Loc Vu, the driving force behind San Jose’s Viet Museum and a longtime pillar of the city’s Vietnamese American community, has died at 92 after months in hospice care. He devoted decades to gathering artifacts and running refugee services, yet the institution he built is still closed to the public, caught in a bitter governance dispute.
According to San José Spotlight, Vu died Saturday in Cupertino while receiving hospice care, surrounded by loved ones and community members. Santa Clara County District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong called his passing “an inconsolable and immeasurable loss for our community.” The outlet reports Vu went so far as to mortgage his family home and pour his own savings into keeping the museum afloat.
From soldier to community builder
Born in Nam Định in 1933, Vu served as a colonel in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam before fleeing the country when Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. The Congressional Record recounts how he helped transform a temporary resettlement office into the Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center (IRCC), whose programs provided resettlement services to more than 20,000 immigrants. Over the years, the organization layered practical support such as ESL classes, job training, and housing help on top of cultural programming that ultimately led to the creation of the Viet Museum.
A house full of history
The Viet Museum is housed in the restored Greenawalt House at History Park and contains hundreds of artifacts, photographs and donated items chronicling the journeys of Boat People and the history of the Republic of Vietnam. History San José lists the Greenawalt House as the museum’s partner site and includes the Viet Museum as part of the park’s cultural landscape. For many in Little Saigon, its small rooms have doubled as classroom, memorial space and organizing hub for Black April remembrances and Tết celebrations.
Closed since December amid a board fight
The doors have been shut since December 2024, after History San José restricted access while rival factions within IRCC fought over who controls the nonprofit. Reporting from Local News Matters details allegations of nepotism, disputed banking activity and a lawsuit seeking a court ruling on which group is the legitimate board. That unresolved legal fight is the immediate reason visitors cannot see the collection today.
Leadership shake-up and recent efforts to reopen
In January 2025, IRCC announced a new board of directors and formally accepted Vu’s resignation, naming him Founding President Emeritus, according to a press release distributed via PRWeb. Quinn Tran, IRCC’s president and executive director, told San José Spotlight that Vu continued to use his own money to support community causes and said the new board has submitted documents to History San José in an effort to restore access to the museum. Community leaders say that any long-term reopening is likely to hinge on a court decision or a negotiated agreement on who officially runs the nonprofit.
What’s next for the collection?
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan briefly reopened the museum on January 29, for Lunar New Year, with his office covering upfront costs for that short window, according to a city press release. He cast the move as a temporary fix while the governance dispute plays out and community members push for a stable, permanent reopening plan. With Vu now gone, local advocates warn that time is running out to settle the fight over control and keep the museum’s stories alive for the next generation.
