Ho Tran, Tony. Interview April 22nd, 2023.
Vietnamese diaspora; Refugees; Ethnic identity; Vietnam; Amerasians
Tony Ho Tran is a writer in Chicago. In this interview, he talks about his family's immigration story, his childhood as a restaurant kid, and his mother's mixed-race heritage and his search for her father. He also speaks on his search for identity and embracing his Vietnamese heritage as an adult.
Tony Ho Tran
California State University San Marcos University Library
Jennifer Ho
In copyright.
English
Sioux City (Iowa); Vietnam; Chicago (Ill.)
Vietnamese diaspora; Refugees; Ethnic identity; Vietnam; Cambodia
Randy Kim is a speaker, storyteller, podcaster and non-profit professional based in Chicago. In this interview, he talks about his life experiences as a queer Vietnamese-Khmer American, including his childhood, background, and creative work. Randy also speaks on his relationship with his family members and the people he has met who have impacted his life for the better.
Randy Kim
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Chicago (Ill.) Vietnam Cambodia
Luevano, Dora. Interview November 6th, 2025
United States. Marine Corps
Pacific Bell Telephone Company
Camp Pendleton (Calif.)
Camp Lejeune (N.C.)
California State University, San Bernardino
Palomar College
Dora Luevano served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. She was stationed at Camp Pendleton during the Vietnam War. Luevano worked in a warehouse and office, processing deceased servicemembers, collecting their personal effects, and writing letters to their family and loved ones. Luevano described her strict upbringing, immigration to the U.S. as a child from El Salvador, and decision to enlist in the Marine Corps. Luevano was forced out of military service for getting married and having a child, and she reflected on the harsh expectations and regulations that affected women in military service. She spoke about her 60-year marriage to her husband, whom she met in the Marine Corps, and their life together after military service. Luevano described how her civilian life was shaped by her upbringing, religion, military service, education, professional career, business ownership, and husband’s recent passing.
Dora Luevano
Jason Beyer
In copyright
Vietnam
San Salvador (El Salvador)
El Salvador
United States
San Francisco (Calif.)
South Carolina
New York (United States)
Fallbrook (Calif.)
Las Vegas (Nev.)
California
Palm Desert (Calif.)
Indio (Calif.)
Palm Springs (Calif.)
Philippines
Vista (Calif.)
Burke, Gina. Interview November 13th, 2025
United States. Army Nurse Corps
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Catholics
Tagalog language
Cebuano language
Iloko language
World War, 1939-1945
MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964
Leyte, Battle of, Philippines, 1944
Nursing education
Military nursing
Fort Sam Houston (Tex.)
Fort Bliss (Tex.)
William Beaumont Army Medical Center (El Paso, Tex.)
Travis Air Force Base (Calif.)
Vietnam. Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Corps, 1st
United States. Army. 95th Evacuation Hospital
Quonset huts
Scrub nurses
Medical Civic Action Programs
American National Red Cross
Fort Hood (Tex.)
San Marcos Vet Center (Calif.)
San Diego VA Medical Center (San Diego, Calif.)
Agent Orange
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
American Legion
Palomar College (San Marcos, Calif.)
Cruisin’ Grand (Escondido, Calif.)
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Gina Burke served during the Vietnam War as a First Lieutenant operating room nurse in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Burke spoke about her family background in the Philippines, immigration to the U.S., and father’s military service. She enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps so she could complete nursing school with financial aid. Burke deployed to Vietnam and served mostly as a scrub nurse at a time when operating room nurses were in high demand. Burke reflected on the difficult working conditions and traumatic experiences that characterized her wartime service. She spoke about her social life and experience as a woman in the military. In this oral history, Burke shared how the military shaped her life and worldview. She spoke about her transition to civilian life and struggles with PTSD. Burke reflected on how counseling, community service, and veteran associations helped her feel better about her military service.
Gina Burke
San Marcos (Calif.)
Leyte (Philippines)
Cebu (Philippines)
Luzon (Philippines)
Denver (Colo.)
Escondido (Calif.)
El Paso (Tex.)
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
Da Nang (Vietnam)
San Diego County (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
San Diego (Calif.)
Chula Vista (Calif.)
Labrado, Ed. Interview November 17th, 2025.
United States. Army
United States. Army—Officers
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Cold War
University of California, Santa Barbara
Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945
United States. Army. Army, 3rd
United States. Army. Armored Division, 6th
United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (United States)
Camp Roberts (Calif.)
M1 rifle
World War, 1914-1918
Korean War, 1950-1953
M14 rifle
M16 rifle
Fort Gordon (Ga.)
Fort Monmouth (N.J.)
Cryptography
Missiles
Fort Ord (Calif.)
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Noncommissioned officers
Warsaw Pact (1955-1991)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Bank of America, National Association
Nike Hercules missile
Nuclear weapons
Ramstein Air Base (Germany)
Kennedy, John F., 1917-1963—Assassination
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
United States. Army—Deserters
Nuclear warfare
Deterrence (Strategy)
Peace Corps (U.S.)
Edwin Joseph Labrado Jr. was a captain in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was deployed in Europe during the Vietnam War. Labrado was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where he graduated from UCSB and completed the Army's four-year ROTC program. After graduation, he was assigned to the Army Signal Corps and later deployed to Europe. In Europe, he served as a battalion signal officer for a Nike Hercules missile battalion that had nuclear warheads. Some of his other responsibilities included communications training, military funeral honors, and the inspection of firing batteries. In this oral history interview, Labrado reflected on the Cold War, the US anti-Vietnam War movement, and how Americans treat veterans after military service.
Ed Labrado
Europe
Santa Barbara (Calif.)
