Fort Chaffee, Arkansas

A U.S. Army post that received Indochinese refugees in 1975 and Cuban arrivals in 1980.

A reception center in 1975

In 1975 the U.S. government opened four mainland reception centers for refugees from Indochina: Camp Pendleton in California, Fort Chaffee in Arkansas, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. Fort Chaffee received tens of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees, who waited there until sponsors were found.

Mariel, 1980

Five years later, Fort Chaffee was used again, this time for Cubans who arrived in the Mariel boatlift. Conditions and long waits led to unrest at the post in the summer of 1980.

Connected stories

Anne Pham arrived at Fort Chaffee in May 1975, at age three, with her parents and six siblings.