VHM_0069

Descriptive title
Card H05 (Nguyễn Đức Trạch)
Initial context
Date
1990
Object type(s)
Material(s)
Description

Issued by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in coordination with U.S. immigration authorities, this card documents approval for resettlement to the United States under the HO Program, Phase 5 (“H05”), which prioritized former political prisoners and reeducation-camp survivors.

Nguyễn Đức Trạch, a former officer of the Republic of Vietnam, was imprisoned after 1975 and released in 1985. Between 1985 and 1987 he attempted to escape Vietnam repeatedly; one attempt ended in a police shootout after a child reported the group, and a close friend was killed beside him. After a failed suicide attempt by pills and further detention, Trạch pursued legal emigration through the Orderly Departure Program. He completed medical and departure processing in late 1990 and resettled in Anaheim, California in early 1991.

The stamps and annotations on the card record the sequential steps of screening and exit clearance that enabled his final departure.

Current location
Rights description

Object donated to the Vietnamese Heritage Museum by Trạch Gầm

Timeline