Greek hero of Vietnam People's Armed Forces passes away
Kostas Sarantidis, the sole foreigner who was honoured with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam, passed away on June 25 (Vietnam time). He was 94.
Kostas Sarantidis (R) meets with then Foreign Minister of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh in 2018 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Kostas Sarantidis, the sole foreigner who was honoured with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam, passed away on June 25 (Vietnam time). He was 94.
The Greek was 16 when he was sent to the German army in 1943. After World War II, he could not return home for having no identity documents and later joined the French Foreign Legion and was mobilised to Indochina.
Since Sarantidis set foot on Sai Gon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1946, he decided to follow the Viet Minh (the short name for Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh or Vietnam Independence League) as he had witnessed invaders’ crime to innocent Vietnamese and realised the aspirations of the Vietnamese revolution.
The soldier, with the Vietnamese name of Nguyen Van Lap, had made various accomplishments during his service and was presented with awards from the Party and State.
He was honoured with the Friendship Order and received Vietnamese citizenship in January 2011.
In 2013, Lap was awarded with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam.
The Central Military Commission’s Standing Board and the Ministry of National Defence presented the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” to Kostas Sarantidis (also known as Nguyen Van Lap), a Greek citizen, in Hanoi on August 30.
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Kostas Sarantidis (R) meets with then Foreign Minister of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh in 2018 (Photo: VNA) 
