Lap Quang Le

Le Quang Lap will be profoundly missed by everyone who knew him and whose life he touched.

When Le Quang Lap was born in 1942, the world was in turmoil for Hitler had invaded Europe, and Japan was occupying most of southeast Asia. Lap was born in a small village named Phan-Rang located in the province of Ninh Thuan in Vietnam. He remembered the story of how he came into this world. When he was interviewed in November 2022 by his grandson for a school project, Lap shared, “The hospital had been burned down, and so I was born in an old barn that was still standing.” Since Japan had taken over Vietnam during World War II, his village had been ransacked, and the Japanese soldiers had burned most of the town and all of its crops to prevent a rebellion. As a result, when World War II ended with Japan surrendering in 1945, Lap had been extremely malnourished for the first 3 years of his life. Even though he was just a toddler at that time, Lap had vivid memories of the Japanese occupation even recalling, “Food was in short supply and so my mother gathered leaves and vegetables which she boiled to make us soup every day. Everyone was so thin from years of starvation. I wanted to play with the soccer ball my father had given me but did not have the energy to play.” When World War II ended, life in Lap’s village became peaceful and he was finally able to begin enjoying a childhood on his family’s farm where they grew vegetables and raised ducks.

Being the eldest child in a family of nine children, Lap had many responsibilities in helping out his parents on the farm, taking care of his siblings, and making sure everyone did well in their academics. He had a knack for math and science at school and loved to tutor all the kids in the neighborhood on Sundays. Living on a farm meant that there were plenty of chores to do both before and after school, which he attended Monday through Saturday year round. There was never much time to play games because the children were always busy at school or helping out on the farm at home, and so they decided to have fun on the way to school and back each day. Every morning, Lap and his siblings walked to school together on the trails that looped into town. Using a soccer ball that they would pass back and forth the entire way to school, Lap and his siblings used the two mile distance between home and school as their play yard every morning and afternoon. “We had to make up our own games and ways to have fun when I was little. There weren’t any video games or toys for us to play with.” Lap remembered how much fun he had growing up while having to make do with what he had. “You have to appreciate what you have and know that a little creativity can go a long way.”

When Lap went to high school, his life changed because communist North Vietnam decided to attack the democratic South Vietnam country. This act of war between the North and the South decimated Lap’s dream of becoming a school teacher, and soon afterwards he found himself enlisting into the South Vietnamese Navy. Once in the Navy, Lap was recognized for his scholastic abilities and leadership qualities which allowed him to quickly move up in rank. By the time he was 23, he had become Lieutenant Commander. Then, at the age of 26, he became a Captain in the South Vietnamese Navy eventually taking full command of a Naval Aircraft Carrier, HQ-500. Lap was also recognized for his athleticism and represented the Navy when they played against other branches of the South Vietnamese military in Ping Pong, Basketball and Soccer. “When I was not on the sea, I could be found playing sports.”

At a Ping-Pong match between the Navy and the Air Force, Lap was playing during the game when he noticed a face in the crowd. “The person stood out to me because she was so beautiful. Plus it really bothered me that she was cheering for my opponent.” Lap recalled how he made it a point to be introduced to her after the game because he was hoping to “make sure that she would cheer for him the next time.” The beautiful young lady in the crowd turned out to be Duong Thi Sam, a charming school teacher from Sai Gon. Sam was at the Ping-Pong match with her sister, Nhung, and was there to cheer on her brother-in-law who was the Air Force opponent. Lap began his 16-month courtship with Sam after the introduction, and in 1967, he asked for her hand in marriage. “I was tall, handsome, and charming. She must have noticed me before we were introduced. I suspect she had a secret crush on me while watching me play Ping-Pong that day,” Lap recalled with a smile. Sam accepted the marriage proposal, but remembered the details differently and said laughingly, “We’ve been married 55 years already. But that’s not exactly how things happened.” In 1968, Sam and Lap welcomed their first child into this world, a daughter whom they named Trang— in honor of the city, Nha Trang, where Sam and Lap met and their daughter was born. In 1970, they welcomed a son whom they named Viet– who was a mythological dragon that flew from the sun to be on earth. They wanted their child to bring light and optimism into this world. In 1973, they welcomed their third child, a daughter whom they named Nhu— meaning a tree branch. Lap and Sam hoped that their daughter’s birth into this world would mean wisdom, growth and prosperity for their family.

