Mr. Lê Văn Thự was born and raised in Hue, Vietnam on Feb 19, 1935. His father was a school superintendent. His mother was a housewife. He had a half-brother and two brothers. His father passed away due to a prolong illness when he was 14 years old and his younger brother was only 11 years old. His mother raised the four sons all by herself after his father passed away.
The four sons were doing well. His oldest brother was an entrepreneur. His other two brothers were both officers in the Army. Growing up Thự was always studious and excelled academically. He was a math professor at a college and eventually joined the Navy.
The two older brothers were married in their early 20s which was a norm for men in VN at that time but Thự didn’t get married until he was in his mid 30’s. Before he was married, his life was pretty much devoted to work, his mom, his siblings, nieces and nephews. Thự was a very well disciplined and also a very thoughtful and caring man. He would meticulously take care of his loved ones and shower them with treats, toys and gifts from his travels. He could be funny, too as he would tell many ghost stories to his young nieces and nephews and had great laughs when they were frightened.
Mr. Lê Văn Thự was once hailed as a hero of the former Republic of Vietnam and his services and contribution to his country should be remembered and served as historical references and lessons learned.
Thự was a lieutenant colonel in the former Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVN). On Jan 16, 1974, while VN was still embroiled with the ongoing and prolong civil war with North Vietnam, he commanded the Navy Fleet HQ-16 to counter the Chinese forces to defend the South Vietnamese-controlled section of the Paracel islands from Chinese occupation. The Battle of the Paracel Islands (aka Trận Chiến Hoàng Sa) had gone down in history as the first attempt by the Republic of Vietnam to take control over the disputed islands. Until this day, the sovereignty dispute on the islands remains unresolved between China and Vietnam.
As Saigon fell in 1975 he and his family left VN and resettled in the US. He’d never forgot his loved ones still in Vietnam and continued to send money to help them up until his illness.
Thự lived a quiet and minimalist lifestyle and didn’t talk much about the battle. He had never told anyone that he was a hero nor would he ever consider himself one. As written in The Truths about the Paracel Islands Battle, he set the records straight based on his own experiences.
Thự was a man of few words but a man of great integrity. To love him is to know him through his intentions and his deeds. He will be forever missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Salvation Army or to the American Cancer Society.
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