Dispute spills into new year over who controls historic Viet Museum in San Jose

"There's an ongoing dispute spilling into the new year over who will run the Viet Museum at History Park in San Jose, and the new year could mean big changes. San Jose's Viet Museum could change hands if dueling groups don't come to a deal. The museum in History Park shut down more than a year ago because of the dispute. Its collection includes artifacts from the Vietnam War and refugees who resettled in Northern California."

"Quinn Tran is the president of the nonprofit that oversees the museum. "The horrors of war, the horrors that people go through to find freedom and not to forget it, but to have a lesson of humanity in it. So that our children understand," Tran said. She said there were disagreements among previous museum employees and volunteers about who is in charge. Tran said History San Jose, another nonprofit that manages properties within the park, closed the museum at the end of 2024 amid the dispute."

"Tran says they were given until Dec. 31 to reach a resolution. "Nobody has the right to just go tell an independent entity and just say, 'Hey, we're just going to cut you out and manage your assets and manage everything.' That is, to me, is a ethical moral insult," Tran said. City Councilmember Bien Doan said his office is involved, trying to mediate."

A leadership dispute over control of the Viet Museum at History Park in San Jose has left the museum closed for more than a year. The museum houses artifacts from the Vietnam War and items from refugees who resettled in Northern California. Quinn Tran, president of the nonprofit overseeing the museum, emphasized the collection's role in preserving the horrors of war and teaching future generations. Internal disagreements among employees and volunteers led History San Jose to close the museum at the end of 2024. The nonprofit was given until Dec. 31 to resolve the dispute. City Councilmember Bien Doan is mediating and said History San Jose could solicit bids, ideally from a capable Vietnamese group.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco