Lieutenant Ba’s singularly impressive display of courage, utter disregard for his own safety, and his overriding concern for his patients resulted in the saving of many lives. First Lieutenant Ba’s heroic actions reflect great credit upon himself and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. [ BA, DOAN VAN 57/208029 1LT of the Republic of Vietnam: Awarded Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device, Headquarters US MACV, 20 May 1968 ] (1)
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Đoàn Văn Bá saw life on August 20, 1937 to a poor family in the old imperial city of Hue. His father passed away when he was still young but Bá persevered with his schooling to graduate from the Medical School in 1965. He defended his Doctoral thesis one year later on the endocrinological topic: “Contribution à l’étude des cardiothyréoses. À propos de 11 cas observés. [Apropos of 11 cases of cardiothyreosis]. Đoàn Văn Bá, M.D.E., Saigon 1966. (2)
As an active Military Medical Student (QYHD), on his fourth school year he was commissioned 1st Lieutenant. [Picture 1] According to Trang Châu, Class of QYHD 12, graduation year: 1965, “we were 3 friends who were native of the city of Hue. We attended the same class, ate at the same table, shared the same room at the MilitaryMedical School in Cholon. We all intended to join the paratroopers after graduation. At the school, each of us was known by a nickname.” Lê Văn Châu or Trang Châu was called “Châu cá ngựa” because he unfailingly went to the Phú Thọ racetrack every weekend. Even in the love poems he wrote, Trang Châu did not forget to mention horse racing (In my race to win your heart, I am but a lame horse, My only hope is to be a dark one /Trong cuộc đua chạy về trái tim em, Anh là con ngựa què,Nên chỉ thủ một vai về ngược); Trần Đoàn was nicknamed “Đoàn the butterfly/ Đoàn Cái Bướm” for his article “Thằng Cu hay Cái Bướm”, that was serialized in the Magazine Y Khoa Tình Thương. In the article, Đoàn offered advices on how to give birth to boys or girls. However, he and his wife only had “Cái Bướm” or butterflies during the first years of their marriage. Eventually, they succeeded in having a boy “Thằng Cu”. As for Đoàn Văn Bá, he was known as “Crazy Bá / Bá Điên” for being a straight shooter, ready to call a spade a spade. He could be counted on to deal with higher ups in a tight situation. So, his friends also refer to him as “the man for difficult situations/ l’homme des situations difficiles”; he gained the respect of all his peers but not all of his superiors. In his case, that nickname of “Crazy Bá / Bá Điên” is actually a badge of love and admiration.
