Quang has received numerous business, civic, and military awards. Currently, he lives in California with his wife and daughter and also spends much time on the East Coast. In his well-told 2005 Random House book, "A Sense of Duty," Quang delves into the difficulties of immigrating to America as a child refugee from South Vietnam. He began his American journey by scrambling aboard a U.S. evacuation aircraft, leaving Saigon just prior to the Communist's victory there. After graduating from UCLA, Quang went on to serve his new country, the United States of America, as a helicopter pilot in the Persian Gulf War and Somalia.” Quang X. Pham is the author of A Sense of Duty: My Father, My American Journey.

Publisher’s Weekly said of A Sense of Duty: My Father, My American Journey, “Quang Pham came to the United States as a child just before April 1975, along with his mother and three sisters. His father, Pham Van Hoa, a South Vietnamese Air Force pilot, remain a captive of the Communist government. The son grew up in California, joined the U.S. Marines and took part in the first Persian Gulf War as a helicopter pilot. Quang Pham's well-told memoir, his book debut, tells the story of father and son, with an emphasis on the family as a whole. The author's mother, Nguyen Thi Niem, struggled mightily and succeeded in learning English, finding work and educating her children. The author's father nearly died, and nearly had his spirit nearly broken, during 12 years in re-education camps in Vietnam. His life improved measurably after immigrating to the U.S., but the marriage ended in divorce. The author had a rough time assimilating to American life, and joining the Marines presented its own problems, including anti-Asian racism. Quang Pham tells his story bluntly, without disguising his hatred of the Vietnamese Communists and his criticism of American politicians, the antiwar movement and the American news media.”

A Sense of Duty: My Father, My American Journey Quang X. Pham  More Info

One reader of A Sense of Duty: My Father, My American Journey said, “American history is filled with stories of successful immigrants. Quang X. Pham's story, A Sense of Duty, is a fine addition to this list. His candid account as a refugee in America also chronicles the story of his father--like my father, a decorated pilot in the former South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) who ended up serving years of hard labor in a Vietnamese reeducation camp after the war ended.

As a native of South Vietnam whose life shares similarities to Pham's, I found his story an absorbing read. This was especially true when reading his recollections of what happened when his childhood ended unexpectedly and his father had to put his family on a plane to escape the fall of Saigon. Those who take their happy childhoods for granted will learn much from this story of a young boy who was compelled to move forward with his new and difficult life while his father's fate was unknown. Readers will be inspired to discover how Pham overcame these challenges to achieve his American dream of becoming a U.S. Marine Corps pilot. A Sense of Duty has given me another perspective on the Vietnam War, and an even greater appreciation for the former South Vietnamese Air Force. South Vietnam and its once-mighty air force no longer exist, yet this memoir will preserve the nearly forgotten legacies of people like Quang's father and mine, who served their country with pride and honor.”