Last Saturday, the municipal People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho, on behalf of the Da Nang authorities, presented a 45m² apartment in the Hoa Thuan Dong Apartment Building to Mr Vu Xuan Khoa.  Khoa is the son of martyr Vu Phi Tru, the captain of ship HQ-604, who gave his life at the Gac Ma battle in the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago on 14 March 1988.

Captain Tru died leaving behind his then 28-year-old wife Nguyen Thi Tan, 5-year-old son Vu Xuan Dang, and 15-month-old son Vu Xuan Khoa.

Since then, widow Nguyen Thi Tan has chosen to remain single and has raised her children by herself.  Her older son, Vu Xuan Dang, is now serving in the Viet Nam People's Navy, whilst youngest son Vu Xuan Khoa is working in Da Nang for the city’s branch of Sai Gon Newport Cooperation under the management of the Ministry of Defence.  Khoa is soon to get married and he is really in need of his own house to live in with his future wife, and to ensure the best care for his mother. 

Chairman Duc Tho (left) and widow Nguyen Thi Tan (middle)

Addressing the apartment-giving ceremony, Chairman Duc Tho said “I was told that martyr Tru’s older son Vu Xuan Dang is now on duty in the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago, and the youngest Vu Xuan Khoa is working in Da Nang but does not have his own home.  This new apartment for Khoa is a reflection of the city’s deep sentiments for the families of naval soldiers who have sacrificed their lives to protect the country’s islands”.