Minh Duong Pham

Minh Duong Pham, 78, of Upper Darby, a former South Vietnamese Army officer who was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for more than a decade, died of lung cancer on Thursday, Sept. 8, at his son Vu's home in Manasquan, N.J. Mr. Pham studied to be a Catholic priest at a seminary in Vietnam before deciding on a military career. During the war, he fought with Americans against the Viet Cong. Just before the fall of Saigon in 1975, he and his wife, Suu, had an opportunity to flee the country. However, "they stayed because I was only an infant," his son said. Mr. Pham was imprisoned in a prison camp run by the new government after the war. In the late 1970s, his wife and son were able to leave the country. They spent time in a refugee camp in Malaysia before coming to the United States in 1979. Lutheran Refugee Services placed them in the Penn Valley home of Ed Mezvinsky and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky. The couple, who both served in the House of Representatives, often helped refugee families. Suu Pham corresponded with her husband through relatives in Vietnam. He was imprisoned for seven or eight years in the camp, and spent four years on the run, their son said. Mr. Pham tried to escape the country four times, only to be captured each time, his son said. On the fifth time, he was successful. He was smuggled out on a Chinese fishing boat to Malaysia, where he spent two years before coming to the United States. In 1989, he was reunited with his family in Penn Valley. They lived in the Margolies-Mezvinsky household until 1999, when they moved to Upper Darby. Over the years, Mr. Pham worked as a dishwasher, janitor, and landscaper. His wife was a seamstress and house cleaner. Their son graduated from college and medical school and is now an anesthesiologist. A devout Catholic, Mr. Pham attended Mass daily with his wife. He believed that divine intervention saved him from death several times in Vietnam, his son said. In his youth, Mr. Pham learned English and French. He enjoyed reading history and loved to fish. In a tribute, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky wrote, "Minh lived with us for 10 years. His family lived with us for 20. They are the story of the refugees of the Vietnam War. Minh was a gentle, brilliant, strong survivor whose legacy lives on in his extraordinary family." In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Pham is survived by two grandchildren. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at St. Cyril Church, 153 Penn Blvd., East Lansdowne. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.