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. Dong continued fishing to support his siblings during the time his father was imprisoned in reeducation camp after the fall of South Vietnam. In 1981, Mr. Dong escaped Vietnam from Vung Tau on a boat with close friends, but without his family. After a seven-month stay in an Indonesian refugee camp, and traveling through Singapore, he eventually landed in Panama City, Florida. In 1988 he settled in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, buying his own boat and making his living as a shrimper. Mr. Dong has enjoyed traveling to many places in the United States, including Washington and Oregon. Mr. Dong is married to Ha Nguyen, who works as a shrimp processor at Gollott Seafood Company. He has one son, Hai Dong.

Scope and Content Note:
He discusses shrimping in Vung Tau to help support family after mother?s death; father?s service in ARVN and time in re-education camp; shrimping on Gulf Coast in comparison to Vietnam; fall of Saigon, 1975, and changes under Communism; leaving family and escaping Vietnam in 1981; time in Indonesia, Singapore, then to U.S.; faith in God to keep him safe; USCC sponsorship, living in Florida (adoptive mother), then traveling across U.S.; attending ESL classes; meeting wife in Vietnam and bringing her and their son to America after 17 years; shrimping again on Mississippi coast after many different jobs; challenges and changes after Katrina and BP oil spill; hopes for future of fishing industry after oil spill.