Duong Ngoc LY, DR

Aug 10, 1935 - Feb 25, 2015

Obituary
rollerfuneralhomes.com

Duong Ngoc Ly, a widely-respected family practitioner and primary care physician who was one of the first Vietnamese doctors to settle in Marianna and who, for over 35 years, tirelessly dedicated his life to medicine and to serving the families of Lee, St. Francis, and Monroe Counties, died in the early morning of February 25, 2015 in Memphis, Tenn. He was 82.
The cause was from complications of a heart condition, his family said.
“His lifelong dream was to become a doctor,” his wife of 60 years, Dao, said. “Ever since he was 12 years old, he thought that the medical field was a noble profession. He wanted to save lives.”
Born on August 10, 1935 in a small village in Vietnam, Dr. Ly came of age in extreme poverty, and quickly realized the value of—and saving grace that can only be obtained by—a good education. Endowed with an enormous intellect supplemented by a love of hard work, unflagging ambition, and a photographic memory, he attended, with money from competitive scholarships, juvenile military boarding schools in Vietnam and was a star pupil devoted to his studies. He graduated from the College for Sciences in Saigon, Vietnam with a BS in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. He then obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the College of Medicine in Saigon, Vietnam. Due to academic excellence, all of his studies since high school were funded by scholarships and grants from the French government. While his native tongue was Vietnamese, Dr. Ly was also fluent in Cantonese, English, and French.
He married his wife, Dao, in 1955. They had five children.
From 1966 to 1975, Dr. Ly served as a medical doctor for the South Vietnamese Army Forces, and was the recipient of numerous awards and medals, all unfortunately lost during the war. So pronounced was his dedication and professionalism to medicine and the South Vietnamese Army that General Westmoreland decorated him with the American Bronze Star with the V Divide for battle. “Any battle that needed a surgeon or a doctor, I was there, even during the Tet Offensive," Dr. Ly said in an interview in 2012. He was the personal physician, adviser, and the chief cabinet of a commanding general who led forces in the capitol.
With the collapse of Saigon imminent, on April 29, 1975 Dr. Ly fled from Vietnam during a stampede. He was evacuated out of the country with the help of US officials, landing on Wake Island after a brief stay in Guam. He was no longer considered a Vietnamese citizen but a refugee. Chaos spread all over Saigon during the next several days after Dr. Ly fled. He was unable to reach his family, disconnected from them due to the tumult that swept over the region.
Dr. Ly remained on Wake Island for three months, and afterward immigrated to the United States by himself. Because he loved rice, he asked the US official responsible for placing him in the US, “Where in America is there the most rice? Which state has the most rice?” Arkansas, being one of the biggest exporters of rice in the US, was naturally the first choice, and in mid-1975, Dr. Ly began his journey to the United States.
He lived in a refugee camp in Ft. Chaffee, Ark. for a time, and then soon after went back to medical school at UAMS to establish a stable and prosperous life for his family, hoping against hope his family was still alive amidst the chaos and terrors of the Vietnam War. “I had to earn money to save my family from the war,” he said in 2012.
Dr. Ly would not have any contact with his family for the next two years, being cut off from them due to the politics of war. Despite the isolation and sorrow of not knowing if his family had perished during the war, he still continued with his studies, fueled by determination, hope, and his commitment to both his family and the medical field. His dedication bore fruit: In 1977, two years after he was airlifted from Saigon, Dr. Ly completed his US medical requirements, obtaining his medical license.
Through a great stroke of luck, a family friend who lived in France was able to serve as the intermediary contact for Dr. Ly and his family in Vietnam, who themselves still did not know, even after 2 years, whether Dr. Ly was dead or alive. Letters were sent: Dr. Ly asked his friend in France to find, by mail, his family in Vietnam. Fortunately, this was a successful endeavor: contact was made and his family began to make preparations to flee Vietnam.
In 1979, his family was finally able to leave Vietnam via boat, hiding in the seams of a commercial fishing vessel. Economic adversities had met his family at every turn due to the tragedies of the Vietnam War; Dr. Ly was the sole financial provider for his family and, because they were separated by a collapsed country, his wife could not procure the entire sum required to transport the Ly family to freedom. Dr. Ly’s good name alone circumvented the boat owners’ demands for upfront payment.
“I asked everyone to help,” he said in 2012. “Offering people ransoms. Even the senator, but it seemed like no one could help bring my family to Arkansas. Finally, I asked the Catholics in Little Rock for help. I’m not even Catholic.”
Dr. Ly’s family spent 11 days in near-famine in the internationally nebulous waters of the Pacific, rife with pirates and other dangers. The family miraculously landed on the shores of Hong Kong in mid-1979. They became refugees, but like, Dr. Ly, they were finally free.
Dr. Ly tearfully reunited with his family on March 10, 1980, after having flown them to the United States. It was a long, arduous, harrowing journey for both him and his family, spanning 5 years filled with the difficulties of a country torn by war, fear, sorrow, and poverty, but they had, finally, made it. Dr. Ly and his family finally had the opportunity to experience the glories of the American Dream. “Maybe the Pope blesses Buddhists, too,” he said with a laugh, during his interview.
Those who knew Dr. Ly will remember him for his passion and dedication to the medical field; his love for Vietnam; his patriotism for his second country—the United States; his gregarious, easy-going comportment; his ardent interest in both US and Vietnamese politics; his tenacity that helped him achieve success in both Vietnam and the US; and his infectious laugh that would punctuate his conversations with patients, family, and friends. He was a meticulous, brilliant, and compassionate physician; a loving and devoted husband and father to his wife and children; an affectionate and wonderful grandparent to his seven grandchildren; and a caring, thoughtful, generous brother, uncle, cousin, in-law, and friend to those who were lucky and privileged to know him. He will be remembered for his dulcet, lightly accented voice that would pleasantly call out, “Hello, my friend!” to his patients, his warmth and sincerity, and his inimitable way of making people feel, when he spoke to them, like they were the only person in the room who mattered.
In addition to his unfailing devotion to his family and his wonderfully genial demeanor, Dr. Ly was a widely respected physician who left an illustrative, highly regarded career behind him. Aside from his contributions to the medicine serving the South Vietnamese Army as a soldier and a doctor in Vietnam, Dr. Ly had a private practice in Marianna, Ark. from 1979-1997, and was an associate partner for the Marianna Family Medical Clinic from 1997-2009. He was the Medical Director, Staff Physician, and Acting Regional Medical Director for Correctional Medical Services in Brickeys, Ark. from 1997-2003, and Medical Director and Staff Physician for the Lee County Co-Operative Clinic in Marianna from 1991-1993 and 2004-2007. In addition, Dr. Ly was the Staff Physician for the Mid-Delta Health System in Clarendon, Ark. from 2004-2014. Dr. Ly also held a position as the Medical Director at Crestpark Nursing Home in Marianna. From 1985-1995, he was the physician for family planning at the Arkansas Health Department in Marianna.
Dr. Ly’s hospital affiliations include Baptist Memorial Hospital in Forrest City, Ark (from 1986-2003) and Lee Memorial Hospital (from 1979-1986) as an Active Staff Physician. He was also the Chief of Medical Staff of Lee Memorial Hospital from 1982-1984.
He belonged to a number of medical associations, including the Lee County Medical Society, where he served as a secretary from 1993 until his death. He was also a member of the Arkansas Medical Society (1979 until his death), a member of the American Medical Association (from 1981-2000), and a member of the Southern Medical Association (from 1986-1997).
His numerous awards and accolades include “Practitioner of the Year” (1999); “Best of the West” (1998); “Practitioner of the Quarter” (1998); and “Physician of the Month” (1998) from the Correctional Medical Services where he served from 1997-2003.
In 1985 he was recognized for his “Devotion to the Medical Profession and Dedication to Patients” by Lee Memorial Hospital.
“Now, I like to think I’m American,” he said during his interview in 2012. “I like to serve my second country. Vietnam was my former country but America is my country now. I always believed that in any level of citizenship, you have to do something for the country from which you accept citizenship. You have to serve that country with dignity and to render back what you have received from the country. I have received a lot from America so I have to return it. My ultimate goal is to serve this country and its people. Vietnam was my former country but America is my country now.”
Dr. Ly is preceded in death by his father, Ly Phuc, his son, Thanh, his mother, Pham Thuong Thi, and his grand-daughter Nhien. He is survived by his wife, Dao, his four children, Dung of Little Rock, Hung of Forrest City, Cuong of Forrest City, Phuong Ly, MD of Jonesboro, and seven grandchildren.
Visitation hours will be at the Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in Marianna, Ark. on Saturday, March 7 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. The funeral service will be held at Marianna Memorial Cemetery the next day, Sunday, March 8, at 11:15 am. Arrangements can be entrusted to the Roller-Citizens Funeral Home.

Photo courtesy of sandycurry10@gmail.com

Contributed on 12/1/17 by hawkinsdonna48
Email This Contributor

Suggest a Correction

Record #: 1204265

Don't Follow