Port Hueneme (Calif.)
Ventura (Calif.)
Georgia
New Jersey
Monterey (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Russia (Federation)
Soviet Union
Germany (East)
Germany (West)
Korea
Isla Vista (Calif.)
France
Germany
Ukraine
Nagasaki (Japan)
Shaffer, David. Interview November 20th, 2025
United States. Air Force
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
Convair
Victory over Japan Day
San Diego State University
Keesler Air Force Base (Miss.)
United States. Army Corps of Engineers
Six-Day War
Sinai Peninsula
Lajes Field (Azores)
Strategic Air Command (U.S.)
Hahn Air Base (Germany)
Lackland Air Force Base (Tex.)
United States. Federal Aviation Administration
Tinker Air Force Base (Okla.)
Bundesanstalt für Flugsicherung (Germany)
World War, 1939–1945
United States. Air Force—Occupational specialties
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (Ariz.)
McGuire Air Force Base (N.J.)
Hitler-Jugend
European Recovery Program (1948–1952)
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944
Andrews Air Force Base (Md.)
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs
McClellan–Palomar Airport (Calif.)
Germany. Luftwaffe
Mikoyan (Firm)
Sukhoi (Firm)
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908–1973
Fulda Gap (Germany)
Freemasons
Captain David Shaffer served in Europe as an air traffic controller during the 1960s. Shaffer was raised in San Diego County where his father was an engineer for Convair. From a young age, Shaffer aspired to become a military pilot, a goal which his tall height prevented. As an air traffic controller, Shaffer spent most of his deployment in Portugal and West Germany during the Cold War. He designed forward airfields during the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, although the conflict was over before they could be used. After leaving military service, Shaffer taught high school industrial arts in North San Diego County. He used the G.I. Bill to gain his master’s degree from San Diego State College and his private pilot license. In this oral history interview, Shaffer tells stories from his military service and reflects on the importance of patriotism.
David Shaffer
Colorado Springs (Colo.)
Colorado
Texas
Pennsylvania
Cortez (Colo.)
Shelter Island (San Diego, Calif.)
Azores (Portugal)
Portugal
San Antonio (Tex.)
Oklahoma City (Okla.)
Tucson (Ariz.)
Arizona
Mississippi
Israel
Middle East
Austria
Bavaria
Kastellaun (Germany)
Koblenz (Germany)
Libya
Africa, North
Winston-Salem (N.C.)
North Carolina
Iowa
Berlin (Germany)
Frankfurt (Germany)
Berlin (Germany : West)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
Kitzbühel (Austria)
Zweibrücken (Germany)
Moscow (Russia)
Munich (Germany)
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Ohio
New Zealand
Australia
Canada
Carlsbad (Calif.)
Arkansas
Luevano, Dora. Interview transcript, November 6, 2025.
New York
Burke, Gina. Interview transcript, November 13, 2025.
Lacea, Jan Michael Letigio. Photographs, Various dates.
Ten photos related to the oral history of Jan Michael Letigio Lacea. Photograph #1 depicts Lacea with U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, Randy Ferrer (Korean Army Medical Rep) in Daegu, Korea, 2014. Photograph #2 depicts Lacea posing with Corporal Mark Geppelt at the Marine Corps Ball, Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, 2013. Photograph #3 depicts Lacea posing with Hospital Corpsmen, Cody Goddard, Dillon Vick, and Gabriel San Pedro at the 2014 Navy Corpsman Ball, Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, 2014. Photograph #4 depicts Lacea posing with Sergeant Johan Lacea celebration Sergeant Lacea's promotion to E-5, Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, 2014. Photograph #5 depicts Lacea and Philippines soldiers during Exercise Balikatan, Tarlac, Philippines, 2012. Photograph #6 is a family photo of Lacea, Sergeant Johan Lacea, and Corpsman Howell Lacea at Camp Pendleton, California, 2011. Photograph #7 depicts Lacea deploying to the Philippines on a C-130 plane flying from Okinawa, Japan, Zamboanga, Philippines, 2012. Photograph #8 depicts Lacea and Lance Corporal Josue Alegarbes in deployment to the Philippines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Zamboanga, Philippines, 2012. Photograph #9 depicts Lacea and wife, Jazmin Lacea, on their wedding day in Seaport Village near the U.S.S. Midway Museum, San Diego, CA, 2018. Photograph #10 depicts Lacea with Lance Corporal Jonathan Flores, and Philippines soldiers preparing to destroy ordinance in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Zamboanga, Philippines, 2013. Click on the thumbnails to view the full images in more detail.
Toro, Albert F. Photographs, Various dates.
Ten photos related to the oral history of Albert F. Toro. Photograph #1 depicts Toro posing with Andy Andersen at basic training at Fort Ord, California, 1967. Photograph #2 depicts Toro and Corporal Roe in a tent in Cu Chi, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #3 depicts a service delivery truck to the mess hall in Cu Chi, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #4 depicts Toro posing at an ammunition dump during monsoon season in Cu Chi, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #5 depicts Toro leaving Cu Chi and deploying to Can Tho, Vietnam on a U.S. Navy Landing Ship, Tank (LST) in Newport, Saigon, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #6 depicts a U.S. Navy LST in Newport, Saigon, Vietnam, 1968 . Photograph #7 depicts leaving Saigon and deploying to Can Tho on a U.S. Navy LST, Saigon, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #8 depicts living quarters tents in Can Tho, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #9 depicts Toro posing with a U.S. Army Howitzer in Can Tho, Vietnam, 1968. Photograph #10 depicts a U.S. Navy River Patrol boat on the Mekong River Delta, 1968. Click on the thumbnails to view the full images in more detail.