Army doctor Lt. Col. Phak Lohanchun has been feeling the love from Thais on social media this week, and it’s understandable — he was among the first rescuers to reach the 13 young men trapped in flooded Luang Cave and the last to stay behind with them.
Widely referred to as Dr. Phak, the head of Army’s 3rd Medical Battalion was filmed treating and caring for the boys hours within hours of their discovery by two British divers. On Tuesday, Dr. Phak received a round of cheering and applause when he and three other SEAL members finally emerged after two weeks in the dark.
The 39-year-old soldier was suddenly in the spotlight, after photos of him eating cup noodles — the food Dr. Phak said he craved the most during his ordeal — went viral.
Stories about his sense of humor, humility, and impressive military experience quickly followed, turning him into a local celebrity.
A graduate of Phramongkutklao College of Medicine who has undergone a variety of high-level training, including the army’s seven-month SEAL course, Phak was stationed with troops dealing with the insurgency in southern Thailand before joining the cave rescue.
If all that wasn’t enough, the soldiers under his command genuinely seem to love the guy.
One subordinate, Lt. Jitsopin Damnoen, made that abundantly clear in a gushing, public Facebook post on Tuesday, that praised his generosity and humility.
Did you know he has a “smile before salute” policy? We’re not making that up.
“When his subordinates see him, they have to smile before salute to him — toothy smiles only!” she wrote.
But his common touch extends further than that.
“Commander Phak doesn’t have air condition in his office because he allocated the budget towards the common room.”
Is this guy a saint? Probably not, he is, however … a rocker.
Yep. On top of everything else, Dr. Phak is the lead singer of a band he put together with mates from the army.
His original (and adorably corny) music video Take Action Now, posted to his Facebook page a month ago is an uplifting anthem that encourages you to “turn your dreams into reality.” The video has since reached a million views, which we’re guessing is about 990,000 more views than it had before the cave drama turned him into a hero.
“You are so smart and cool,” says one of the comments.
“The doctor in everybody’s hearts,” reads another.
We highly recommend you to check it out, if you’re feeling like a good, um … “toothy” smile. Especially since it features a rap break two minutes in that you truly don’t want to miss — with multi-directional hip thrusting of course.
Hooyah, Dr. Phak.
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