A voice for Vietnam

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.