Special ops soldier, ex-Chicago Bear to headline McHenry County GOP dinner

CRYSTAL LAKE – A decorated Special Operations operator will headline the McHenry County Republican Party's Lincoln Leadership Dinner next month.

Army Master Sgt. Tu Lam, a refugee from Vietnam who came to America and ended up in a 20-year career in special operations, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner, set for 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn. He will be joined by former NFL player Jim Thornton, who played with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and the Houston Oilers.

Lam and his family fled the communist government of Vietnam in 1979 when he was a boy, escaping on an overloaded boat, and eventually arrived in the U.S. He left for basic training the day after he graduated high school.

He graduated airborne school, Ranger school and the yearlong Special Forces Qualification Course, and in 1997 was assigned as a Green Beret to the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa. Seven years later, Lam was selected to join the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six are the U.S. military’s primary counterterrorism units.

Lam, who now lives in Colorado Springs, co-founded Ronin Tactics, a company made up of other special-forces operators who train clients on military marksmanship and tactical training.

His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, three Bronze Stars, and the Army Commendation Medal with valor device. He graduated with honors from American Military University with a bachelor of arts in homeland security and intelligence.

Lam will share leadership lessons and how spirit and drive can take people anywhere despite their origins, according to the invite.

Tickets are $75 a person or $125 a couple. For information, visit www.mchenrycountyrepublicans.org or call Mickey Schuch at 815-690-0248.