Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Lâm Quang Thi (7 May 1932 – 19 January 2021) was a senior military officer in the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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 Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Univ ...

adherents while his mother was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. His maternal grandfather was one of the richest

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

landowners in Bac Lieu at the turn of the 20th century. 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.

Military service

Lam graduated from the National Military Academy, in

Da Lat Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. He held the positions of Commander of the RVNAF Artillery Training Center, Commander of the Artillery in

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, Deputy Commander, RVNAF Artillery; Commander, 9th Infantry Division; and Commander of the Vietnamese National Military Academy. On 10 March 1972, he replaced

Nguyễn Văn Hiếu Major General Nguyễn Văn Hiếu (23 June 1929, Tientsin, China – 8 April 1975, Biên Hòa, Vietnam) was a general in the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). As a child he lived in Shanghai. He later emigrated with ...

as deputy commander of I Corps. Last position until 4 1975: Commander in Chief of Army Corps 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 Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

. Lam earned a French Baccalaureate Degree in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and an MBA, both from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers s ...

in San Francisco. His son,

Andrew Lam Andrew Lam (born 1964) is a Vietnamese American author and journalist who has written about the Overseas Vietnamese experience. Biography Andrew Lam was born Lâm Quang Dũng in 1964 in South Vietnam. He led a privileged life as the son of Gen ...

, is a writer and a journalist. Lam was interviewed about the war in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

's series '' The Vietnam War''.

Death

Lam died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, on 19 January 2021, aged 88, during the COVID-19 pandemic in California.

Awards and decorations

Vietnam Gallantry Cross The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

, 1st class *

Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal The Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal ( vi, Danh-Dự Bội-Tinh) was a Orders, decorations, and medals of South Vietnam, military decoration of South Vietnam that was first created on January 7, 1953. The medal was awarded in two clas ...

, 1st class *

National Order of Vietnam The National Order of Vietnam ( vi, Bảo Quốc Huân Chương) was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government. ...

, 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 * Merit Thai *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(United States) * Order of Military Merit, Chung Mu Cordon (South Korea)

References

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, * 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,

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
by ''Lam Quang Thi'' posted by the '' Pacific News Service''
My Father's Army Uniform
by ''

''
The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon
* ttp://www.alternet.org/story/149914/east_eats_west%3A_writing_in_two_hemispheres/ Waterloo unearths some enlightening findings about the writer's father, a former general for South Vietnam. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lam, Quang Thi 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 3 Lam, Quang Thi 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 People from Fremont, California