Heroic Gạc Ma soldier recalls battle in 1988 stockbot 0 296 2023.03.14 15:03 https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1497343/heroic-gac-ma-soldier-recalls-b… + 6 https://vietnamnews.vn/rss/society.rss + 8 Thoa, who joined the national army when he turned 17, became a non-commissioned officer of Squadron 1, Navy Brigade 125, which was based at Tân Cảng, HCMC City. He was tasked with repairing machinery on ship HQ 602.