Dr. Ngor had lived in Cambodia during the time that the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975, and finally escaped as a refugee to the United States in 1980. 

Prior to the war in Cambodia, Ngor had worked a an obstretrics physician and medical officer in the Cambodian army, but with the Khmer Rouge in power and their plan to rid Democratic Kampuchea, as Cambodia was renamed, of the educated was evident, he denied this former position to stay alive.

After escaping Cambodia, Ngor wanted to bring awareness to the Cambodian genocide and did so through opportunities in cinema, despite not being of a professional acting background. The Killing Fields, in which Ngor played the role of fellow Cambodian refugee Dith Pran, who worked alongside  New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg, won him the "Best Years of Our Lives" Oscar in 1946.

However, on the 25th of February in 1996, while outside of his home in a Los Angeles Chinatown, Ngor was shot by what was believed to be enemies of Cambodia.

Despite this tragic loss, we will continue to remember Dr. Ngor for his contributions to arousing awareness for the arocities committed in Cambodia at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and for the Dr. Haing S. Ngor Foundation dedicated to help Cambodian refugees. 

If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will spare yourself one hundred days of tears. ~ Cambodian Proverb