Tuesday, June 17, 2008

RIP An Hoan aka Grandpa

I just found out my Grandpa just pasted away earlier today.

My grandpa is my hero. Although I've probably only spent about a total of 30 days with him my entire life, I cherished every moment. Whenever I would stay over at his house I would wake up at 5am to join him for his morning walks around the lake.  He shared many stories with me during our morning stroll.  I loved his stories about my mom and her childhood.  I would always ask about my mom's earlier boyfriends.  HAHA  

His stories about the Vietnam War were always intriguing and at time depressing.  I always left feeling as though I learned an important lesson from our conversations.  After our morning walks we would always finish with a bowl of hot pho from one of our neighboring houses.  He always encouraged me to eat 2 bowls since I was such a big kid.  He loved to show me off to his other friends because I was tall and American.  HAHA  Plus I spoke Vietnamese really wells so people were often impressed.  

He always told me he was proud of my mother for raising two boys.  I hope to make him just as proud.

Before he passed away he asked my aunt if I was still coming to Vietnam because I told him I would visit him this summer.  I'm sorry I never made it... =(  I will see you again one day and we can take another walk around the lake...

He loved life and I will always admire his will to provide for the people around him. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his family so they could live a better life. In the late 70s he stayed back in Vietnam, while the rest of the family (Grandma, Mom, Aunt, & 2 Uncles) escaped the Communist Government to refugee camps in Hong Kong. He stayed just incase the family got caught. He was later imprisoned for several years for letting the family flee the country without the Governments permission. His sacrifice provided opportunities for us to live a better life. Without my Grandpa this life would not be possible. Thank you!

I'm ok but I know its tough on my mom.  Luckily she got to visit him a few weeks ago before he passed away.  We love you! You will be missed!

My Grandpa was always stylin'!
March '07
Here we are during our 5am walks...  I miss those!  I still look sleepy in this picture... HAHA
Thank you!  I love you!  RIP!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

RIP