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Hero Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van Lap - A new Vietnamese
Hero Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van Lap - A new Vietnamese
A memorial service was held in central Da Nang city on
August 2 for Hero of the People’s Armed Forces Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van
Lap, a man who held Greek and Vietnamese nationalities and joined the
Vietnamese people in the resistance war against the French colonialists.
Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Committee for
Overseas Vietnamese, the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s
Army, Military Region 5, the Da Nang administration, along with
local people came to pay tribute to the deceased who passed away in Athens on
June 25, 2021, at the age of 94.
Maj. Gen. Truong Thien To, Deputy Political Commissar of Military Region 5, said
Kostas Nguyen Van Lap was born in Greece but he spent his entire youth living
and fighting besides his comrades in Vietnam which became his homeland.
The death of the revolutionary soldier has left a great grief to his family,
friends, as well as comrades and people in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese
Party and State have lost an exemplary “Uncle Ho” soldier who made enormous
contributions to the national liberation, construction and defence, To added.
At his and his family's wish, the hero’s remains were brought to Vietnam.
Born in 1927, Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van Lap was forced
to serve as a soldier for Nazi Germany in 1943. He was sent to the foreign
legion of France after the Second World War ended.
In February 1946, he was brought to Vietnam as a soldier in the French army.
However, witnessing the French colonialists’ barbaric crimes against Vietnamese
people and realising the just nature of the fight against France, in June 1946,
he fled from the French army to a liberated area in Binh Thuan province and
joined the Viet Minh force in the resistance war. Since then, he became a
friend and a comrade of Vietnamese people who called him by the name Kostas
Nguyen Van Lap.
He was repeatedly honoured by the Vietnamese Party and State, including the
first-class Feat Order, the Friendship Order, the third-class Victory Order,
and the second-class Resistance Order. In particular, he was granted the
Vietnamese nationality in 2010 and then the "Hero of the
People’s Armed Forces" title in 2013, becoming the first and
only foreigner to be bestowed with this title so far.
After the memorial service, remains of Kostas
Sarantidis - Nguyen Van
Lap were buried at the cemetery of Military Region 5 in Da Nang
city./.
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All comments [ 21 ]
The soldier of dual Greek and Vietnamese citizenship is the only foreigner bestowed the title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" by the state of Vietnam.
He tirelessly helped promote Greece-Vietnam relations, supported the Vietnamese community in Greece, and raised funds for thousands of victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in Vietnam.
Kostas Sarantidis Nguyen Van Lap is fondly remembered by the Vietnamese!
We pay respect to the late soldier, who had devotedly worked side by side with the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national liberation and the national construction and defence.
He was honoured with many noble rewards from the Vietnamese State, including the first-class Feat Order, the Friendship Order, the third-class Victory Order, and the second-class Resistance Order.
In 2010, he received Vietnamese citizenship. In 2013, he was named a Hero of the People’s Armed Forces and became the only foreigner to have received this noble title.
A great new Vietnamese!
In the memories of many people, the Greek Hero of the Viet Nam People's Armed Forces Kostas Sarantidis, also known as Nguyễn Văn Lập, always respectfully bowed to greet the statue of President Hồ Chí Minh whenever he reached the stage to address a meeting.
"Vietnamese people helped me truly understand what independence and freedom are". What a man!
He was the most famous foreigner to serve in the People's Army of Việt Nam and is the sole foreigner to have bestowed with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces of Việt Nam.
A foreigner who had fought for true freedom, democracy and human rights, not just for Vietnamese but for all over the world!
Lập helped the prisoners understand more about the justification of the Vietnamese fight against the French invaders.
He did a lot to support Việt Nam over the years, which he considered his second homeland. He joined the Communist Party of Greece, linking the two parties and tightening relations between the two countries.
To him, Việt Nam and Greece were the same, both his beloved homelands.
The only foreigner to ever be awarded the title "Vietnam People's Armed Forces Hero" - A true Vietnamese!
It proves that the country's righteous fight for independence and freedom. No one can deny that!
As soon as he arrived in the South and Saigon in 1946, Mr. Kostas Sarantidis witnessed scenes denouncing crimes and colonial oppression against the local people.
Respect!
More than many Vietnamese reactionary elements!
Kostas Sarantidis – Nguyen Van Lap had a youthful, vibrant life, dedicating himself to the Vietnamese revolution. Even later, when he returned to Greece to live, his heart always turned to Vietnam.
Kostas Sarantidis – Nguyen Van Lap has shared many times that he considers Vietnam to be his flesh and blood.
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