The family of tall men

The Vietnamese are not usually noted for being tall but Dinh Trang village in Ha Nam province is known as “the village of tall men.” The most famous are brothers Ngo Van Cong and Ngo Van Kieu, two members of the national volleyball team.
Truong Trung Kien, chief of Dinh Trang village, explained that only one or two families in the village have tall men, most especially the Ngo Van family. Ngo Van Qua, an elder in the Ngo Van family, proudly noted that he is the shortest person in his family.
“My son is studying at a university in Hanoi. He is over 1.8m, while I’m only 1.69m,” Qua revealed.
The four tallest men in the Ngo Van family are four brothers: Ngo Van Ca, Ngo Van Canh, Ngo Van Cong and Ngo Van Kieu.
Ngo Van Ca, 1.9m, maintained: “I’m the third tallest among four brothers. The shortest is Ngo Van Canh, who is 1.85m. The tallest is Kieu. He may be 1.97m by now.”
Ca observed that he and his brothers are very tall because their mother is 1.80m.
Mrs. Ngo Thi Ca, Ngo Van Ca’s mother, reasoned that “All my family members are very tall. My parents had nine children and I’m the third daughter. All of my siblings are around 1.8m on average.” Her grandmother stands 1.8m and her grandfather is 1.78m high.
Mrs. Ca’s younger sister added: “My family has over 20 people over 1.8m high. I’m a woman but I’m 1.76m.”
Ngo Van Ca remarked that it is both good and bad to be tall. Showing his oversized shoes, Ca admitted that “I can’t buy such oversized shoes in my hometown. That’s inconvenient for tall men like us.”
“I had to ask carpenters to make a special bed for me,” Ca acknowledged. “But when my brother Kieu visits home, this bed is too short, so he has to sleep on the ground.”
Because of their outstanding heights, Mrs. Ca’s sons have become sportsmen.
“My son Kieu played football better than volleyball, but they didn’t have shoes that fit his feet so he became a volleyball player,” she recalled.
“My nephew (Nguyen Van Ca’s son) is only three years old, but he is already 1.5m high,” Mrs. Ca boasted.
Mrs. Ca’s two sons Cong and Kieu are famous volleyball players in Vietnam. Kieu is Vietnam’s top striker and he is the first Vietnamese player to join a foreign club. He became part of Indonesia’s Samato in 2008 and, as of February 2010, Kieu joined the Thai Royal Army team.