Like the father he never knew, Constable Vu Pham died in the line of duty
The tale of Vu Pham reads like a Hollywood movie - a sad drama-adventure pic. Orphaned in Vietnam after the arrest of his mother after she tried to flee the country, left fatherless after his South Vietnamese Army soldier dad was killed in the war, Pham left his homeland behind at the age of seven , to begin a new life in Canada.
A stranger in a foreign land, he found refuge in Elmira, thanks to the loving kindness of a group from the Pentecostal Church in the town. Taken in by Ruth Schwindt and her husband, he lived with the couple for less than a year, before being adopted and moving to Sundridge.
By all accounts, he was a kind and loving child, who grew into a strong and honest man of character and faith in God - a man devoted to his wife and three sons, to his community and to his church; an active volunteer at his boys’ school; a man who overcame the odds to find peace in a great country, to find family when he had none.
Strange how life contains its twists and turns. While millions of his Vietnamese brethren had been shot to death in the calamity that was the Vietnam war, Pham was lucky enough to flee, only to be shot to death in one of the world’s most peaceful countries. While millions of people have bitter and hateful hearts, Pham, as told to me by Ruth, was filled with love and joy; only to be cut down in a hail of bullets fired in anger.
Rest in peace, Vu.
