Dr. Luong Nguyen Pham, M.D.

Dr. Luong Nguyên Ph?m was born on November 20, 1942 in làng D?-S?, huy?n M?-Hào, t?nh Hung Yên, North Vietnam to Mr. Ph?m Van Nhã and Mrs. Nguy?n Th? Ng?t. He was the oldest of 7 children and spent his early childhood in H?i Phòng, Vietnam. In 1955, when he was 13 years old, the family moved to Saigon after the Vi?t Minh began to exert significant influence in North Vietnam. The family established a multigenerational home on 91 Gia Long Street in Saigon and there they had a thriving commercial import electrical products business as well as a successful pharmaceutical venture. Their prosperous businesses allowed them to build a seven story home between 1962-67 at 473-475 Phan Thanh Gi?n, Saigon where they established a large business selling and distributing building material supplies. Dr. Ph?m attended Nguy?n Trãi and Chu Van An high schools during this time and he then went on to attend medical school at Ð?i H?c Y Khoa Saigon (Saigon Medical School). Upon graduating from medical school in 1971, Dr. Ph?m tested for and was accepted into an elite division of the South Vietnamese army. He served in the military during the Vietnam War for Liên Ðoàn 72 Quân Y Vi?tnam C?ng Hòa, a unit designated for physicians and other medical personnel. During this time, he went out to Pleiku and served not only as a trauma surgeon operating on soldiers with traumatic battle injuries, but also as a general practitioner treating a multitude of acute tropical diseases and chronic medical conditions for the troops. He also served as a physician at Ð? Vinh Hospital for the parachute division and himself was a paratrooper for the South Vietnamese army. He then opened a medical practice where he practiced ear, nose, and throat surgery in Cam Ranh Bay and continued to serve actively for the military hospital. In April 1975, when Communist forces were overtaking the surrounding areas, he was forced to leave his life in Cam Ranh behind. He walked long distances with thousands of others from the Central Highlands of Vietnam to find safety and survived by drinking water from the fields and eating what little food he was given or could find along the way. Upon arriving back to Saigon, he, his younger brother Kh?i, and younger sister Dung were one of the fortunate few chosen to be airlifted from the top of the American embassy to an American warship: H?m Ð?i 7. From there, he was taken with thousands of other refugees to the Philippines, then to Guam and finally to Camp Pendleton, California. It was in Guam at the refugee camp that he became reacquainted with a childhood friend named Ðào Th? Thanh L?c. They exchanged contact information with the hopes of staying in touch once they were settled in the United States.

After Camp Pendleton, Dr. Ph?m was then sponsored to move to Iowa due to a need for physicians in the state. He knew, however, that in order to continue a successful career as a physician in the United States, he would have to formally retrain. Thus he moved to San Francisco, California and began studying night and day, reading medical topics in English, a language foreign to him, in the hopes of being able to sit for medical board exams. During this time, he and L?c continued their courtship. Despite living on opposite coasts of the United States, they forged an enduring love and were married on June 25, 1977 in Greensboro, North Carolina, where L?c was living at the time. They established their first home together in San Francisco after the wedding and had two children, Suzanne and David, while living there. Despite the hardship of studying in a foreign language, taking care of two young children, and supporting his wife through her own schooling, Dr. Ph?m passed his boards and became eligible to begin his residency training in the US. He began his residency at Delaware Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania in 1980. He then moved to Long Island, New York where he worked at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital as a general practitioner. There he and L?c had their third child, Victor. They then moved to Oklahoma where Dr. Ph?m completed his medical training at the University of Oklahoma in the field of Psychiatry in 1984. He had his two youngest children, Yvonne and Michael, in Oklahoma and served as a psychiatrist at Western State Hospital in Fort Supply, Oklahoma and then at Eastern State Hospital in Vinita, Oklahoma. He commuted long distances every day to get to work in order to have his family live in a larger city for the educational and cultural benefits he knew they would have. He ended his professional career by working for the California Correctional Institution (a supermax state prison) in Tehachapi, California, retiring at the age of 67.

