Bridge Refugee Services, Inc.

Hello everyone,

We hope to turn this difficult time into something meaningful and to celebrate the remarkable life of our beloved father, brother, uncle, husband, and ông. We have created this GoFundMe not only in lieu of flowers, but also to raise awareness to the immigrants and refugees living in a small town down in the American South. Thanks to the support of local organizations like Bridge Refugee Services, families like ours have been able to begin life anew.

We thank you for all the love and support.

- The Duong Family

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Hung Manh Duong, 68, passed peacefully at home in Knoxville, Tennessee on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. He was surrounded by his wife of 38 years, two daughters, son-in-law, two grandsons, and close relatives and friends through his final days.

Hung was born in Vinh Phuc Yen near Hanoi on February 2, 1954, the same year his parents left North Vietnam at the end of French occupation and resettled the family to Saigon in the South. He graduated from the police academy, ranking as Second Lieutenant Central Intelligence Officer during his service in the war from 1972-75. Following the fall of Saigon to the Vietnamese Communist Party in 1975, Hung was taken as a prisoner of war to various camps until 1983. There, a fellow prisoner acquainted him with his future wife, Nguyen Tiet Trung. The two exchanged handwritten letters without ever meeting. After 8 years of imprisonment under the Communist government, he was released and immediately went to meet her for the first time. The two married on January 14, 1984, welcoming their first born daughter, My Quyen Tiet Duong, later that year. One decade after release, they, along with newborn daughter of 13 months, Nhu Quynh Duong, came to the United States through the Orderly Departure Program sponsored by the US government. He resettled and reunited with his brothers, Thanh C. Duong and Nam Son Duong, who had escaped Vietnam earlier, in Knoxville. In October 2021, Hung was diagnosed with liposarcoma and embarked on one more battle. 

Beginning a new life in America, Hung worked very hard for his wife and family, leading loved ones by example of great compassion, selflessness, unconditional love, and unshakeable willpower. He was ông (grandfather), bác (uncle), and a father figure to many. An avid gardener and fisherman, he was always giving away his bounties to others. After years of a remarkable and honorable life, he looked forward to the simple things like picking up his grandsons from school.

In addition to the immediate family, Hung is survived by 10 brothers and sisters and many more nieces, nephews, and in-laws. The family will be holding a private memorial at a future date. In lieu of flowers, friends of Hung and the Duong family may send honorary contributions to Bridge Refugee Services, where Hung worked from 1998-2002 assisting countless fellow immigrants adjust to new American life, or a charity of their choice. Friends, relatives, and family will feel his loss greatly.