A Vietnamese-American Perspective on the Intergenerational Effects of the Vietnam War
By Tran T. Doan
“All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory”
As a decision scientist addressing public health disparities, I aim to share voices and perspectives that are not often heard so that we can achieve greater health equity. I do so through my research alongside collaborators. I also raise awareness through my advocacy work. As a Vietnamese-American, I know firsthand that immigrant voices and stories matter and must be shared.
One of my most gratifying advocacy experiences brought together these parts of my work. In 2020, I collaborated with filmmaker Lauren Anders Brown on a documentary titled “The War Less Travelled”. In it, I share my family’s journey in opening up for the first time about the effects of the Vietnam War on our lives, beginning to address its history and trauma.
The Vietnam War’s effects have been underappreciated in the United States. As Ronald Haeberle, U.S. Army photographer who exposed the 1968 Mai Lai Massacre – which killed up to 500 civilians – shared in the documentary, “We like to forget about this war…they don’t want us to accept the history.” The horrors of the war, witnessed by Haeberle, my parents, and millions of others, continue to affect generations – though many in the U.S. are not yet aware.
In interviewing my parents, I gained newfound appreciation for how war can revise history before it is written in the form of intergenerational trauma. My father admits that it is still hard for him to talk about the war (he arrived in the U.S. in 1981 after escaping Vietnam and spending time in a refugee camp). My mother shared the challenges she has faced in America. In response to recent Asian hate, she noted, “It doesn’t mean I don’t go out, but I’m still scared. I have to watch where I go.” When seeking healthcare, she shared her difficulty in understanding providers due to her limited comfort in English: “They talk fast, so sometimes I don’t want to answer the phone [if they call].” These are real barriers to accessing care and wellbeing.
The Vietnam War, like many wars, has had a lasting health impact on not only those, like my parents, who survived the war, but also Vietnamese-Americans like myself, born afterward and still experiencing intergenerational effects. Dr. Gilbert Gee, professor of public health at University of California Los Angeles, notes a range of health issues that can stem from discrimination, including clinical depression, diabetes, and hypertension. Additionally, his and others’ research shows a cumulative effect: “Discrimination can lead to stress, which can lead to inflammation, and inflammation can lead to chronic illnesses,” he explains. “Trauma that happens in one generation has ripple effects on the second, third, fourth, maybe even seventh generation.”
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander month, an opportune time to highlight the effect of increasing racism toward Asian-Americans in recent years. This, plus issues accessing culturally- and linguistically appropriate healthcare, creates serious obstacles for many Asian-Americans and others to seek care. Dr. Tung Nguyen, a physician and public health disparities researcher at University of California San Francisco, notes how this creates challenges in delivering care equitably: “When it comes to the more culturally loaded health issues, like mental health (and I think we’re having a lot of issues here between COVID and the economy and anti-Asian hate), as well as historical trauma, we just have all kinds of problems getting [people] adequate care.”
In making this documentary, I realized the tension that I felt as “Vietnamese-American, not Vietnamese”. I was born in America, yet I have continually faced foreigner bias. I have consistently answered questions like, “Where are you from?”, “Are you a native?”, “Were you born here?”, “Do you speak English?” These questions hurt, and in my opinion, they would be less common partly if we were taught more Asian-American history in schools. For instance, learning about the Vietnam War from different perspectives – Vietnamese, American, and, importantly, Vietnamese-American – would help more people understand the challenges we still face even though the war is over.
It is crucial that we hear the voices that have not been heard and tell the stories that have not been told so that we can heal, improve health outcomes, combat racism, and find forgiveness. I am reminded of a quote from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel, The Sympathizer: “Japanese American, not Japanese. Vietnamese American, not Vietnamese. You must claim America. America will not give itself to you. If you do not claim America, if America is not in your heart, America will throw you into a concentration camp or a reservation or a plantation.” Reclaiming our history to improve our future is why I made this documentary, and why I do the work that I do.