Lâm Quang Thi

Lâm Quang Thi (7 May 1932 – 19 January 2021) was a Lieutenant general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Early life and family

Thi was born in Bac Lieu on 7 May 1932, to a family of wealthy landowning farmers. Thi's parents met through a matchmaker and married two years before he was born. Thi'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. His 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, Thi 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

He joined the Vietnamese National Army in 1950 and graduated from the National Military Academy, in Da Lat. 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.

On 10 March 1972, he replaced Nguyễn Văn Hiếu as deputy commander of I Corps.

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. 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

Lâm died from COVID-19 in Fremont, California, on 19 January 2021, aged 88, during the COVID-19 pandemic in California.

Awards and decorations

National Honours

* Commander of the National Order of Vietnam
* Army Distinguished Service Order, First Class
* Navy Distinguished Service Order, First Class
* Gallantry Cross
* Armed Forces Honor Medal, First Class
* Staff Service Medal, First Class
* Technical Service Medal, First Class
* Training Service Medal, First Class
* Civil Action Medal, First Class
* Chuong My Medal, First Class
* Administrative Service Medal, First Class

Foreign Honours

* :
** Order of Military Merit, Chung Mu Medal
* :
** Officer of the Legion of Merit

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 '' Andrew Lam''
The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon
*
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 (South Korea)
Vietnamese emigrants to the United States
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California
People from Fremont, California