Since South Vietnam was an ally with the United States, Lap was educated in the United States Naval Academy in Newport, Rhode Island. It was here that he had the opportunity to meet his faculty mentor who would later sponsor Lap’s family to America. On April 30th,1975, the democracy of South Vietnam fell to the communist rule. At the end of the Vietnam war, Lap and his family were forced to evacuate South Vietnam in order to avoid becoming captured and persecuted by the communist regime. On his naval aircraft carrier ship, HQ-500, Lap helped approximately 2000 Vietnamese refugees escape from communist Vietnam and sail to Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean. Lap lost his homeland, parents, siblings, and nearly everything he had ever known. “What was to become of my family? Where would we go? How would we survive?” Lap stared into the ocean and wondered what future he would have.

At the age of 33, Lap started his new life in America as an immigrant who needed to start from scratch. He somehow found full-time work to support his wife and three young children— ages 6,4 and 2– although his English was limited. Soon afterwards, Lap and Sam worked during the day while going to school at night to improve their English and learn computer science. Their family of five lived in a small, run down apartment in Oakland, California. Life wasn’t easy during those first few years when the young family arrived in America. From this humble beginning, Lap graduated and began working at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory as a computer scientist while his wife became a computer technician in Silicon Valley. The couple worked hard to buy a home in the Bay Area and financially support their relatives in Vietnam. For the rest of his life, Le Quang Lap lived in Silicon Valley where he enjoyed watching his three children and nine grandchildren grow up. He loved to travel with his family, especially on sea cruises. At home, he taught his children treasured life lessons and coached his grandchildren in soccer, ping-pong as well as math and physics. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle. Le Quang Lap will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him and whose life he touched.

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Mr. Le Quang Lap of San Jose, California passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at the age of 80. He was born on January 1, 1942 in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam. His father was Mr. Le Quang Dinh, and his mother was Mrs. Truong Thi Dau. He was the eldest in a family of 9 children.

Le Quang Lap attended upper primary school at Duy-Tan (Phan-Rang), secondary school at Vo-Tanh (Nha-Trang) and Quoc-Hoc (Hue), and college at Sai Gon University majoring in Biological Science. In 1961, he joined the 11th class of South Vietnam’s Naval Academy in Nha Trang, known as De Nhat Bao Binh Khoa 11 Si Quan Hai Quan Nha Trang, the “First Aquarius” of the Naval Academy. He graduated with honors from the Naval Academy in 1963.

On December 18, 1967, Le Quang Lap married Duong Thi Sam. The couple welcomed 3 children into this world: Le Duong Quynh Trang, Le Duong Quang Viet and Le Duong Quynh Nhu. Throughout his Naval career, he proudly served the Republic of South Vietnam. In 1968, he was Ham Truong,Captain of Duyen Hai HQ-610, a Patrol Gunboat RVNS. Then in 1969, he became Captain of HQ-472, a Gasoline Barge vessel. In 1972, he became Ham Pho, Commander of Tran Hung Dao HQ-1, a Destroyer ship. The following year in 1973, he became Captain of the Fleet Minesweeper vessel, Chi Lang II HQ-08. His final position from 1974 until 30 April 1975 was as Ham Truong, Captain of the Landing Ship Tank Cam-Ranh HQ-500. As Captain of HQ-500, Le Quang Lap assisted many families in their escape by sea, sailing directly to Guam when the fall of Sai Gon marked the end of the Vietnam War. In the summer of 1975, Le Quang Lap and his family adopted the United States as their second home and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he would remain for the rest of his life. Le Quang Lap is survived by his wife, Duong Thi Sam; daughter, Le Duong Quynh Trang; son-in-law, Nguyen Hung Minh and their 2 children; son, Le Duong Quang Viet; daughter-in-law, Nguyen Thi Ngan Ha and their 3 children; daughter, Le Duong Quynh Nhu; son-in-law, Ly Minh Tat Thang and their 4 children; sister, Le Thi Lan Chi; brother-in-law, Trinh Quoc Tien and their child; and additional siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews in Vietnam.

Buddhist services and visitation will be held Saturday, January 7, 2023 from 9:00 AM until 8:00 PM and Sunday, January 8, 2023 from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM at Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park– Sunshine Chapel, 300 Curtner Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125. Funeral services will be held Sunday, January 8, 2023 at 1:00 PM, and he will be laid to rest at 2:30 PM on Sunday, January 8, 2023 at Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.oakhillfuneral.com for the Le family.