Vietnam

The comb was secretly delivered to Vũ Huy Thâm’s family when they traveled from Cần Thơ to Pleiku to visit him at the Gia Trung reeducation camp at the end of 1979.

In 1979, while imprisoned at the Gia Trung reeducation camp in Pleiku, Vũ Huy Thâm crafted a comb from the wreckage of a South Vietnam Air Force plane shot down in the surrounding forests. After shaping and polishing the metal, he asked a fellow inmate to engrave the intertwined initials “T” and “H” to represent himself and his wife, Lê Thị Nguyệt Hồng. 

Gifted to Father Nguyễn Hữu Lễ by a close friend during his 11 years in prisons in Northern Vietnam, including time at Quyết Tiến disciplinary camp near the Chinese border, also known as Heaven’s Gate Prison.

Phạm Thu Hảo brought this chalice with her when she fled North Vietnam in 1954. 

Nguyễn Đăng Khôi wore this shirt during his escape on April 29, 1975. He passed through Bến Nhà Rồng, Cửa Cần Giờ, and Subic Bay, Philippines, before finally arriving at Camp Pendleton, California.

This shirt was gifted to Nguyễn Đăng Khôi in mid-April 1975. 

Nguyễn Đức Lợi removed this badge from the HQ-400 in April 1975 as the crew was preparing the ship to flee Vietnam and kept it as a keepsake.

Bag used by Vũ Chuyền to carry his child’s clothing during their flight from Vietnam.

Worn by Lư Chương as he departed Vietnam on April 30, 1975. 

Sent to Vietnam with Lê Xuân Mùi upon his repatriation in 1996