Dong Ly

Dong was born in Vietnam on December 15, 1931, from Chinese parents. He joined the nationalist movement in his twenties to fight for the country’s independence from French domination. After the war ended, he married his wife, and together they had eleven children, nineteen grand-children, and six great-grandchildren.

To his family, Dong is remembered as having a great fighting spirit and a strong determination to never give up the fight for a better life. Even in his childhood, he would not accept being bullied without fighting back. When he was 10 years old, he organized an ambush against some older boys who were bullying his younger brother. He was not the type to fight just for the sake of fighting; he was a clever strategist who carefully planned ahead and would engage on his terms.

As a successful business man in Saigon, Dong was wrongfully imprisoned and his properties, including his house, were seized shortly after the fall of South Vietnam. Upon his release, he rebounded again and planned several attempts to escape by boat from the new regime. He finally was able to bring his whole family to America in 1979, where they could live free and unoppressed.

During the last escape, his boat was attacked by pirates twice. The boat’s captain quickly deserted his post in the hopes of saving his own life in the event the pirates were able to capture the refugees’ boat. Dong immediately recruited another passenger on the boat to take control of the wheel, then refused to surrender. When the pirates attempted to tie ropes to capture his boat, he ordered their lines cut; when they approached to try and board, he had the refugees throw Molotov cocktails at the pirates and threatened to set their boat ablaze. Faced with such steadfast opposition, the pirates had no choice but to abandon their efforts and leave the refugees unharmed.

Dong taught us to be strong, to never give up hope, to choose our fights, and to always strive towards a better life.

In Dong Ly’s honor, a Viewing and Funeral service will be held at Sunset Hills Funeral Homes, 1575 145th Place SE, Bellevue, WA 98007, US on July 25, 2026, from 10:00am to 2:00pm. A Graveside Service will be held at Sunset Hills Funeral Homes, 1575 145th Place, SE, Bellevue, WA 98007, US, on July 25, 2026, from 2:00pm to 2:30pm.