Along with Dr. Ph?m's successful professional life, he was also a man with many interests. His favorite pastime was to read and write poetry and Vietnamese historical novels. It was common to see him with a book or at least a pen and piece of paper in hand. He published a number of novels, short stories, and plays, many with translations into English, during his time. He spent over 25 years researching, writing and eventually publishing in 2008 a series of 6 books called Tam Qu?c Chí Vi?tnam, detailing the history of Vi?tnam from 1527-1802. He wanted to ensure that future generations would have the opportunity to read about, understand, and be proud of the heroes in Vietnamese history. He had a keen sense of pride in his heritage, and often commented on how his life's work was truly reflected in this series of books.

Dr. Ph?m also proudly served for the United States Army as a military physician, obtaining the rank of Captain for the Armed Forces of the United States. He often attended trainings at bases around the United States and found immense satisfaction in being able to contribute back to the country that had taken him in. As a former president of the Hung Yên Mutual Association in California and former vice president of the Vietnamese International PEN club, he played a large role in the Vietnamese community in the United States as well. He was a founding member of the Tam B?o Buddhist Temple in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Trúc Lâm Buddhist Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He remained an active member of the Buddhist temples he attended throughout his life.

Dr. Ph?m took his role as eldest brother and father of five very seriously, spending much of his time nurturing his siblings and children, ensuring they studied hard and became academically strong. He emphasized the importance of education, but he knew how to make it accessible and fun. He would rent an incubator and buy fresh eggs from a farm in order to allow his children to learn how to hatch the eggs and raise the chickens in their own backyard. Ice cream after tae-kwon-do, swimming on Friday nights, building a gazebo from scratch, playing tam cúc for quarters and the occasional "treat" of eating at McDonalds are only a few examples of the fond memories his children have of their childhoods. He taught all of his children the Vietnamese language and found great satisfaction in knowing his children were fluent in Vietnamese, despite growing up in an English speaking country. He was a strict teacher, but his ability to teach was incomparable.

Dr. Ph?m was keenly interested in the emotional psyche of his patients and continuously strove to better understand the driving force behind the actions of his patients. He shared these experiences through his prolific writings. When he was not writing or reading, he loved playing tennis, gardening, playing the traditional Vietnamese flute, hiking, and traveling. He loved reciting and singing his poetry as well as watching his wife perform her traditional Vietnamese poetry. He loved hearing his children sing and play Vietnamese songs. He frequently took his large family in a Toyota minivan to travel around the country on road trips. He always wanted to make sure his family appreciated the wonders of the country he called home. Every home he lived in, he turned into his personal oasis. He filled his gardens with fruit trees of every kind, but mostly those that reminded him of his homeland. The smell of guava, papaya, and pears still permeate throughout his gardens today. He loved enjoying new foods and was always willing to try new dishes, as long as they were paired with his necessary bowl of white rice. He frequented ph? and bún bò Hu? places throughout Southern California and would give glowing reviews of his favorite places.

Dr. Ph?m was an indomitable force, all the way to the end of his life. His passion for life and love for adventure can never be replicated, but is well represented in the legacy he has left behind. His wife, his children, his grandchildren and his extended family all love and miss him dearly. He has now started a new journey, and we know that it will be his next adventure.

Wife: Mrs. Bích-Ty Ðào Th? Thanh L?c
Children: Dr. Suzanne Thanh Huong Th? Ph?m, Dr. David Long Nguyên Ph?m, Dr. Victor Lân Nguyên Ph?m, Dr. Yvonne Thanh Nga Ðào Ph?m, Mr. Michael Liêm Nguyên Ph?m
Sons-in-law: Dr. Matthew Carson, Mr. Jeffrey H?a
Daughter-in-law: Dr. Jennifer Kim
Grandchildren: Emilia Thanh Mai Th? Carson, Nathan Minh Tu?n H?a, Maxwell Nguyên Vinh Brandon Carson, Adeline Thanh Lan Hyo Kyung Ph?m

Bibliography
1995 Ngu?i Vi?tnam Nh? v? Ngu?n G?c Vi?tnam
1995 Anh Hùng và Giai Nhân Vi?tnam
1998 Ngu?i Hàng Xóm M?i
1999 N?ng Saigon, N?ng Hoa K?
2000 Ngu?i Ðu?c B?c, T?p I và II
2003 Ngu?i M? G?c Vi?t
2008 Tho Ng? Ngôn Tân Th?i, T?p I
2008 Tam Qu?c Chí Vi?tnam, t? 1527-1802