Lâm Quang Thi
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Lâm Quang Thi | |
---|---|
Born | Bạc Liêu, French Indochina | 7 May 1932
Died | 19 January 2021 Fremont, California, U.S. | (aged 88)
Allegiance | South Vietnam |
Service/ | Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
Years of service | 1950–1975 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Commands held | 9th Infantry Division Vietnamese National Military Academy I Corps |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Lieutenant General Lâm Quang Thi (7 May 1932 – 19 January 2021) was a senior military officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.[1]
Early life and family[]
Lam was born in Bac Lieu in 1932 to a family of wealthy landowning farmers. Lam's parents met through a matchmaker and married two years before he was born. Lam's father came from a family of Cao Dai adherents while his mother was a Roman Catholic. His maternal grandfather was one of the richest Chinese landowners in Bac Lieu at the turn of the 20th century.[2] Lam's parents separated in 1937 after their fourth child was born, and his mother took their four children back down to her hometown in Tam Vu. After completing his primary education there, Lam was sent to Can Tho for his secondary education, where he enrolled into the Phan Thanh Gian College after passing through its tough entrance examinations.[3]
Military service[]
Lam graduated from the National Military Academy, in Da Lat, South Vietnam. He held the positions of Commander of the RVNAF Artillery Training Center, Commander of the Artillery in I Corps, Deputy Commander, RVNAF Artillery; Commander, 9th Infantry Division; and Commander of the Vietnamese National Military Academy. Last position until 4 1975: Commander in Chief of Army Corp I Forward Command.
Post-war life[]
Lam fled with his family to the United States in May 1975, when South Vietnam fell to the invading North Vietnamese army. He lived in Fremont, California. Lam earned a French Baccalaureate Degree in Philosophy and an MBA, both from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.[citation needed] His son, Andrew Lam, is a writer and a journalist.
Lam was interviewed about the war in Ken Burns's series The Vietnam War.
Death[]
Lam died on January 19, 2021, aged 88, in Fremont, California, from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in California.[4]
Awards and decorations[]
- Vietnam Gallantry Cross
- Distinguished Service Order, 1st class
- Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal, 1st class
- National Order of Vietnam, 3rd class
- Staff Service Honor Medal, 1st class
- Vietnam Technical Service Medal, 1st class
- Training Service Honor Medal, 1st class
- Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, 1st class
- Legion of Merit (United States)
- Order of Military Merit, Chung Mu Cordon (South Korea)
References[]
- ^ Lam, Andrew (June 13, 2006). "Iraq Massacre Can't Shake Vietnamese- American Support for U.S. Troops". New America Media. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ Lam (2001), p. 6–8
- ^ Lam (2001), p. 10–12
- ^ "Cựu Trung Tướng Lâm Quang Thi qua đời, hưởng thọ 88 tuổi". Nguoi Viet Online. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
Bibliography[]
- Lam, Quang Thi, The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon, University of North Texas Press, 2001, ISBN 1-57441-143-8
- Lam, Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc: The 1972 Easter Invasion and the Battle That Saved South Viet Nam, University of North Texas Press, 2011, ISBN 1-57441-313-9
External links[]
- Book Review of The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon by General Lam Thi Quang
- A Vietnamese Response to McNamara War was lost in Washington, not in Saigon by Lam Quang Thi posted by the Pacific News Service
- My Father's Army Uniform by Andrew Lam
- The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon
- 30 Years After the Vietnam War: China Remains a Threat
- Setting the Record Straight on South Vietnam
- Waterloo unearths some enlightening findings about the writer's father, a former general for South Vietnam.
- 1932 births
- 2021 deaths
- People from Bạc Liêu Province
- Hoa people
- Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals
- American people of Chinese descent
- Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Military personnel from California
- Golden Gate University alumni
- Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College
- Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam
- Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Order (Vietnam)
- Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Korea)
- Vietnamese emigrants to the United States
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California