VHM_0068

Issued by the International Organization for Migration in coordination with the U.S. and Vietnamese governments, this card documents Capt. Hoàng Đình Báu’s eligibility and processing for emigration under the Humanitarian Operation (HO) Program. Stamped dates—16 May, 11 July, and 21 September 1991—mark stages of medical screening and departure clearance.

Báu had been eligible to leave in 1975 but remained in Saigon to stay with his family. This decision led to his imprisonment in a reeducation camp for seven years. In 1983, after his release, he secured passage by sea for his family through his navigational skills. Unfortunately, the boat never made it out of the port. It was shot at and sank while at the Y-Shaped in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, resulting in the death of his wife and four daughters. Báu himself was captured and imprisoned for four more years for “treason” (phản quốc).

In September 1991, Báu finally departed Vietnam and was resettled in the United States through official refugee channels.