Always caring for its students, being there for them, and sharing their difficulties, both in their lives and their studies, DTU provides timely support and encouragement to students in difficult circumstances and especially to children of families with a record of national service. In the afternoon of March 13, 2024, the DTU Board of Directors therefore visited the house of Mr Duong Van Dung, who participated in the Gac Ma battle in the Truong Sa archipelago, and awarded a scholarship to his daughter Duong Thi My Linh, currently a student of Tourism Management & Aviation Services at DTU. The scholarship was awarded after they learned that her family faced many difficulties and her mother could not afford her university tuition fees. This meaningful gift will give My Linh peace of mind with her studies and honors those who protected the sacred territory of the nation with their sweat, work, and blood.
Representatives of the DTU Board of Directors visited and talked with veteran Gac Ma Duong Van Dung’s family
Gac Ma veteran and proud father
Although My Linh and her siblings were born after their father retired from military service, they heard the stories and read about it in books and newspapers, and like their family and relatives, they have always been proud of their father Mr Duong Van Dung, a veteran embodying the spirit of “Unflinching for the homeland’s survival” who, with his comrades, resolutely defended the Johnson South reef in the historical naval battle of March 14, 1988.
My Linh’s eyes sparkle when she talks about her father. “I feel lucky with my father and I’ve always been proud of him, because he contributed to safeguarding sovereignty over our nation’s seas and islands,” she says. “He’s my role model to never stop learning and working to become a good child and a good citizen.”
They gave gifts to support the family along with the full scholarship for Duong Thi My Linh (white shirt)
The stories by My Linh’s mother vividly brought to mind the image of the steadfast and indomitable Johnson South reef soldier. In 1987, Mr Duong Van Dung enlisted into the military at the age of only 21. With the over 70 soldiers on the
fateful ships HQ 604, HQ 605, and HQ 505, he left for the Spratly Islands to build on and protect Vietnamese sovereignty over Gac Ma, Cô Lin and Len Ðao reef.
But after that fateful morning of March 14, 1988, 64 of his comrades would never return from the faraway seas but created the legend of the “immortal circle”. With a few lucky comrades, he narrowly escaped death. Out of the ten soldiers from Quang Nam–Da Nang on the HQ 604, nine fell, leaving him as the only living witness.
After his brush with death, Mr Duong Van Dung and eight others were captured and imprisoned by the Chinese. His family and relatives back home received his death notice and thought he had died. But then in 1991, after nearly four years of imprisonment, the Chinese released him through diplomatic means.
My Linh dreams of becoming a flight attendant
“People often tell me my parents married a few years after my father returned and was discharged from the military. My father worked as a bricklayer and my mother as a hawker, to make a living and pay for the education of my two siblings and me. Our family’s finances depended mostly on my mother, though, because, after his imprisonment in China and being unable to forget that battle, my father’s health was very poor. And then in 2011, my brother’s death in a traffic accident devastated him.”
In 2017, Mr Duong Van Dung passed away after a long battle with scalp cancer, leaving behind his wife and two daughters.
Youngest daughter with passion for work in aviation
“I chose DTU for my studies because it’s a well-known university, known for its educational quality and its dynamic and modern learning environment,” My Linh explains. “Initially, I enrolled for PSU-standard Accounting & Auditing. However, I love the environment in aviation and I have a special passion for the job of a flight attendant, so I decided to switch to Tourism Management & Aviation Services.”
As a veteran’s daughter, My Linh has always been very self-motivated in her studies and is determined to make her dream come true. Always studying hard, My Linh has never let parents or teachers down and kept up her excellent academic performance. This makes one dare to hope that the path to her dreams would be smooth and straight, especially given her family’s full support and encouragement.
“After the many tragedies in the family, and especially when my father fell ill with cancer and passed away after a long battle, all the economic burdens fell on my mother’s shoulders,” My Linh confides. “My mother’s hawking at Hoa Cuong Junction market was not enough to cover our living expenses. Especially after Covid-19, our already difficult financial situation took a turn for the worse. I feel for my mother so much, but I’m too young to do anything. My older sister works as a kindergarten teacher, but she has her own family and can only help so much. Many times, my mother and I discussed my quitting school, because I can’t bear her having to borrow money everywhere to support my education. But thinking about my unfinished dream, my mother hesitated to make that decision. Soon, I’ll have a semester in South Korea, and tuition there is really too much for my mother to bear, so I’m still very worried.”
As soon as they learned about My Linh and her mother’s worries, the DTU Board of Directors decided to award My Linh a full scholarship worth 120 million VND, to allow her to focus on her studies. This gift is an encouragement and provides timely support; it will help My Linh overcome her difficulties and continue her education to pursue her dreams.
Besides awarding a scholarship to allow a student to continue her studies, DTU’s action once again emphasizes the importance of education and its gratitude towards those who contribute to the protection the nation’s territory. It will also inspire and encourage younger people and affirms that they are the future of the country and deserve every investment and support to fully develop their potential, to build the nation like the generations that came before.
(Media Center)