Dith Pran was born on September 27, 1942 at Siem Reap, Cambodia.  He worked as a translator for the US having learned French in school and teaching himself English.  
     In 1975, Pran and Sydney Schanberg from the New York Times stayed in Cambodia to cover the Khmer Rouge take over of Phnom Penh.  Foreign reporters were allowed to leave the country but Pran had to stay.  To avoid the persecution of intellectuals, Pran pretended to be a taxi driver.  For four years he endured the labor camps until the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in December 1978.  He later coined the term "killing fields" to refer to the masses of dead human carcasses he encountered during his 40 mile escape.  He lost three brothers and one sister to the killing fields.
     In 1980, Pran became a photojournalist for the New York Times.  In 1984 the award winning film The Killing Fields (1984) was released with Pran being portrayed by first-time actor Hing Ngor.  In 1986, Pran became a US citizen.  Pran founded The Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Program. Pran was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1998 and the Award of Exellence of the International Center.
     Pran died on March 30, 2008 in New Brunswick, New Jersey from pancreatic cancer.