevett, Community Affairs Manager for Southwest Airlines, Hugh Nguyen, a local

businessman who survived a harrowing experience as a “boat child,” Khanh‐Hoa Wong , a

teacher of ethnic studies at Evergreen College, and Jennifer Le, a middle school student who has

created a nationally recognized youth program to combat childhood obesity..

“This project is a way of opening people’s eyes to Silicon Valley’s incredibly rich cultural

diversity and how our youth are using technology to help educate and inspire others as a way to

deepen mutual respect and understanding between people of difference viewpoints,” said

Council Memer Nguyen, whose story was produced both in Vietnamese and English.

The youth leaders will be traveling to Washington, DC later this month for meetings with the

Smithsonian Institution, and to share their work at the annual Stories of Service Memorial Day

conference. Their videos are being archived on the project web site and at History San Jose,

where the students plan to carry out a series of workshops during the coming year. The

program will also be promoted this fall to local area schools as a Service Learning project.

Tickets for the screening, which includes a buffet dinner, is $35 in advance, or $40 at the door

($20 for students), and may be reserved by calling 408. Additional information about the

The Digital Clubhouse Network is a 501(C) 3 nonprofit organization, created by NASA in 1996 to

develop innovative ways of using digital technology to enhance the quality of community by

improving education, promoting public health, and preserving cultural heritage and history. Its

model projects and programs have been featured frequently in the media, and have received

numerous awards, including three medals from the Smithsonian Institution, for pioneering the

“use of information technology to effect positive educational, economic and political change in

society.” Examples of its work are archived in over 30 museums and libraries around the world,

including the National Museum of American History.