Frank Hammerschmidt has rested peacefully forever in Khanh Hoa Province, the land that he loved all his lifetime...
Frank Hammerschmidt has rested peacefully forever in Khanh Hoa Province, the land that he loved all his lifetime. To his contentment, his bone-ash was placed in Nam Ha Quang Am Pagoda, Hon Ba Cat Loi, Luong Son, Nha Trang City and part of it was scattered on a stream water surface near Hon Ba, according to his last wish.
According to Nguyen Duong Hung, a tour guide of German, a friend of Frank Hammerschmidt, Frank Hammerschmidt was born in Potsdam City, Germany in 1959. He had many friends in Vietnam so he frequently came to Vietnam to visit them. After several trips to Vietnam, he grew strongly attached to the land. In 1994, he decided to spend the rest of his life in Vietnam.
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| Frank Hammerschmidt (in black, on the upper row). |
With initial capital of only 2.500 marks, Frank Hammerschmidt looked for business opportunities in many places from Hanoi, Hue to Ho Chi Minh City. In 1997, Frank decided to run the Treffpunkt Restaurant serving sausages and German beer on Biet Thu Street, Nha Trang City. He did business for a living and charity. Therefore, the profit from his business was used for charity and he also received support from his friends.
Frank said he loved Khanh Hoa because of friendly people, temperate climate and beautiful scenery. He could spend all day discovering the land on his bike.
The trips also brought him to reach the places that needed help. They included 2 houses for orphans: Anh Dao and Phu Quang Pagoda, Ninh Hoa Town.
Hung says, “Frank was very amicable and helpful with a good sense of humor. He had a simple lifestyle. He could eat Vietnamese food, including sauce made of fermented fish.”
Truong Hong Dung, Chairman of Vietnam – Germany Friendship Association of Khanh Hoa Province, recalled, “One day I received a phone call from Frank asking me to be present immediately at the hospital. I thought Frank was sick, but actually, Frank by chance met a German man suffering from stroke, fainted on the street. The man was hospitalized but his money was stolen so he could not pay his hospital fees. Frank asked Dung to comply with all necessary formalities for the poor man.” Frank also provided support for the association for the celebration of the German National Day and other official holidays.
Frank began applying for Vietnamese citizenship in 2006. When he planned to expand his business, he was discovered to suffer from gastric cancer. He had to return to Germany for treatment. As there was nothing more to do with his severe disease, he came back to Vietnam so that he could spend the rest of his life here.
Frank departed his life on January 31, 2014. At that time, his mother was also critically ill so she could not attend the mourning ceremony of her son.
Ursula Nguyen, Chairwoman of Medical Aid For Vietnam was assigned to hold the mourning service. His bone-ash was placed in Nam Ha Quang Am Pagoda and a part of it was scattered on a stream water surface near Hon Ba, according to his last wish.
When alive, he said that he wished his bone-ash to be scattered in Hon Ba because of his cherish to invest in an entertaining park for children, but he could not afford it. He left this world without fulfilling his dream.
Surely, there will be much investment into Hon Ba and Khanh Hoa will see great improvement. From this spring, beloved Frand will be pleased to rest here peacefully to share happiness with Khanh Hoa residents forever and ever.
N.T
