Yen Do, 65; Publisher of First, Largest U.S. Vietnamese Paper

Yen Do, who published the Nguoi Viet Daily News, the first and largest Vietnamese daily newspaper in the nation, died Thursday afternoon. He was 65.

Do died of complications of diabetes and kidney disease at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, according to his eldest child, Anh Do, English section editor and vice president of community relations for the newspaper.

In 1978, Do established the Nguoi Viet, which means "Vietnamese People." Initially a four-page weekly that he printed in his Garden Grove garage, the newspaper would grow and help shape the Southern California Vietnamese exile community.

It provided information to refugees, whose lives were upended by the Vietnam War, and guided them with articles on how to adjust in their new land. It reconnected loved ones separated by the war and offered tips on how to register children for school and how to obtain a driver's license.

"Yen Do was instrumental in working on getting the community on the right track," said Tony Lam, a former Westminster city councilman and friend of Do's.

Many of the immigrants settled in Westminster, a blue-collar town in Orange County, and cobbled out an enclave known as Little Saigon. It is the largest hub of Vietnamese commerce and business outside the Southeast Asian country.

Do's journalism career began when he was 12, working for an underground high school newspaper in Saigon. During his teens, he led student protests against the South Vietnamese government to seek more student scholarships and upgraded classrooms. He was arrested and then suspended from school for protesting, which was outlawed.

He later worked as a reporter and editor for several publications in Vietnam before he became an interpreter, working with American and French journalists as South Vietnam was being attacked by Communists.

He and his wife, Loan, were married in Saigon in 1963.

Do and his family were among the first wave of Vietnamese immigrants to arrive at Camp Pendleton in 1975, after the fall of Saigon. While at the Marine base, he asked soldiers to donate books to the library he had started for immigrants.

"He loved to read, and he wanted people to learn English," said Nick Lecong, who lived at Camp Pendleton with Do. "He wanted people to know about the American culture because he thought that some day, we would become Americans."