Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Custodial History
Processing History
Historical Background
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: John Scire photographs of Vietnamese refugees at Camp Pendleton
Creator:
Scire, John
Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.034
Physical Description:
0.1 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1975
Abstract: This collection comprises 43
photographs taken of Vietnamese refugees and their living areas at the San Onofre camp
within Camp Pendleton, California in 1975. The photographs, taken by former South Vietnamese
Air Force Lieutenant and pilot trainee Tran qui Hung on behalf of former U.S. Marine Corps
Captain John A. Scire, feature images of families, children, and general camp
life.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in
English.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or
to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
John Scire Photographs of Vietnamese Refugees at Camp Pendleton. MS-SEA034. Special
Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Chi H. Do via John H. Scire, 2004.
Custodial History
The photographs were taken by former South Vietnamese Air Force Lieutenant Tran qui Hung on
behalf of former U.S. Marine Corps Captain John A. Scire in 1975. Mr. Scire contacted
Minhhong Do in October 2004 regarding a repository where the photographs could be donated.
Minhhong Do forwarded this request to Chi H. Do, who corresponded with Scire and received
the photographs in November 2004. Dr. Robert R. Jones, III (Bob Jones), former American
diplomat in Saigon, referred Mr. Chi Do to Anne Frank of the Southeast Asian Archive at UC
Irvine. The materials were donated to the Southeast Asian Archive in December 2004.
Processing History
Processed by Audra Eagle Yun, 2012.
Historical Background
John A. Scire, PhD., MBA, was U.S. Marine Corps Captain at Camp Pendleton, California in
1975 when tens of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees were airlifted to the
United States. Scire was tasked with preparing the San Onofre camp for the first wave of
refugees, including removing hundreds of Marine Corps infantry trainees from the camp's
Quonset huts, setting up cots, as well as coordinating with the Red Cross and other
non-governmental charitable organizations to process refugee requests for assistance and
relocation to cities across the United States. He was also responsible for reopening an old
dining facility (mess hall) to provide food to the refugees.
When refugees began to occupy the camp, Scire asked former South Vietnamese Air Force
Lieutenant and pilot trainee Tran qui Hung to photograph the people of the camp, as he
believed it would be inappropriate for a camp commander to photograph the refugees. John A.
Scire is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises 43 photographs taken of Vietnamese refugees and their living
areas at the San Onofre camp within Camp Pendleton, California in 1975. The photographs,
taken by ormer South Vietnamese Air Force Lieutenant and pilot trainee Tran qui Hung on
behalf of former U.S. Marine Corps Captain John A. Scire, feature images of families,
children, and general camp life.
The collection includes a letter addressed to former Camp Pendleton refugee Chi. H. Do, who
donated Mr. Scire's photographs to the Southeast Asian Archive in 2004.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Refugees -- Vietnam -- Photographs.
Refugees -- Cambodia -- Photographs.
Refugees -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Camp Pendleton (Calif.)