On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the Northern Communist forces
and forever changed the lives of millions of South Vietnam
citizens. One such individual was Quang X. Pham. Then a 10-year-old
boy, Pham and his mother fled with the masses as his father, a
pilot fighting with the Southern forces, was taken captive. While
his father was held in communist reeducation camps for the next
decade, Pham and his family established a new life in the United
States.
Remarkably, Pham has rebounded from his early traumatic
experiences to achieve considerable success in the United States as
an entrepreneur, potential congressman and published author. This
Saturday, Pham will take part in a panel about the Vietnam War as
part of the Festival of Books, promoting his book “A Sense of
Duty: My Father, My American Journey.” As a UCLA alumnus and
former Los Angeles Times delivery boy, this weekend is of
particular note for Pham.
“It’s special to be invited by my alma mater as a
first-time author,” Pham said.
Always remembering the proud legacy of his father and birth
country, Pham readily adapted to his new life as an American.
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His family worked diligently to establish itself in the United
States. During high school, Pham worked early mornings delivering
newspapers. His primary motivation was his desire to participate in
sports.
“I wanted to play basketball in the afternoons and
weekends, so mornings were my only free time for a job,” he
said.
Pham continued his education at UCLA, receiving a Bachelor of
Arts in economics in 1987. After graduation he followed in his
father’s footsteps to become a pilot. In doing so, he also
became the first Vietnamese American to graduate from the U.S.
Marine Officer Candidates School. Pham then served in both
Operation Desert Storm and Somalia.
After his military career, Pham enjoyed success as a prominent
Orange County businessman, former vice president for QTC Medical,
founder of pharmaceutical company Lathian Systems, and current
president of Sanspar Solutions, a leadership consulting firm.
But in spite of his success, memories of the Vietnam War
remained with Pham throughout his life. Although Hollywood films
such as “Platoon” and “Apocalypse Now”
shaped the way many Americans remember the war, Pham was never
content with such portrayals. He felt a need to reconcile the
differences between his memories and the story painted by American
popular culture and contemporary historians.
“I had a conflict between memory and portrayal. But I put
it away until 2004,” Pham said.
Pham was inspired to revisit his past during the 2004
presidential election. While watching Bill O’Reilly compare
the war in Iraq to the Vietnam War, Pham decided to correct such
inaccurate claims. O’Reilly’s portrayal of the South
Vietnamese was particularly troublesome for him.
“The derogatory representation of the South Vietnamese was
very irresponsible,” he said. “I wanted to dig for the
truth.”
Pham adds that part of the problem with accurately remembering
the Vietnam War is that it is emotionally packed for Americans. He
proposes that feelings, not facts, have shaped the way Americans
remember the Vietnam era.
“I owe it to my father and myself to know the facts and
not just have feelings about it,” Pham said.
Pham needed an answer concerning Saigon’s fall, the
lengthy American occupation, his father’s capture, and his
identity as a Vietnamese American ““ an answer that would come
through personal writing eventually published as a book.
“A Sense of Duty” is Pham’s answer to many
such queries. The work differs from most accounts of the conflict
in Vietnam because it is written by an individual who experienced
the events firsthand, as a child. It is a voice representing the
South Vietnamese perspective that is so often overlooked, as well
as an effort to dispel 30-year-old misconceptions. “A Sense
of Duty” is also a reminder that the conflict equally divided
Vietnamese as well as American families. The memoir is a tribute to
Pham’s birth country, especially as it was published on the
30th anniversary of Saigon’s fall.
UCLA will also remember the end of the Vietnam War with a Black
April Commemoration on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Fowler
Auditorium.
After publishing his politically charged memoir, Pham has turned
more attention to a long-standing interest in Southern California
politics. He recently established an exploratory committee to run
as an independent candidate for the 47th Congressional
District.
“It’s just exploratory as this point. I will wait
until the primary to see who is the Republican candidate,”
Pham said. “Also, my family and newborn daughter come
first.”
UCLA profiles will run every Tuesday in A&E.