PBS VS BSC WAR: PBS VS BSC - 29/06/2025 20:30

[WASDA10]

This is the story of a Belgian man named Frans de Boel.

When he was 15, the second world war started. After the Germans occupied Belgium he was sent to Germany to work on a farm. At the end of ww2, he was forced to join the German army and when the war ended, he became a French prisoner. In 1946, he was encouraged to join the French Foreign Legion and was first sent to Algeria. Later  he was sent to the battlefields of Vietnam in late 1947. He hated the French because of the way they treated the native people in Algeria, so soon after he arrived in Vietnam (Danang specifically), he was told that the Vietminh were hiding in the jungle near his camp. In mid 1948, he left his camp to find the Vietminh for 3 days, but he wasn’t lucky. He returned to his camp and told his officer, who also happened to be Belgian, that he had been running after a Vietnamese girl. In early 1949, he left his camp again, and this time using some of his connections, he met the Vietminh. He decided that same day that he met Vietminh that he would join the PAVN (Feb 6th 1949).

He was assigned to the 9th Company in Quang Nam. Frans got a Vietnamese name from his fellow Vietminh: Phan Lang (Because Phan is pronounced very similar to Frans). In August 1949, he and his company experienced their first battle in Nui Lo base. In this battle, he held a sword (yes, an actual sword) killing some enemies and getting injured at the end of the fight. In 1950, his company participated in a major operation. In an assault to Cam Le base, he killed an officer with his SMG, which made many admire him. After the operation, his company was ordered to fight in the Laos battlefields. On the way to the battlefield, he joined the Indochina Communist Party (Vietnam’s primal Communist party), an event in which he burst into tears. Then he was promoted to Squad Leader. In a fierce French offensive in 1953 his unit was defeated. Frans kept fighting from his trench, but got severely injured. When the French discovered he spoke French they proceeded with torturing him. His hand was tied to a jeep and he was dragged over the ground while the French were going to a station. After this he disappeared from Vietnam, his comrades thinking he was dead. In reality, he was arrested and brought to Saigon where he was brought before a military tribunal. He was charged with treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was transported to France where he served his sentence until he was extradited to Belgium in 1963.

While Frans wouldn’t fight in Vietnam anymore, his story doesn’t end here. He would visit Vietnam several times, and was even present at the opening of the Vietnamese embassy in Belgium. While in prison he got married and got a son, with whom he’d travel to Vietnam. He managed to meet a number of his old comrades.
He died in 2011, at age 86.

[Kove]

What a strange story.

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[Powerbits]

I know some Belgians 😉

[Caboose]

holy crapper what a story, and here we are sitting behind a desk playing with pixels…. different times.

cheers! & keep em coming…

 

[Nickname]

Hello there,

I came across this story after furthelrly investigating the life of my grandfather. I can still remember most of the stories he told me and even though he was very quiet about WW2, he spoke with much joy and energy about Vietnam. He indeed charged into enemies with a sword and this was one of my favourite stories he shared with me. But my absolute favourite was when he was hiding in the jungle beneat leaves etc and a tiger walked past him. He had to remain absolutely calm and quiet as not to startle the animal. If you have any questions regarding his life I’d be happy to reply to them, I’ve been translating multiple articles I found online and in the future hope to visit the Vietnamese embassy in Belgium along another relative of mine to talk directly with them (they were also present on his funeral). His name Phang Lang does indeed sounds similar to his own name but the main reason for this name is because a good Vietnamese friend of his died sacrificing himself to save other Vietnamese soldiers. My grandfather asked to take over his name to tribute what he did. Oh, and if you have any more information about him I’d be very grateful for that.

[WASDA10]

Wow, that’s amazing! I first heard this story from a Vietnamese friend on a history themed discord server. Sadly Belgian sources on his life are practically non-existent, despite him being something of a hero in Vietnam. I shared his story here because I thought people might appreciate it, but I’d have never thought I’d end up finding a relative of him. I’d love to hear any stories you have about your grandpa, and i’m sure the people in the discord server would be interested in it as well. If you want I can send you an invite

[Author]

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