This oral history interview with Hung V. Tran was conducted by Allyson Harper at Tran’s office in the Hawthorne Fred Meyer Pharmacy in Portland, Oregon, from August 6-28, 1998, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. The interview was conducted in four sessions. An index of topics discussed in the interview is available.

In this interview, Tran discusses his family background and early life in Hanoi, Vietnam, describes how his life changed after the partition of Vietnam in 1954, and talks about his life in Saigon, South Vietnam. He talks about the economic, colonial, and political history of Vietnam in the early 20th century leading to the Vietnam War, and talks about his experiences as a pharmacist at a hospital in Saigon during the war. He discusses his life in Vietnam under the Communist government after the fall of Saigon in 1975, then describes attempting to escape with his family by boat in 1979 and about their capture. He speaks at length about his experiences in prison from 1979 to 1981, and closes the interview by describing the family’s plans to escape Vietnam in 1987.