Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2015 An Iowa anomaly: Robert Ray and the Indochinese refugees Matthew yaR n Walsh Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Asian American Studies Commons, Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Walsh, Matthew Ryan, "An Iowa anomaly: Robert Ray and the Indochinese refugees" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 14724. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14724 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. An Iowa anomaly: Robert Ray and the Indochinese refugees by Matthew Ryan Walsh A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Rural, Agricultural, Technological, and Environmental Program of Study Committee: Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, Major Professor Jana Byars Julie Courtwright Jane Dusselier John Monroe Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2015 Copyright © Matthew Ryan Walsh, 2015. All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Indochinese refugees and to the men and women who helped resettle them. Without the active support of the Iowa community, this dissertation would not have been possible. I thank all of the individuals who shared their amazing stories with me. For their contributions to this project, I would like to specifically recognize Tai Dam community members Som Baccam, Siang Bachti, Matsalyn Brown, and Dinh VanLo.