Who is Lan from The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam and what is their importance?

Lan appeared in the tale "So Close." She was a new wife who was attacked by a crocodile while bathing in the river. She was given up for dead, but in fact she had only been dragged away and then tossed in the air by the crocodile in order to soften her up before devouring her. She managed to escape to a nearby island, and she was reunited with her husband.