Tuan Ba Tran passed away July 13, 2004 at the age of 76 in Oklahoma City.

He was born February 20, 1928 in Thua-Thien Province, South Viet-Nam.

He is survived by his wife Ngai Thi Nguyen; 4 sons: Xuan Tran and wife Julie; Loc Tran and wife Thuy; Anthony Tran and wife Marianne; and David Tran; and 7 grandchildren: Kristina, Linda, Andrew, Kimberly, Melissa, Christopher, and Tiffany.

He was a Lieutenant Colonel of the Strategic Technical Directorate of the Republic of Viet-Nam. He was Vice-commander of Long-Thanh Commandos Training Center in Bien-Hoa, Viet-Nam; Vice-commander of the Coastal Security Service, also Commander of the Sea Commando Force in Da-Nang; and Vice-commander of the Special Mission Service of the South Viet-Nam's Strategic Technical Directorate. He was trained by US Army Special Forces and US Navy SEALs for unconventional operations. And he was a recipient of the US Army Commendation Medals and the US Bronze Star Medal.

He and his family settled in Oklahoma City in 1975. In 1977 he founded a "Goodwill Group" to assist the needy Vietnamese refugees in Oklahoma City. He was the past chairman of the Oklahoma City Vietnamese Catholic Community. He worked for Western Electric/AT&T and retired in 1994.

To those he left behind, he will be remembered as a kind, generous, courageous, thoughtful, loving and caring man and he will be greatly missed.

An Evening Prayer Service will be at 7:00 PM Friday, July 16, 2004, in the Chapel of Smith & Kernke Funeral Home, at 1401 NW 23rd, OKC. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, July 17, 2004, at 10:00 AM, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 3214 Lake Ave., Oklahoma City. The interment will follow at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery located at 7801 NW. Expressway, Oklahoma City.