Dao Nhat Tien

Mr. Dao Nhat Tien, 93, passed away Thursday, September 22, 2016, in the comforting presence of his family at Seton Hospital in Austin, Texas. Mr. Dao was born in 1923 in the village of Hoang Xa, Thuong Tin district, Ha Dong province, into a hard working middle-class family of 4 boys and 2 girls.

In 1941, at the age of 18, he joined Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (DVQDD) led by the great Truong Tu, fighting for the independence of Viet Nam. In 1945 he attended the Officer Candidate School of Tran Quoc Tuan, a military academy, founded by the DVQDD party in Sapa and Yen Bai. In 1947, he returned to Ha Noi and with a few friends, began publishing a weekly magazine “Thanh Nien” as a means to continue the fight for independence. There he also opened a bookstore named “Nam Son” in Hang Ken district of Ha Noi.

In 1950, Mr. Dao married Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hoa in Ha Noi. After the Geneva agreement of 1954 that divided Vietnam, he made the decision to relocate his family to the then non-communist South and settled in the Tan Binh district. Here he helped establish and develop the National Civil Defense teams, continued to contribute to the DVQDD, founded and operated many small businesses. He also founded and edited the newspaper Viet in the early 70s in Saigon.

After the tragic events of April 30, 1975, refusing to accept the communist regime, Mr. Dao escaped with his family to the United States, bringing a collection of treasured books, but leaving behind basic necessities such as clothing. After settling in Taylor, Texas, he painstakingly worked as a laborer in a garment factory to provide for his family. In early 1976, he established “Tieng Viet”, a monthly Vietnamese magazine that delivered educational and cultural news to the Vietnamese refugees living abroad. His publishing expertise was self-taught and his attention to details for paper editing was scrupulous. He manually cut large letters from free local newspaper for headlines and hand-marked the intricate accents required for Vietnamese.

In the fall of 1976, he moved his family to Austin, Texas so that his children could pursue higher education. He joined Caritas, a Catholic nonprofit charity, to help fellow refugees from Viet Nam and other countries to effectively settle in the city. He was deeply involved with the Vietnamese community living in Austin and he worked with the Dai Viet Quoc Ngoai organization.

Mr. and Mrs. Dao have 12 children (including 2 adopted), 24 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be one day only from 12:00 noon to 8:00 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2016, at Cook Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home, 14501 North IH-35, Pflugerville, Texas 78660. Funeral services will be held 10:00 am Saturday, October 1, 2016, at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, 1107 E Yager Ln, Austin, Texas 78753. Burial will follow at Cook-Walden Capital Parks Cemetery, 14501 North IH-35, Pflugerville, Texas 78660.

Those who wish to sign the guest book may do so online at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com.