Mr. Tuan Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American living in New Orleans who is the Deputy Director of Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation and served on Louisiana Congressman Joseph Cao's oil disaster Rapid Response Team following the BP Deepwater oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Nguyen was born, one of thirteen children, in 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Thanh Nguyen and Than Nguyen of Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

Mr. Thang "Peter" Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American, former shrimper, now community liaison for Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center.  He was born in 1967 in Vung Tau, South Vietnam. His parents were fisherfolk and told him the story of escaping Vietnam in the family boat two weeks before the Communists took over South Vietnam, when Mr. Nguyen was just eight years old.

Mr. Muoi Pham is a Vietnamese-American living in New Orleans who is a tuna boat deckhand. Pham was born, the youngest of ten children, on October 8, 1957, in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. His parents originated from North Vietnam; his father fled from the Viet Minh to Phan Thiet where he met Mr. Pham’s mother. Mr. Pham quit school to begin fishing with his father, as deckhands, at age eighteen in Phan Thiet, a fishing village. Mr. Pham was imprisoned in reeducation camp in 1977 but escaped after two weeks.

Ran Bui is a Vietnamese-American shrimper in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Ran Bui was born in 1960, one of eleven children, and raised in the port city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam. Mr. Bui’s parents are originally from Hai Phong in the north of Vietnam. His father, Canh Bui, was a member of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army) and a fisherman; his mother, Mau Thi Nguyen, fished with the family and worked for a seafood company processing oysters and shrimp. Mr. Bui began fishing with his father at age eleven.

Mrs. Hoa Thi Pham is a Vietnamese-American living in Biloxi, Mississippi, who made nets for a living in her native land, Vietnam.  She was born in 1953 in Duc Pho, South Vietnam. In 1966 she went to live temporarily with her grandfather’s brother in Vung Tau to be protected from the dangerous fighting in her home region. Mrs. Pham’s father grew rice and potatoes on their farm and her mother had a convenience store. Mrs. Pham had one younger brother. She married Mr. Luu Thai, a shrimper who was from her village. Mrs.

Khang V. Dang is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Khang V. Dang was born April 20, 1954, one of eleven children, in the port city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam. Mr. Dang’s parents originated from the Go Cong district in the Mekong Delta region. He learned fishing and net making from his father and grandfather; his mother cooked and baked and sold her goods, along with fish and shrimp, in the market. Mr. Dang joined the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1971, serving as security for his home area of Vung Tau until 1975. Mr.

Mrs. Xuyen Pham is a Vietnamese-American oyster shucker and gardener living in New Orleans East, Louisiana. Pham was born in 1948 in a small village near Hai Phong, North Vietnam. Her father, Thoan Van Pham, was a fisherman. Mrs. Pham helped her mother, Xuy Thi Pham, dry fish and shrimp to make and sell nuoc mam sauce. Her father and grandfather fished on stilts and made a boat carved from bamboo. In 1954 her family, disguised as merchants, made it to Hai Phong, then escaped North Vietnam to the South upon hearing of the country’s division.

Kim Dai Dinh is a Vietnamese-American, living in East Biloxi, who worked in seafood processing plants.

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.

Le Van Dong is a Vietnamese-American shrimper living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Mr. Le Van Dong was born January 9, 1958, one of three children, in My Tho, South Vietnam. In 1968, Mr. Dong moved to the port city of Vung Tau, South Vietnam. Mr. Dong’s father was a guard in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army), and took responsibility for raising his young children upon the early death of Mr. Dong’s mother. Mr. Dong began catching and selling fish at the age of fourteen to help support his family. Mr.