We salute a liberation fighter, victim of Agent Orange, VAVA President
and Founder, Sr. Lt. General (Rt.) Đặng Vũ Hiệp (1928–4/11/2008)
To the Family of Dang Vu Hiep
To the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin
On behalf of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign we send sincere and heartfelt condolences on the death of our comrade and brother, Dang Vu Hiep.
Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife and children. We share this pain also with the leadership, staff and members of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) to whom Dang Vu Hiep devoted tireless dedication, hard work and his love, in the final period of his long life of revolutionary activism!
Dang Vu Hiep exemplified the highest ideals of a patriot and a fighter for justice! He participated in the uprising that overthrew Japanese occupation and fought against French colonialism. In taking part in the struggle against the U.S. war of aggression, Dang Vu Hiep was exposed to Agent Orange in the Central Highlands of Vietnam – the area hardest hit by this U.S. chemical weapon.
After devoting so much of his life to the liberation of Vietnam, Dang Vu Hiep continued to fight for justice, working to establish VAVA and serving as its President until his death. With boundless compassion, strategic vision and effective leadership, he presided over the development of VAVA into a mass organization with deep roots among
the people of Vietnam and broad support among all peace loving people in the world, including the United States. Dang Vu Hiep embodied great dignity, humanity and determination to achieve justice. And this is the legacy he left to VAVA and to us all!
Dang Vu Hiep’s death is a great loss to all of us. He was a champion of
internationalism and solidarity with all Agent Orange victims around the world and with all those who fight against war and oppression.
We miss Dang Vu Hiep as a friend and a comrade! We will always remember his example! And we will work to complete the tasks he shouldered by intensifying the struggle for justice and compensation for Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims and for all those suffering from the chemical warfare that ultimately caused his death.
Merle E. Ratner & Ngo Thanh Nhan
Co-Coordinators
Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign
