Long Ngoc Pham

His name is Long Ngọc Phạm. This is his story.

Long was born on February 19, 1946 in the North of Vietnam, Nam Dinh. Trembles of a civil war threatened to turn his life upside down. Unrest, political and religious, caused Long and his parents to uproot. En route, rosaries in hand, they prayed for a new home to lay their livelihood. Settled in the South – Saigon would eventually fall before his eyes. Unfathomable are the phantoms that linger from living through war. Through faith, Long found lightness and beauty in the world; one illuminated by his Almighty God and tempered by the tender love of the Virgin Mary.

Long – a devout Catholic – would soon become a doting husband and father. In college, immersed in art, he caught a glimpse of his fondest subject, Yen Phan. They would not meet again for years, and their reunion would lead to their union in marriage. The eldest son of his father, Long welcomed his eldest son Phu Pham in 1988. Artist. Sculptor. Long began work on his magnum opus – a better life for his family, far from his family in Vietnam. He mined gold from mountains for golden opportunities in the United States. Uprooted once again but with convictions to root himself in sturdier land, Long and his family in 1992 traded a fallen capital for the capital of the Free World – Washington D.C.

With little fortune and fanfare, Long and Yen laid a foundation in this foreign land. In their new life, Long bid farewell to his crafts. He labored on, and in 1997, Yen labored the birth of their beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Pham. In his mother tongue, twisted and tangled, Long taught English to his son. To his daughter, Long taught his mother tongue. Long’s children were his joy and spark, and in them he sparked the joy of learning.

Long viewed the world through lenses. His favorite subjects? His family. From behind a camera or camcorder, he directed the scenes and staged the sights. No moments were too mundane or too minuscule to be recorded…revisited. To his subjects, at times these moments felt like tedious tasks, but in hindsight, it’s clear, these mementoes were truly troves of treasures. A lifelong endeavor, he long endeavored to capture in picture frames and reels the life he created for his children.

As he did most of his life, he heeded the call of God. In 2021, he closed his eyes to hear the herding louder. He counted sheep and dozed off to join the flock in Heaven’s pastures. In the warm embraces of his father, mother, and younger brother, Long is now finally home, rested. Rooted.

Long’s legacy lives on in his wife Yen Phan, son Phu “Aaron” Pham, daughter Elizabeth Pham, brothers, sisters, extended family, and friends; flocking close or far together.