Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Louis M. Kyriakoudes
  • NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History documents the experience of people living in Gulf  of Mexico  oil-spill-affected fishing communities. The oral history data complements other social and economic data about the spill collected by NOAA and other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Alfred, Sal, and Salvador Blake Sunseri Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Alfred “Al” R. Sunseri was born on May 3, 1958, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mr. Salvador Raymond Sunseri (born April 25, 1925, New Orleans) and Mrs. Bobbie Prest Sunseri (born September 10, 1931, Winnipeg, Canada). Raymond Sunseri worked as a certified public accountant in Beverly Hills, California, (1949 to 1950), and from 1952 to 1986, he was owner of P&J Oyster Company, Inc. Al Sunseri’s father’s family was of Sicilian descent, from Trabia, Sicily. His paternal grandmother was Olvira Federice Sunseri. His paternal grandfather, Alfred R.

Stephanie Scull-DeArmey, Linda VanZandt New Orleans, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Alvina Nichols Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mrs. Alvina Maudvella Nichols was born on October 21, 1925, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Mr. James Rosemond (born July 4, 1902, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi) and Mrs. Mattie Bell Johnson Rosemond (born December 29, 1903, in New Orleans, Louisiana). Her father was a fisherman who came from a fishing family, residing in Bay St. Louis. Her mother was a seafood processing factory worker. Her mother’s family originated in New Orleans and migrated to Bay St. Louis in the early 1900s. Nichols attended St.

Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Bay Saint Louis, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Bryan E. Cumbie Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Bryan Cumbie is a commercial shrimper from Bayou Labatre, Alabama.

Barbara Hester Bayou LaBatre, AL NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Clyde Leslie Brown Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Clyde Leslie Brown was born July 1, 1932, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Nathaniel Richard Brown (born November 22, 1901, in Canoe, Alabama) and Mary Edna Stork Brown (born February 28, 1906, in Pecan, Mississippi). His father was a farmer who ran a general store in Canoe, Alabama, and his mother was a housewife. His mother’s father was a commercial fisherman in Jackson County, Mississippi, who ran a general store in Pecan, Mississippi. On September 4, 1955, he married Annie Marie Jones.

Barbara Hester Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Cuc Huynh Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Cuc Huynh is a Vietnamese-American shrimper and tuna fisherman, living in New Orleans East. Mr. Cuc Huynh was born in 1964, one of nine children, near Phu Hai in Binh Thuan Province, South Vietnam. His father’s name was Tich Huynh and his mother’s name was Em Thi Phan. Tich Huynh served as a soldier in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). Mr. Huynh learned to fish from his father when he was thirteen years old. His mother bought and sold fish in town.

Linda VanZandt, Khai Nguyen New Orleans, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Cui Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Cui Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in East Biloxi, Mississippi. Nguyen was born in 1954, one of seven children, in the city of Rach Gia in the Kien Giang Province of South Vietnam. His father, Ngoc Van Nguyen, was a fisherman. His mother, Kau Thi Nguyen, farmed rice. They all worked together to fish and sell at the local market. In 1972 Mr. Nguyen served in his town in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). In 1981 Mr.

Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan East Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Dac Truong Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Dac Truong is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Truong was born on May 8, 1954, in Rach Gia, South Vietnam. His father was a fisherman, head captain, and carpenter who built his own boat. Mr. Truong was his co-captain. In 1982 Mr. Truong escaped Vietnam with his family, navigating to Malaysia as captain on a friend’s boat. They were later transferred to a camp in the Philippines where he learned some English. In 1984 Mr. Truong and his family finally made it to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where they lived for three years.

Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan Ocean Springs, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Daniel Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Daniel Nguyen is the environmental justice coordinator for the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation in New Orleans Versailles Community. He also currently serves as the project manager for the Viet Village Urban Farm and Sustainable Aquaculture Park, managing daily activities and helping to organize community fisherfolk and gardeners in a cooperative effort to market their goods to local New Orleans restaurants.

Linda VanZandt New Orleans, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Daniel Quan Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Reverend Daniel Quan Nguyen was born, one of five children, on July 15, 1941, in Tay Ninh Province (east of Saigon), South Vietnam. His parents were farmers and his father died when he was just a year old. Reverend Nguyen attended high school and university in Saigon, studying science and law, then becoming a high school math teacher. From 1968 to 1975, he served as an infantry commander in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). He was stationed with the Fourth Battalion Regiment of the Seventh Division in the Mekong Delta.

Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Earl W. Ross Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Earl Ross is a commercial shrimper in the Gulf of Mexico. Ross was born on December 13, 1947, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mr. Wildon Ross (born April 22, 1922, in Biloxi) and Mrs. Ruth Wallis Ross) born September 27, 1929). His father was a police officer, taxicab owner, and shrimper in Biloxi. His mother was a bookkeeper. His father’s family were shrimpers who owned local businesses, including grocery stores, clothing stores, and taxicabs. His mother’s family were shrimpers and bakers. On November 17, 1968, he married his wife, Charlene (born December 14, 1947).

Barbara Hester Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute