Inside An Lộc

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Inside An Lộc
The Battle to Save Saigon,
April–May 1972
VAN NGUYEN DUONG
with NGHIA M. VO

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina
RECENT WORKS ALSO OF INTEREST AND FROM MCFARLAND
Legends of Vietnam: An Analysis and Retelling of 88 Tales, by Nghia M.
Vo (2012); Saigon: A History, by Nghia M. Vo (2011); The Viet Kieu in
America: Personal Accounts of Postwar Immigrants from Vietnam, by
Nghia M. Vo (2009); The Tragedy of the Vietnam War: A South Vietnamese
Officer’s Analysis, by Van Nguyen Duong (2008); The Vietnamese Boat
People, 1954 and 1975–1992, by Nghia M. Vo (2006); The Bamboo Gulag:
Political Imprisonment in Communist Vietnam, by Nghia M. Vo (2004)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Duong, Van Nguyen, 1934– author. | Vo, Nghia M., 1947– Co-author.
Title: Inside An Lộc : the battle to save Saigon, April–May 1972 / Van
Nguyen Duong with Nghia M. Vo.
Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015040400| ISBN 9780786499342 (softcover : acid
free paper) | ISBN 9781476621210 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: An Lộc, Battle of, An Lộc, Vietnam, 1972. | Vietnam
War, 1961–1975—Personal narratives, Vietnamese. | Duong, Van Nguyen,
1934–
Classification: LCC DS557.8.A5 D86 2016 | DDC 959.704/342—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040400

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

© 2016 Van Nguyen Duong and Nghia M. Vo. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover: An ARVN soldier peers out from a bunker in a position north of
Chơn Thanh in South Vietnam on May 7, 1972

Printed in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To the valiant ARVN soldiers who fought at the An Lộc
Battle.
To the brave U.S. advisers and pilots who supported the
ARVN during that battle.

To the people of An Lộc who suffered so much during the

battle.
 Table of Contents

Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1

I. The Border War 9

II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 35
III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 48
IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 62
V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 77
VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 94
VII. A Clash of Personalities 117
VIII. The Siege 134
IX. The War Game in Chơn Thành 146
X. Breaking the Siege 154
XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 172
XII. Besieged Towns 196
XIII. Return to the Mekong Delta 208
XIV. Hell in a Very Insignificant Place 215

Epilogue 221
Appendix: War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 225
Chapter Notes 238
Bibliography 249
Index 253

vi
 Abbreviations

APC armed personnel carrier

Arc Light B-52 bombing strike
ARVN Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam
CARP computerized aerial drop system
CBU cluster bomb unit
COSVN Central Office for South Vietnam (communist)
CP command post
CPV Communist Party of [North] Vietnam
DMZ Demilitarized Zone
DRAC Delta Regional Assistance Command
DRV Democratic Republic of [North] Vietnam
FAC forward air controller
FRAC First Regional Assistance Command
FSB fire support base
GVN Government of [South] Vietnam
HALO high altitude, low opening
HEAT high explosive anti-tank rocket
IRC Indochinese Resource Center
JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff
JGS Joint General Staff (RVNAF)
KIA killed in action
LAW light anti-tank weapon
MACV Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

vii
viii A B B R E V I AT I O N S

medevac medical evacuation

MIA missing in action
MR Military Region
NLF National Liberation Front
NVA North Vietnamese Army (we will use PAVN and NVA inter-
changeably)
PAVN People’s Army of [North] Vietnam
PF Popular Forces
POW prisoner of war
PRG Provisional Revolutionary Government
RF Regional Forces
RPG rocket-propelled grenade
RVN Republic of [South] Vietnam
RVNAF Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
SAC Strategic Air Command
SAM surface-to-air missile
SDS Students for a Democratic Society
SRAC Second Regional Assistance Command
TF task force
TOC tactical operations center
TOW tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided missile
TRAC Third Regional Assistance Command
VC Việt Cọng (communists in South Vietnam)
VM Việt Minh (communists in North Vietnam before 1954; inter-
changeable with PAVN or NVA)
VNAF [South] Vietnamese Air Force
WIA wounded in action
 Introduction

An Lộc represented one of the defining moments in the history of the

Vietnam War in general and of the Republic of South Vietnam in particular.
It was in 1972, a place where one South Vietnamese division stood its ground
against three North Vietnamese infantry divisions (NVA) and won. Through-
out the two-decade war (1954–1975), all the battles had been fought in the
countryside, swamps and villages of South Vietnam or the hills of central
Vietnam, with the possible exceptions of Huế, Saigon probably Quảng Trị.
But An Lộc was almost an urban war, with house-to-house and street-to-
street fighting, where opponents shot at each other at close range.
An Lộc was only 11 city blocks long by six blocks wide, so small that
its aerial photograph could fit onto one book page. Tucked in the middle of
vast rubber tree plantations, it was in 1972 a provincial town with 15–20,000
inhabitants at its peak. The tallest buildings were the scattered two- or three-
story houses that lined the main city streets. One could have easily missed
the town while driving on the ground. No heavy fortifications dotted the
landscape because it was home to no major army unit, installation, or ord-
nance depot. For this reason, no one thought the communists would launch
an attack on a rural town with such low strategic value—so low that U.S.
then South Vietnamese troops did not build any heavy fortification to
strengthen it.
However, it turned out to be a town where brand-new 36-ton T-54 enemy
tanks1 roamed through until they were destroyed by valiant ARVN2 soldiers
carrying anti-tank rocket launchers. The town was physically so small that
one could see ARVN soldiers chasing after tanks in order to have a better
shot at them at close range.
For more than 60 days,3 that unprotected small rural town was pounded
daily by 1,000 rounds of shells, mortars and more. It was so thoroughly
shelled that almost nothing was left standing after the battle, except for five

1
2 INTRODUCTION

or six crumbling buildings riddled with holes and bullets; a few weeks into
the battle had rendered visibility across town almost perfect from north to
south and east to west.
The An Lộc battle ranked high in the history of strategic battles, prob-
ably at the same level as Điện Biên Phủ and Khe Sanh: all these battles had
been savagely fought on Vietnamese soil. The significant strategic and mil-
itary differences of these battles will be discussed in Chapter XI.
An Lộc was one of the three battle sites where the NVA waged war
against the South Vietnamese in their 1972 summer offensive that was fit-
tingly called Mùa Hè Đỏ Lửa, the Fiery Red Summer. The others were Quảng
Trị and Kontum in the northern and central parts of South Vietnam. This
was the three-pronged attack engineered by Hanoi to destabilize the South
Vietnamese government. An Lộc was also one of the bloodiest battles in
Vietnam in which more than 20,000 soldiers and civilians died in a few-
square-mile area. This was how heavily contested that area was in 1972.
The An Lộc battle came at a time when U.S. troops were leaving Viet-
nam, turning everything over to the Vietnamese as a consequence of the
Vietnamization of the war.4 Only a small contingent of U.S. troops remained
on the ground in 1972. At the An Lộc battlefield, a dozen U.S. cố vấn or
advisers at most worked on site. No foreign reporters, except maybe one or
two, showed up in town later; which means that one of the bloodiest battles
of the war was ignored, under- or mis-reported by world press.
An Lộc was a lengthy, bloody, and ugly battle that looked more like
World War I trench warfare than a modern-day battle. Whichever side lasted
the longest would win it. It was a battle of attrition rather than a fast-paced
and decisive battle where one side just overwhelmed the other either by force
or power. Although force and power were employed in An Lộc, they neu-
tralized each other effectively to a stalemate in the beginning until the com-
munists had no more force to throw into the siege. When it ended, the town
lay wasted like a huge pile of rubble. It looked like the devastation left
behind by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane that had just touched down smack in
the middle of town. A hurricane would have been better for the townspeople;
it would have come unannounced and left as fast as it arrived. The pain and
sorrows would have been short-lived. After a short but tragic nightmare,
people would be ready to rebuild their lives. The war in An Lộc, which lasted
for more than two months, on the other hand, left daily evidence of killings,
ravages, and destruction. People and soldiers suffered from the shelling,
noise, destruction, killing, horror, fatigue, hunger, thirst, pain, and grieving
almost daily for almost three long months. They bore down and lived in hell
during that time, trying to survive day by day. Their physical and psycho-
 Introduction 3

logical wounds broke open, bled, and re-bled daily without getting time to
heal. Even the dead were not allowed to solemnly die in one piece; their
bodies were shelled and shelled repeatedly until they were shredded into
thousands of small pieces that scattered over a large area. If bodies were
shredded into pieces, how could their souls remain intact in one piece?
No town had been so thoroughly and so much shelled and bombed as
An Lộc had been. Andrade, a westerner, rightly called it “Hell in a Very
Insignificant Place,”5 for An Lộc was an insignificant small provincial town
smack in the middle of nowhere, among its well-known and age-old rubber
plantations close to the Cambodian border. Its importance lay in the mind
of the North Vietnamese communists who were determined to conquer it at
all costs to make it their “capital” in South Vietnam, a place to boost their
legitimacy and a base to conquer Saigon. From there, they could roll their
tanks down Highway 13 and be in Saigon in a couple of hours. They could
make it the terminus of the Hồ Chí Minh Trail and cut down by more than
half the travel time for their troops from North to South. In the process, they
would leave their troops exposed to U.S. and South Vietnamese air strikes.
But they were willing to take this gamble: sacrifice tens of thousands of their
soldiers for the conquest of a town. Otherwise, in a sparsely populated prov-
ince, which was no larger than an average eastern U.S. county, An Lộc held
minimal strategic value. The goal of “liberating” a town ended up tearing it
apart, destroying it, and laying it into ruins. Conquest had become murder,
killing and destruction. This was how murderous the communist mind could
be.6 Strangely, world news reporters and anti-war activists had never men-
tioned the cruelty and savagery of the communist leaders during all these
fights. Where did all these T-54 tanks and all these artillery guns come from?
Did the communists build these fancy, top-of-the-line killing machines in
the jungles of South Vietnam, or had they been shipped from Hanoi to South
Vietnam? If they had been shipped from faraway lands, Hanoi had simply
invaded South Vietnam.
An Lộc’s population may have doubled in size with the arrival of the
soldiers of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division. The latter just showed up for
this battle: although it was not their home, it was their sacred land to defend.
They came, dug their own foxholes, and put up bunkers made of sandbags
around the periphery of An Lộc to protect themselves and the town. A few
concertina wires were spread here and there and that was all. The few rare
heavy fortifications left behind by the Japanese during World War II and the
Americans later explained the reason why enemy tanks rolled so easily into
the middle of the town, which was basically a lowly residential, commercial,
and rural town, not a fortified military camp.
4 INTRODUCTION

An Lộc was the story of its defenders who bravely withstood more than
two months of endless shelling, fatigue, hunger, suffering, and misery to
survive and fight another day. Major General James H. Hollingsworth said,
“The real credit goes to the little ARVN soldier. He is just tremendous, just
magnificent. He stood in there, took all that fire and gave it back.”7 It was
the story of a brave commander General Lê Văn Hưng who vowed to “die
with An Lộc” until it fell. It was the story of a U.S. TRAC commander who
promised to rain down enough bombs to dislodge the attackers and prevent
them from capturing the town.
If one looks at the map of South Vietnam, one is surprised to see that
the Cambodian border is only 100 kilometers away from Saigon, the heart
of the Republic of South Vietnam. Hanoi had opened since 1955 the so-called
Hồ Chí Minh Trail that began in North Vietnam, went through the moun-
tainous jungles of Laos and Cambodia, and finally ended in Cambodia across
the border from the Bình Long Province of South Vietnam. By skirting the
South Vietnamese border, the communists avoided major military air strikes
on the movement of their troops and trucks. Once in Cambodia, they settled
down in the Parrot’s Beak and Fish Hook areas—fancy names for the Cam-
bodian territorial indentations into South Vietnam—and could then aim
straight into the heart of Saigon. It was no wonder that their aim in 1972,
when the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops out of Vietnam, was to target
An Lộc and use it as a “liberated town” to promote the National Liberation
Front, a front cover for the Hanoi communist government. Once this Viet-
namese border town was taken, they could just roll down Highway 13 and
within two hours be in the heart of Saigon. This was how strategic and impor-
tant An Lộc had become to the communists.
An Lộc was not only one of the biggest battles of the war; it was also
bigger than Điện Biên Phủ or Khe Sanh (Chapter XI). It was a full battle
with infantry, tanks, aircraft, artillery and anti-aircraft missiles. Yes, the
enemy brought down the huge Russian-made M-54 tanks that frightened any
foot soldier, to mount attacks on the town. But An Lộc was not the only
battle; it was also a complex three-part battle with the prelude in Lộc Ninh
north of An Lộc, the main battle at An Lộc itself and the third one south of
An Lộc—for the latter city to be freed, the southern corridor from Saigon
to An Lộc should be freed. Attempts to downgrade these three phases would
be ignoring the multi-dimensional strategy of this bloody battle.
An Lộc would only be saved if two conditions were to occur:

1. It had to hold its own despite being shelled 1,000 plus rounds each
day and attacked three or four different times with infantry and tanks.
 Introduction 5

2. Reinforcement troops could only come from the South through High-
way 13.8

Since Highway 13, which ran in a south-north direction through the

province before crossing An Lộc, was blocked by enemy troops at Tàu-Ô
Stream, to liberate An Lộc the ARVN had to take down the dense blockade
at Tàu-Ô Stream north of Chơn Thành. Otherwise, An Lộc could not be
resupplied and peace could not be reestablished in the province. Although
the battle had ceased by the end of the second month in An Lộc, it lingered
on for another month south of town—the time it took ARVN soldiers to
uproot the blockade north of Chơn Thành.
The book is divided into 15 chapters and one appendix.
Chapter I, “The Border War,” details the different parties involved in
the Vietnam War, namely the U.S., the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Armed Forces (RVNAF), and the North Vietnamese Army forces (NVA) and
the Việt Cộng (VC). The border war involves cross-border fighting against
communist forces stationing in neutral Cambodia. These latter forces, if not
neutralized, would later cross the border to wage war in An Lộc.
Chapter II, “General Lê Văn Hưng and I,” discusses the educational
and training relationships between the author and Lê Văn Hưng, who would
later become the commander of the ARVN’s forces in An Lộc.
Chapter III, “Prelude to the Bình Long Battle,” details the strategy and
forces involved in this bloody and little-discussed battle of the Vietnam War.
Chapter IV, “The Fall of Lộc Ninh,” describes the sudden communist
attack on Lộc Ninh, a 3,000-people village used as an ARVN firebase across
the border from Cambodia and 30 kilometers north of An Lộc.
Chapter V, “Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc,” details how Gen-
eral Lê Văn Hưng’s crucial decisions made while flying over the Cần Lê
Bridge, 15 kilometers north of An Lộc, eventually saved the town from immi-
nent disaster. General Hưng’s vow to take a stand and defend the town until
death galvanized local defenders.
“The First Attack on An Lộc” is described in Chapter VI along with
details about communist shelling of civilians who tried to escape from the
war zone; the two hospitals that treated thousands of injured people, civilians
as well as military personnel, during this battle; and the ranger group, the
Airborne brigade, and the Commando group that were involved in the bat-
tle.
Chapter VII deals with the intimate details of “A Clash of Personalities”
between General Hưng and his U.S. adviser, Colonel Miller.
“The Siege” of the town is detailed in Chapter VIII, along with a dis-
6 INTRODUCTION

cussion about the tactical assessments of the battle between General Hưng
and his adviser.
Chapter IX, “The War Game in Chơn Thành,” details the second front
south of An Lộc where enemy forces used “choke points” to try to prevent
reinforcing forces from relieving the pressure around the besieged town.
This was a miniature war of the trenches.
Chapter X, “Breaking the Siege,” describes the brutal attack on the
town, which received close to 10,000 rounds of mortars and shells on the
first day of the third attack but survived to repel the attackers; the battle
between TOW rocket launchers and tanks; and the feats of the Airborne bat-
talion.
The unique strategic moves made by General Nguyễn Văn Minh to
bring reinforcement troops to An Lộc underline the war games played by
General Minh and his opponent, General Trần Văn Trà, in Chapter XI,
“Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc.” Also discussed are the counterattack
mounted by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Đỉnh and his paratroopers; the
village of Phú Đức that took care of wounded patients displaced from the
destroyed An Lộc hospital; and President Thiệu’s visit to the liberated town
of An Lộc.
The three major sieges and battles waged in An Lộc (1972), Khe Sanh
(1968) and Điện Biên Phủ (1954) during the Vietnam War had major impli-
cations on the course of events in Vietnam. They are discussed in Chapter
XII, “Besieged Towns.”
General Lê Văn Hưng’s reassignment to the Mekong Delta is detailed
in Chapter XIII, “Return to the Mekong Delta,” where he became the deputy
commander of the IV Corps and IV Military Region until his death in 1975.
Chapter XIV, “Hell in a Very Insignificant Place,” describes the signifi-
cance and insignificance of this An Lộc battle in a remote southwest corner
of South Vietnam close to the Cambodian border. The Vietnam War finally
ended three years later with the self-sacrifice of five South Vietnamese gen-
erals and scores of other officers—the largest number of self-immolated gen-
erals in a war—who could not stand to live without their defeated country.
The epilogue discusses the significance of the loss of South Vietnam.
As the former chief of the staff’s intelligence unit of the ARVN 5th
Infantry Division, or J-2/5th Div/ARVN, Van Nguyen Duong was privileged
to be present for the duration of the siege of An Lộc. Duong lived in the
same bunker as the divisional staff of the ARVN 5th Division and attended
meetings with General Lê Văn Hưng, the 5th Division commander. As all
the staff officers of the S-3 Operations staff of the division were killed in
the early stage of the battle, except its chief, he was the officer—with the
 Introduction 7

help of his two captains—who recorded the history of the An Lộc battle and
later submitted it to the Division of History Branch of the J5/JGS/RVNAF.
This is an accurate depiction of battle as it was submitted in 1973. It contains
unique features only known to Duong and the ARVN. However, since mem-
ories are not always accurate with years passing by, we have added various
other sources, mostly South Vietnamese, that are not known to or have been
ignored so far by western reporters.
It is therefore our privilege to present the battle of An Lộc as well as
the strategy and perspectives of General Lê Văn Hưng, the man who stood
in the “trenches” to lead our forces during the more than two-month bloody
siege, endured the tens of thousands of artillery shells and bombs that rained
down on the tiny town like any foot soldier, and fought the attackers until
the end. It is our hope that this presentation will convey a better and more
comprehensive view of one of the most important battles of the Vietnam
War and in extension the Vietnam War in general.
Finally, this book is dedicated to the brave ARVN soldiers who coura-
geously stood in their foxholes and trenches day and night for three months
in An Lộc ready to fight against an army of invaders led by huge T-54 tanks
and supported by long-range artillery and anti-aircraft guns, to the few valiant
U.S. advisers still on the ground, and U.S. and VNAF pilots who day and
night supported An Lộc defenders.
This page intentionally left blank
 I

The Border War

“When the NVA1 crossed the DMZ and invaded Quảng Trị Province on
30 April 1972, the Joint General Staff was still having serious doubts about
the enemy’s real objective.” So wrote General Ngô Quang Trưởng.2
Huế was the main threat because it was a historic capital and easily
accessible from the north. The Central Highlands were also a possibility
because of enemy buildup there. But little attention was paid to the Military
Region III (MR3) and An Lộc because they were at the end of the Hồ Chí
Minh Trail where supplies and reinforcements would be difficult for the
communists to deliver. But the three-pronged attack against Quảng Trị (MR1),
Kontum (MR2), and An Lôc (MR3) would give the enemy some “flexibility”
because an “initial success of any thrust could be reinforced and turned into
the main effort.” Andrade, however, argued that the capture of An Lộc would
be symbolic but insignificant because “American B-52 [would] soon unseat
the North Vietnamese.”3 This may be true, but for the communists, who did
not control any city or town in South Vietnam in 1972, symbolism could
mean a lot of things.
The real prize was always Saigon, the capital of the Republic of South
Vietnam and the nerve center of its army, the Army of the Republic of Viet-
nam or ARVN. Saigon was also the political nemesis of Hanoi, the opposition
center of communist expansion throughout Indochina. No matter what the
communists did and said, they never took their eyes off that city. This was
where the power was; this was what they aimed for. All the rest was sec-
ondary. Besides, Saigon was only 100 kilometers from the border with Cam-
bodia where large NVA units had been stationing in plain view of the world
along with huge armament caches in very safe sanctuaries inside Cambodia.
And the Vietnam War could not be won without these safe sanctuaries.
The main question that needed to be answered was how did Hanoi man-
age to bring its troops from the North all the way down to Cambodia to take

9
10 INSIDE AN LOC

aim at Saigon, the heart of South Vietnam? How did Hanoi manage to create
sanctuaries inside neutral Cambodia where it could rest its troops, replenish
their reserves, and send them back to fight in Vietnam? This was a long story
that began back in Geneva in 1954 where the U.S. attempted to block Hanoi
from expanding its hegemony all over Indochina but could not.4 The Geneva
failure would later come back and haunt the U.S.

Washington’s War
The War in Laos (1954–1962)
Indochina was from the 9th to the 14th centuries home to a huge and
powerful Indianized culture.5 One just has to look at the pharaonic temples
of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom to realize its past greatness and might.6
The Khmer (Cambodian) empire then encompassed present-day Cambodia,
Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.7 That vital and important culture
slowly ebbed in the 15th century from internecine rivalry and outside attacks
by rival states—Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia—that slowly nipped at its
fringes. By the end of the 17th century, Cambodia had become a vassal to
Vietnam,8 which had transformed the Khmer fishing village of Prey Nokor
in the Mekong Delta into the Vietnamese Saigon in 1698. By the 1800s, the
king of Cambodia each year had to come to Saigon to wish well to the king
of Vietnam on the New Year Tết celebration.9
When the French arrived in Vietnam in the late 19th century, they
lumped three neighboring but different states (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia)
together to form Indochina. That tour of force held on its own for many
decades until French Indochina broke apart after World War II. Although
they were Asian neighbors, these three states were racially, culturally, and
socially different: Laos and Cambodia formed the “Indo” side while Vietnam
was the “China” side of the Indo-China equation. Laos and Cambodia were
heavily Indianized or Hinduized, while Vietnam was Chinese influenced.
The former used the Sanskrit alphabet and the latter the Chinese alphabet.
The Indianized (Hindu, Buddhist) and Chinese (Confucian) civilizations
clashed inside the peninsula for centuries before the latter finally prevailed
in the 17th century with Cambodia becoming Vietnam’s vassal. The north-
ernmost extension of the Hinduized civilization which once reached all the
way to present-day Huế and Quảng Trị Province in the third century AD, was
slowly pushed back by Vietnamese southward advance (nam tiến).
By the 1950s, the North Vietnamese communists attempted to reconstitute
 I. The Border War 11

a new Indochina under their control and at the same time to expand the realm
of communism in Southeast Asia. In that sense, they were not truly nation-
alists but internationalists: they were fighting not for Vietnam, but for inter-
national communism and its worldwide spread. For them, Vietnam was
secondary to their primary goal of supporting communist expansion.
In Geneva in 1954, the U.S. among other nations negotiated the partition
of Vietnam through the 17th parallel, creating two new countries: North and
South Vietnam. In fact, the U.S. wanted more: they wanted to lock the bel-
ligerent North Vietnamese forever inside North Vietnam but could not. The
plan did not work because the Vietnamese communists who already had
troops in Laos refused to withdraw from that country. This may be one of
the reasons why the U.S. opted not to sign the Geneva Accords.
In 1961 the Republican Averell Harriman became Kennedy’s roving
ambassador for the complex Laotian problem with its continuous infighting
between the various factions: Laotian nationalists, neutralists, and commu-
nists (Pathet Lao). The central Laotian government was too weak to fight
against the Pathet Lao who were supported by Hanoi’s communist troops.
Despite being a veteran politician and diplomat, Harriman had minimal expe-
rience in Southeast Asia. When he visited Diệm in May 1961, the latter
advised him to “stop the communists from taking over Laos,” and South
Vietnam could defeat the Việt Cọng.10 Harriman, however, suggested a diplo-
matic solution by promoting Laos as a neutral country. He believed he could
rely on the Soviet Union to control the North Vietnamese communists who
were stationing in Laos. After witnessing the various battles occurring in his
kingdom, Laotian King Savang quickly realized that the Americans did not
want to open a new front in Laos by fighting the Pathet Lao and the North
Vietnamese communists. Left to defend his kingdom on his own, the king
knew he would soon lose his power to the communists. The realistic Cam-
bodian King Sihanouk, seeing the communists advancing militarily in Laos
while the Americans remained passive and knowing he could not unilaterally
fight against the communists, also decided from that time on to accommodate
communist Hanoi.11 Laos and Cambodia, which eventually became neutral
countries, basically gave the green light to the communists to forge ahead
militarily to conquer South Vietnam. This was where Harriman had failed:
by ignoring or turning a blind eye to the North Vietnamese aggression, he
de facto acknowledged their expansion into Laos and stimulated their con-
tinuing aggression into Cambodia and South Vietnam. Laos was the first
step in the conquest of South Vietnam.
The 1962 Geneva Accords on Laos thus sanctioned the neutralization
of Laos and the withdrawal of all forces from that country.12 If correctly
12 INSIDE AN LOC

implemented, neutral Laos ideally would have become a shield protecting

the western flank of South Vietnam. However, the North Vietnamese not
only refused to withdraw from Laos, but also continued to expand their con-
trol on the eastern part of Laos. The Transport Group 559 and NVA infantry
began building a trail leading to South Vietnam.13 Worse, they helped the
Pathet Lao, the communist faction of the Laos government, control the south-
eastern side of Laos,14 through which the North Vietnamese built the Hồ Chí
Minh Trail to subvert South Vietnam.15
The failure of Hanoi and the Soviet Union to live up to the neutralization
of Laos, agreed upon in Geneva in July 1962, angered President Kennedy
and prevented the possibility of another retreat in Southeast Asia.16 The deci-
sion was made to pursue some paramilitary operations to block the North
Vietnamese expansion: it only confirmed by 1963 that it was physically and
logistically impossible for the U.S. to prosecute a major war in Laos even
from Thailand.17 This did not prevent the U.S. from attempting later to cut
off the building of the Hồ Chí Minh Trail through bombing, South Viet-
namese cross-border invasion into Laos (Lâm Sơn 719), or setting up nearby
observation bases (Khe Sanh, Khâm Đức) by Studies and Observation
Groups (SOG) to perform strategic reconnaissance missions on the Laotian
side, although by that time it was too late because the communists controlled
eastern Laos.
Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker once confided, “In retrospect, I am more
certain than I was in 1967 that our failure to cut the Hồ Chí Minh Trail was
a strategic mistake of the first order.”18 Nixon even compared the similarities
of North Korea’s and North Vietnam’s invasion. He wrote that, knowing
that North Korea’s blatant invasion across the border in the Korean Peninsula
gave the U.S. a justification to intervene, “North Vietnam shrewdly camou-
flaged its invasion to look like a civil war. But in fact, the Vietnam War was
the Korean War with jungles.”19

Westmoreland’s War (1964–1968)

The U.S. strategy in Vietnam in 1963 was also confusing as the position
of U.S. Secretary of Defense McNamara remained a key mystery. It was
ironic that “Dean Rusk, the top diplomat, favored a military solution while
McNamara, the senior military manager, advocated diplomacy.” McNamara
then recommended against “military actions against North Vietnam.”20 He
flew to Vietnam in December 1963 to see firsthand reports about the trail.
What he saw alarmed him: “Current trends, unless reversed in the next two
or three months, will lead to neutralization at best and more likely to a
 I. The Border War 13

communist controlled state.” He ordered U2 aerial photography of the

Laotian-Cambodian border of Vietnam, which showed evidence of road
building along the trail, including heavy construction equipment. This dis-
pelled doubts about the need for robust cross-border interdiction.21
With the war inside Vietnam deteriorating, President Lyndon B. Johnson
poured U.S. ground troops into South Vietnam in 1965 to help stabilize the
country. He accepted the recommendation of building up to 175,000 men but
disapproved the call-up of reserves.22 He was also unwilling to commit all
his efforts to win the war while at the same time trying to build the “Great
Society” and wage the “War on Poverty” in the U.S. However, concentrating
on one project meant not investing enough on the other because of budget
constraints. As the hope of defeating the enemy through a war of attrition
could not be sustained23 and as the 1968 election year approached, President
Johnson looked for a political solution out of Vietnam: he switched to Viet-
namization and made the decision not to seek reelection.24
General William C. Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. Military
Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), was also a controversial warrior.
He believed his role “was not to defeat the North Vietnamese army,” although
on other occasions he claimed his main role was to defeat the enemy and to
pacify the country.25 He had the correct idea of wanting to cut off the Hồ
Chí Minh Trail by sending in U.S. infantry troops, but he was hamstrung by
Johnson and McNamara who believed that widening the war could worsen
the stalemate in Indochina. Besides, U.S. Ambassador Sullivan to Laos also
opposed an invasion into Laos to control the trail because it would violate
Laos’s neutrality and could lead to Chinese intervention.26 Although Sullivan
was correct in principle, he simply “forgot” that Hanoi already had 30,000
troops in Laos. Unable to wage the war outside Vietnam or control the inflow
of North Vietnamese soldiers and supplies into South Vietnam, Westmoreland
was left with fighting a war of attrition based on search-and-destroy mis-
sions.27 The strategy was “costly in terms of time, effort, and materiel, but
often disappointing in terms in terms of results,”28 besides the fact that “chas-
ing [the enemy] around the countryside was futile.” Alexander Haig called
the tactic “a demented and bloody form of hide and seek.”29 The mission,
which in the luxuriant jungles of Asia and in a country where the Việt Cộng
(VC or communists in South Vietnam)30 looked like civilian bystanders,
proved to be a difficult and frustrating task. Besides, the enemy also hid
deep underground (first phase of “revolutionary” or insurgency war), a factor
that U.S. troops were not used to dealing with.
Westmoreland also used the body count—which, initiated by McNa-
mara, often “did not add up” and was called “inflated”—to evaluate the
14 INSIDE AN LOC

progress of the war effort.31 The difficulty in differentiating a VC from an

innocent villager caused many mishaps to both troops and villagers. The
wily VC often fired at U.S. or ARVN troops while hiding behind villagers.
By firing back, the troops could endanger the villagers’ lives; by not firing
back, they could get injured themselves. If an innocent villager killed inad-
vertently during an encounter was counted as a dead enemy by mistake, the
body count had been artificially increased. However, the main problem lay
in the fact that no westerner could believe the VC had suffered heavy losses
during the war—a number so large that no army from any civilized country
could afford to lose it. But the wily VC again hid the huge losses to its own
people and the world and pretended they had never occurred. It was only
after the war that Hanoi revealed it had lost 1.2 million soldiers—that is,
more than 6 percent of its population: a staggering number indeed. The num-
ber seems to vindicate Westmoreland, no matter how inflated his numbers
were. Only the communists could sustain such losses and get away with it.
By 1966–1967, the war of attrition proved to be laborious and costly: on one
occasion in 1966, 25,000 U.S. troops looked for the enemy in War Zone C,
a notorious communist refuge north of Tây Ninh, only to find 20 VC after
a daylong search.32
Westmoreland also ignored two other crucial aspects of the war,
improvement of South Vietnam’s armed forces and pacification,33 that were
essential to the success of the war effort. He was not imaginative enough to
use ARVN forces to bolster his own. That would have achieved two additional
goals: first, to build up Vietnamese forces and shore up their confidence and
ability to wage war; second, to turn the fight over to the ARVN (later called
Vietnamization) and to withdraw, thereby cutting down U.S. losses. In the
end, it was not an American war, and the U.S. should have realized that it
was a Vietnamese war. Had Westmoreland thought about these goals, both
Westmoreland and the ARVN would have won the war, or at least fought to
a stalemate.
In a war of attrition, whichever side lasted longer would win. In fact,
Westmoreland thought that with America’s technological might and deep
pockets, he would outlast the NVA. But he did not count on the deep pockets
of the Soviet Union and China and the stubborn resolve of Hanoi. Hồ Chí
Minh once mentioned he was willing to lose 10 of his own troops for one
U.S. troop killed and he still would prevail.34 By the end of the war, the U.S
had lost 58,000 troops and withdrew while the communists accepted the loss
of 1.2 million troops and won the war. Hồ Chí Minh’s bravado had escalated
the 10/1 troop-loss ratio to a staggering and insane 20/1 ratio. This was not
the end of the story, however, because as early as a decade after the war, the
 I. The Border War 15

two countries had diverged from the economic, social, and military points
of view. Burdened by the huge human losses and the war-devastated econ-
omy, communist Vietnam became an economic third world country that could
not even feed its own people, an oppressive, corrupt, and illegitimate regime
that was shunned by its people and neighbors and from which escaped more
than three million boat people. On the other hand, the U.S., after having lost
the war, soon reestablished itself as a world economic and military power
that easily defeated its nemesis, the Soviet Union, in the Cold War conflict.
Westmoreland also failed to count on the American people’s antipathy
to friendly losses. When he told Senator “Fritz” Hollings from his home
state of South Carolina, “We’re killing these people at a ratio of ten to one,”
Hollings responded, “Westy, the American people don’t care about the ten.
They care about the one.”35
In the aftermath of the 1968 Tết attack on 15 June 1968, General Abrams
assumed command of MACV replacing Westmoreland, who became U.S.
Army chief of staff. The VC guerrillas, having lost the bulk of their forces
during the Tết attack, were no longer a threatening force. Abrams decided
to go after the North Vietnamese troops inside South Vietnam, especially
those hiding in Cambodia.
However, the war was primarily lost in Washington by those who
decided the war over the head of its MACV commander and his generals in
South Vietnam. They were the “bureaucrats” whom American historians
named the “Lunch Bunch Powers.” For years, Johnson had ignored the role
of the “Old Guards” at the Pentagon and had chosen to use the “politicians”
in their places: planning and leading strategic and tactical operations both
in Laos and Vietnam—including air war and land war in North and South
Vietnam.

Saigon’s War
Although the Government of Vietnam (GVN), or the Republic of Viet-
nam (RVN), only wanted to preserve its status and existence—survival and
independence, eliminating the VC, driving out the North Vietnamese, and
building a strong nation that could survive the communist threat36—their
actions were at times uncertain, if not erratic.
First, they should have put more effort into it and fought more aggres-
sively than the VC despite the fact that rebuilding the post-colonial country,
searching for a democratic and economic path, and conducting the war at
the same time in a country with limited resources was challenging to say the
16 INSIDE AN LOC

least. They should have had their own goals and plans, besides those required
by the U.S., and should not have totally relied on the Americans to save
them. Personal effort was not only needed; it was essential in this war of
attrition. Bùi Diễm commented,37
There was no sense of purpose or direction among the high officials of the
government and strangely enough, in a country so pressed by the require-
ments of war, not a single member of the government, including the President
himself, had any sense of urgency about the situation.
It was not because leaders did not have a sense of urgency; many did.
But rebuilding the country and its infrastructure, shoring up the economy,
establishing a new democracy, and waging a new war all at the same time
were such overwhelming tasks no one was able to handle it. A democratic
country cannot be built in 5 or 10 years; that effort alone may take two or
more generations. Although some leaders had the vision and dream of win-
ning the war and reunifying the country under their colors, their actions in
an emerging country were not focused and strong enough to drown out the
enemy’s destructive zeal. The RVN once had thought about reunifying the
country under its flag but was dissuaded by the Americans, who only accepted
to fight a “limited war” inside Vietnam for fear of irritating China and the
Soviet Union or causing them to get involved in the war.38 The U.S. had
failed to realize the Soviet Union was already involved in Vietnam by sup-
porting Hanoi and sending them armaments and ammunition. Besides, it was
not wise for the U.S. to telegraph beforehand to Hanoi that it would “limit”
its war to certain regions. Knowing U.S. limitations, Hanoi simply used Laos
and Cambodia as transit territories with minimal fear of retribution or attacks
by the U.S.
Vietnamese leaders should have asked their people to sacrifice more in
order to achieve the final goal. People would have been more than willing
to do it had they been asked repeatedly. Just like after the 1968 Tết Offensive,
civilians, although having already contributed their own blood and lives to
the war effort, spontaneously felt they should give more to their country and
volunteered in great numbers to enroll in the army to defend their country.
The RVN should have invested in more propaganda work or even mind con-
trol because this was a total war: if the war were lost—it was—they would
lose everything.
Seeing the Americans elbowing them away to take over the war effort,
many ARVN leaders and troops became frustrated. They seemed to tell the
Americans, “If you want to wage your war, go ahead. Do it yourself.” For
the South Vietnamese, it was a question of legitimacy, credibility, pride and
self-consciousness. Because if they could not defend their own country, they
 I. The Border War 17

would have a hard time rallying their people under their flag, for only a
“self-reliant GVN could defeat insurgency.”39 This was Colonel Lansdale’s
“x factor,” which dealt with the human, political side of the war. Đặng Văn
Sung, a South Vietnamese nationalist and editor/owner of the Chính Luận
newspaper, said,
The anti-communist fight in Vietnam is seventy-five percent political and
twenty-five percent military. Yet, everything the Americans did is directed to
the twenty-five percent and nothing to the seventy-five percent.
The U.S. indifference toward the South Vietnamese nationalistic aspi-
rations as well as inattention to the destructive impact of massive U.S. troop
intervention on the structure and culture of Vietnamese society had damaged
Saigon’s position in the eyes of their own people.40
Despite these drawbacks, the South Vietnamese should not have become
passive and withdrawn into their shells. They should instead have redoubled
their efforts: fight with the U.S. to share the war effort and do the counter-
insurgency part. Had they done an excellent counter-insurgency job and
cleaned out the VC from the villages, they would have won the war—and
the U.S. too. This was a common effort toward the same goal. Unfortunately,
South Vietnam was not blessed with enough smart leaders who could figure
that out.
Second, the South Vietnamese had been battling against the communists
all along: first alongside the French during the First Vietnam War (1945–1954),
then with the Americans during the Second Vietnam War (1955–1973) and
then by themselves (1973–1975). Those who said that the ARVN stood by while
the U.S. waged the war simply did not know what they were talking about.
The First Vietnam War had cost the French 59,745 dead and missing in
action. The Vietnamese National Army (South Vietnamese) lost 58,877 dead
and missing in action. About 400,000 civilians had died, of which 100,000
to 150,000 had been assassinated by the communists.41
By the end of the Second Vietnam War, the ARVN had lost an additional
300,000 soldiers, or five times as many casualties as the Americans. For a
South Vietnamese population of 17 million people in 1975,42 the 1.76 percent
loss was indeed a huge one. Extrapolated to the U.S. population of 250 mil-
lion people, that loss would equal 4.4 million people.

Table I. War Casualties by April 1975

Military Casualties Civilian Casualties Wounded
United States 58,000 — 300,000
South Vietnam 294,000 450,000 1,600,000
VC/NVA 1,200,000 70,000
18 INSIDE AN LOC

However, a defensive approach alone would never win the war because
South Vietnam had to defend a large territory and vital areas like cities,
towns, storage areas, bridges and open borders with Cambodia and Laos as
well as its own people. The communists by taking the offensive only needed
to gather their forces and strike at Saigon’s weak points, then run away. By
the time rescuers arrived at the scene, the enemy had literally disappeared
in the “bushes.” For the majority of the war years, this was a low-grade
insurgency war except for 1968, 1972, and 1975 when the enemy launched
simultaneous multi-divisional attacks at different targets. Stretched thin, the
ARVN could not defend all targets and simply was overrun. Besides, although
troop mobility was essential, the ARVN was not allowed to build lots of
mobile units and strategic reserves to defend against communist attacks.43
Third, the ARVN had always been outgunned by the communists, who
were supplied with top-of-the-line armaments from their Russian or Chinese
comrades. By 1964, while the communists used the famous Soviet AK-47 assault
rifle, South Vietnamese forces were still equipped with World War II vintage
arms like the U.S. M-1 rifle. Lieutenant General Đồng Văn Khuyến stated,

the crisp, rattling sounds of AK-47s echoing in Saigon and some other cities
seemed to make a mockery of the weaker single shots of Garand and carbines
fired by stupefied troops.44

It was only after the 1968 Tết Offensive that some ARVN units were
given the first shipment of U.S. M-16 rifles.45 A four-year period was a long
time in that war and could account for major battle losses. The U.S. 105 mm
and 155 mm howitzers could hit a target at 11.27 and 14.6 kilometers respec-
tively while the Soviet 122 mm and 130 mm had a range of 23.9 and 27.5
kilometers respectively. The NVA outgunned the ARVN in long-range artil-
lery duels.46
With 11 infantry divisions, one marine and one airborne division, and
some ranger forces, for a total of 1.1 million men under arms, the ARVN was
spread too thin to defend all villages, hamlets, bridges, and cities. On the
other hand, the communists had 300,000 troops alone in South Vietnam,
besides local troops belonging to the National Liberation Front. By April
1975, Saigon was surrounded by 17 NVA divisions.47
After the 1973 Paris Accords were signed, the U.S. began to reduce its
aid to South Vietnam while the Soviet Union doubled its assistance to North
Vietnam to 1.5 billion dollars. This allowed the Hanoi communists to infiltrate
100,000 cadres and soldiers and to send 600 tanks, 500 heavy cannons, 200
anti-aircraft weapons, and many SA-7 rockets to South Vietnam. Their
pipeline system was able to supply gas to their troops all the way up to 80
 I. The Border War 19

kilometers from Saigon.48 In the meantime, the ARVN suffered from severe
cutbacks, with U.S. aid decreasing from 1.5 billion to 750 million in 1974.
Ammunition was running short as well as fuel for choppers, fighters, ships,
and trucks. This led to operational flight time that was cut in half. VNAF
reliability and efficiency gradually decreased with time. Spare parts for
planes were difficult to get. Of the VNAF fleet of 30 C-130s, only five planes
were able to fly. This cutback created tactical problems for field commanders
on top of the lack of ammunition, which caused a morale problem for troops
that obviously did not like to fight with insufficient ammunition. Soldiers
going to battles used to get 400 rounds for their M-16 guns. Because of ammo
shortage, they only received half that amount, which severely affected their
fighting capability and morale. For anti-tank weaponry, instead of using the
LAWs, they reverted to the 3.5 rocket launchers, which were World War II
vintage weapons. The TOW rocket was not only expensive—$3,000 a
piece—it did not do much good in killing enemy tanks. Damaged APCs or
M-48 tanks had to be sent to the U.S. for repair and rebuilding, which not
only increased repair costs, but also cut down on their availability. The M-
16 rifle required three different types of oil to grease them while the com-
munist AK-47 was simpler to fire and maintain.49
Fourth, there are marked geographical, cultural, economic, political dif-
ferences between northerners and southerners. The bounty of southern nature
and its tropical climate offer a plentiful and laid-back lifestyle to southerners:
rice from the expansive and rich Mekong Delta fields, fruit from their back-
yard gardens, and fish in ponds. By Vietnamese standards of the time—one
cannot and should not compare it to the U.S., which had more than 180 years
of democracy based on the Constitution—everyone had more than enough
to eat in the South. Northerners, on the other hand, had to struggle against
nature (cold weather, chilly winds), small agricultural plots, and crowded-
ness. In 1967–1968, North Vietnam’s population exceeded 18 million people
while South Vietnam only controlled 12 out of 17 million people.50 “They
[northerners] work harder, endure more, and know less of creature comfort”51
and therefore are more resilient than southerners. Southerners are “unre-
strained to the point of indiscipline … ready to laugh or to cry, quick to flare
in anger and almost as quick to forgive and forget.” They are cosmopolitans,
at ease with foreigners, and know how to enjoy themselves.52 Politically,
southerners lived under a somewhat free society: they were free to follow
any religion they liked: Buddhism, Catholicism, Cao Daism, etc. They could
protest, take to the streets, shut down the government, or make their voices
heard. Foreign reporters were free to roam anywhere and ask any question
they wanted. Under communism, northerners at the time could not speak to
20 INSIDE AN LOC

strangers or take to the streets; they had to follow strict communist rules and
could not worship any religion they liked. One has to remember the cruel
Land Reform (1954–1956) and Literary Reform (Phong Trào Nhân Văn &
Giai Phẩm, 1956–1957) where tens of thousands of civilians were killed in
the North. Western reporters could not roam anywhere they wanted or ask
any question to civilians. There was essentially no freedom of choice and
speech in the North.53
People have compared the South Vietnamese to the sunny, easygoing
Italians and northerners to Germans. A closer analogy would be to compare
northern (communist) and southern Vietnamese to the 2012 U.S. Republicans
and Democrats, respectively. This is a comparison about attitude and societal
control, not about freedom, which the North Vietnamese did not have. The
South Vietnamese were in many ways similar to the 2012 Democrats, who,
despite their discipline, tend “more toward anarchy than hierarchy.”54 The
Republicans on the other hand are more regimented and “exercise more
authority over policy and candidate selection than does the Democratic coun-
terpart…. They prefer hierarchical, well-ordered organizations, and are much
more willing to cede authority to those in power…. [They] crush insurgent
candidates and select the next in line.” As the 2012 Republicans are ahead
of the Democrats as an “institutional force capable of command and control,”
in the 1960–1970s the communists were years ahead of the South Vietnamese
nationalists in terms of organization, hierarchy, and propaganda.
Fifth, Saigon’s leaders being “neither as unified nor as zealous as their
counterparts to the north”55 seemed to be the corollary of the above. The
French, by staying around in South Vietnam until 1956 (they had vacated the
North in 1954 but hung around in the South for a few more years), prevented
the South Vietnamese from exercising and maturing their political and admin-
istrative acumen. By 1955, the communists had more than a decade of mil-
itary and political advantage over them. When southerners finally got their
freedom, it was like a dam breaking loose: all the various sects and political
parties vied for power and fought against each other. No one listened to any-
one: this was also the expression of the newly found freedom in the South.
In 1954, Ngô Đình Diệm had to battle against the Hoà Hảo, Cao Đài sects,
the Bình Xuyên, the state army, General Hinh, and the French who were still
lingering in Saigon, more or less at the same time, in order to reestablish
control of the state over these disparate entities.56
In the North, the communists had no qualms about suppressing and
silencing their nationalist opponents. The Đại Việt (Greater Vietnam) and
the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng or VNQDD, both right-wing nationalist parties,
fought against the communists, but to no avail.57
 I. The Border War 21

The communists just killed people right and left, forcing the opposition
to hide as no one dared to raise his voice or head for it would be chopped
off. This was how uniformity and strict control were accomplished under
Hanoi’s leadership. When Hanoi spearheaded its Land Reform, which killed
more than 50,000 peasants,58 the West stayed mum. But when Diệm tried to
control the Buddhists, western papers raised its opposition and Lodge plotted
to get him killed.59 Either westerners did not want to acknowledge this dif-
ference in treatment or were plainly biased against the southerners. By stay-
ing mum and trying to downplay communists’ bad behavior, they only
encouraged the communists’ cruelty and expansionist vision.
To state that South Vietnam lacked a sense of national identity60 is not
entirely correct, for Diệm had expressed his non-communist strain of modern
Vietnamese nationalism that was present and had stood in opposition to that
of the communists since the 1920s.61 The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed
on 23 October 1955, “according to constitutional and legal procedures in
contrast to the illegal and illegitimate takeover in Hanoi” by the commu-
nists.62
In the present task of national revolution and reconstruction it is the anti-
communist spirit that counts. It is the strongest and most comprehensive
spirit because it includes all others. Those who have the anti-communist spirit
are well qualified to be entrusted with the noble mission of liberating the peo-
ple from oppression and slavery. So the main factor in our national revolution
is the spirit, the will to fight communism.63
Historically, Lord Nguyễn Hoàng, one of the high officials of the north-
ern monarchy (Hanoi), moved to Thuận Hoá (present-day Quảng Trị) in 1558
to serve as governor of a region that would become part of South Vietnam.
In 1602, he turned away from Hanoi to dedicate himself to the building of
the South or Đàng Trong. His successors broke away completely from the
North or Đàng Ngoài then waged against it a 50-year war that ended in a
stalemate (First Vietnam War). Thus, for two centuries (1602–1802), Đàng
Trong and Đàng Ngoài co-existed as two separate and independent countries
until Nguyễn Ánh (Gia Long) reunited the two regions into Vietnam in 1802.64
Vietnam then existed as a free and united country under the Nguyễn
dynasty until 1861 when the French took over the South in 1859 and then the
whole country in 1868. After World War II, the communists seized the power
in the North while the South remained a French colony. The first modern
Vietnam War broke out and concluded with the division between North and
South through the 1954 Geneva Accords, with North Vietnam becoming a
communist country while South Vietnam followed an open, although mod-
ified western-style republic under Ngô Đình Diệm’s leadership. Diệm argued
22 INSIDE AN LOC

for an authoritarian government that would lie midway between communism

and western-type democracy. For him, communism was an inhumane and
foreign ideology while western liberalism would not pay enough attention
to the poor and the community. Vietnam, a fractious country dominated for
a long time by an authoritarian culture, would be more receptive to his brand
of political ideology, which he dubbed personalism.65
The South Vietnamese formed a disparate group of freedom fighters
who had not been unified under a strong leadership while Hanoi reigned
supreme in the North because the communist party suppressed all nationalist
non-communist parties.66 When President Diệm tried to impose his authority
on southerners, westerners labeled him an authoritarian leader who needed
to be gotten rid of.67 On various occasions between 1954 and 1963, Diệm and
the U.S. had different and competing agendas for building a new South Viet-
nam. Although their visions were not so dissimilar as to make collaboration
impossible, differences were real and substantial to the point of leading to
the murder of the president and his brother. Americans among themselves
also had different views about nation building in Vietnam. So did the Viet-
namese politicians in South Vietnam. All these competing views collided,
broke into the open and caused the unraveling and failure of the U.S.–Diệm
relationship. “Nationalism in twentieth century Vietnam was nothing if not
a contested and fragmented phenomenon.” The latter phenomenon, although
prevalent in the old Vietnamese Republican days, persisted under the com-
munist post-war Vietnam.68 This is to say that the Vietnamese, be they com-
munist or non-communist, would be contesting about nationalism and nation
building for years or decades to come, simply because “infighting was the[ir]
primary chord.”69
Sixth, to mention that “the exactions and cruelties of communist practice
were acceptable [to peasants], however unpleasant,” was far from the truth.
This statement was not only derogatory, but also demeaning to Vietnamese
peasants. Were they just less “human” than Americans and other westerners?
People and peasants dreaded the violence of the VC but could not do anything
about it because they were either confined in VC territory, had land and prop-
erties in these areas, or were not allowed to get out of these territories. Civil-
ians were maimed by mines, caught in ambushes, had their houses burned
down and were recruited against their will in the VC army.70 Had they had
a choice, they would have moved out a long time ago. Such was the case of
the post-war period when millions of boat people just got out of the country
knowing they might die from lack of food and water, engine breakdowns,
sea storms, or in the hands of pirates.
The primary author (VND) personally had witnessed the arrest, torture,
 I. The Border War 23

and execution of “suspected collaborators” in the 1940s in Cà Mau, South

Vietnam. People were thrown in groups of three or four to be drowned alive
in rivers (mò tôm).71 My family was forced to escape to another province
before returning two years later to our hometown. But soon, we had to move
to Bạc Liêu to avoid persecution by the VC.72
Seventh, Saigon as a benevolent benefactor failed to rally peasants by
not linking benefits to obligations. The VC awarded land to peasants only
on condition that they become active participants in the revolution, send
their sons to the VC army, and provide intelligence and material support for
the insurgents. Saigon, on the other hand, by distributing land unconditionally
in 1970, failed to generate any improvement in peasant allegiance to the gov-
ernment.73 The peasants’ outlook had not changed significantly for centuries.
They were local, apolitical people who were more interested in their plots
of land than national matters, Marxist theories, or collectivization of agri-
culture. All they wanted were tranquility and some material well-being; and
they were less nationalistic and cared less about policies than city dwellers.
They welcomed benevolent authoritarianism as long as it allowed them to
work in peace. In the same vein, they approved good leadership or people
with skills and determination, because hopefully the latter would leave them
alone. Therefore, they were easily swayed in one direction or another by
strong-arm tactics.74 However, their attachment to any political institution
was superficial and temporary in nature. They were above all opportunistic
and never strongly trusted any government.
South Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s was a complex society that was
just emerging out of colonialism with groups having diverging aspirations
and agendas. Because of its openness, its strengths and weaknesses lay bare
like an open book for friends and enemies to see and target. Its national-
ism—based on its anti-communism and free market economy—could not be
contested. However, its leaders could not achieve their goals because of the
wide diversity of opinions and views, which still persist to this day in post-
war Vietnam. At least South Vietnam was freer and more democratic than
North Vietnam during the war.

Hanoi’s War
Communism is a foreign ideology that was introduced into Vietnam
and imposed on the Vietnamese by Hồ Chí Minh and his party in the 1940s.
By essence, it was alien to the Vietnamese and their culture. To force them
to accept that ideology required a lot of coercion, brutal force, and mind
24 INSIDE AN LOC

bending. But northern communists proved better in “propaganda, depth of

commitment, and, one must add, deception than the non-communist South
Vietnamese leaders or governments.”75
Hanoi’s goal was always to conquer and unite the country under the
leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP).76 “They [Americans,
French, and South Vietnamese] would not allow us to unify our nation in a
manner favorable to our side.”77 Having conquered the North by force in
1954, they proceeded with the conquest of the South again by using com-
munism as their tool in order to get military support from China and the
Soviet Union. South Vietnamese president Diệm, knowing the communists’
intentions, tried to distance himself from the Americans—although he needed
their help to fight off the communists—lest he be called a U.S. puppet. He
also did not want to invite too many foreign troops into South Vietnam
because Hanoi would frame the foreigners as colonialists and the war as a
war against American colonialism. Therefore, when the Americans landed
in Vietnam in 1963, from pursuing itself a war of conquest, Hanoi happily
framed it as a war against “foreign aggressors,” sold it as a patriotic war
against foreign invaders, and thus seized the high moral ground.
Thanks to aggressive propaganda ploys like the one above, millions of
Vietnamese unwittingly fell into Hanoi’s trap and died thinking they fought
for the right cause; many Americans who sided with the communist regime
formed the Hanoi Lobby of the Indochinese Resource Center (IRC) in an
attempt to influence Congress to cut aid to South Vietnam. As U.S. college
students faced the prospect of being inducted into the army and sent to Viet-
nam if they scored low on their course grades, the group “Students for a
Democratic Society” (SDS), besides sponsoring anti-war demonstrations on
campuses, distributed a counter-exam on 14 May 1966 at 900 Selective Serv-
ice System sites. The counter-exam destroyed the standard government prop-
aganda on the war. A typical question reads,
The war in South Vietnam is supposed to be part of our policy to contain
communist Chinese aggression. How many communist Chinese troops are
actively engaged in combat in Vietnam? (A) None (B) 1,000 (C) 50,000 (D)
100,000 (E) 500,000. The answer: (A).78
Sadly these student groups played into the hands of the communists—
who of course approved and supported them—by challenging their own gov-
ernment and supporting the communist cause. They, however, did not even
know the true answer to their own question. From declassified data, the Chi-
nese had been helping the North Vietnamese since 1946, and by 1967 there
were 15 Chinese AAA divisions with a peak strength of 170,000 men in North
Vietnam.79
 I. The Border War 25

The anti-war movement, the Hanoi Lobby of the IRC, the communist
party of the USA (CPUSA) and other groups were successful in adversely
influencing the U.S. Congress.

The aid cut, approved by the Senate in September [1974], greatly hampered
South Vietnam’s fighting ability. Air operations were restricted, ammunition
was rationed, and morale plummeted. The reduction also worsened Thieu’s
economic and political problems.80

Tom Wells concluded his book by mentioning that the American move-
ment against the Vietnam War “played a major role in restricting, deescalat-
ing, and ending the war.”81 Although he may be correct about the adverse
actions of the anti-war movement, the latter did not end the war, which con-
tinued until 1975 when the North Vietnamese, in full violation of the 1973
Paris Accords, invaded South Vietnam with their 17 divisions. Sadly, Wells
and his anti-war movement, which could be defined as the U.S. fifth column,
did not mention anything about the northern invasion.
The U.S. press (William Prochnau, David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan,
Malcolm Browne, and others) wrote articles detrimental to the GVN cause.82
Besides, newspaper editors would refuse to print any article beneficial to the
South Vietnamese government. Bob Sharplen told Tom Polgar that for an
“entire year not a single one of his articles got published,” forcing him to
part ways with the New Yorker. One correspondent for Time magazine was
told about writing an article on the defection problem in the South Viet-
namese Army. When he completed his article, which dealt with a worse
defection problem in the communist army compared to the ARVN, only the
section on the ARVN was published. There were good and bad newspeople.
“Frances Fitzgerald was about as dishonest as they come, though…. She
was interesting as a woman. But as a journalist she was another one that if
the news didn’t fit, she wouldn’t print it.”83
Hanoi did not care about the will of the people or the South Vietnamese.
There was not a single inch of democracy in the North Vietnamese regime.
Central to the communist effort was the use of “terror and violence in the
broad sense of assassinations, kidnappings, sabotage.”84 Besides, the survival
of the Hanoi government was never at stake, as U.S. leaders had made clear
through both official statements and U.S. actions—a major mistake on the
part of the U.S.85
Despite signing the Paris Accords which prohibited any interference in
the South, Hồ Chí Minh in December 1957 at the 13th Plenary Session of the
Party Central Committee stated,
26 INSIDE AN LOC

the preservation and growth of our revolutionary forces [italics ours] in the
South is the factor that will directly determine the success of the revolution-
ary struggle in South Vietnam.86
In other words, Hồ acknowledged back in 1957 that he had military
units in South Vietnam ready to fight and to take down that part of the coun-
try. In 1959, Hanoi was ready to send the 338th Division, composed of South-
ern regroupees (southerners who had moved north during the 1954 division
of the country) and a number of northern infantry regiments to the battlefields
of South Vietnam. The Group 559 (May 1959) was established for the purpose
of opening a road from Đồng Hới City in Quảng Bình Province to Khe Hổ
in western Vĩnh Linh, which then crossed the Bến Hãi River dividing the
two sides of the country down Route 9 in Thừa Thiên Province (part of South
Vietnam) along the eastern slopes of the Trường Sơn Chain (Annamite
cordillera, which forms the backbone of Vietnam), and advancing toward
the South.87 Once the South Vietnamese discovered the infiltration route and
tightened control along the Bến Hải River,88 the trail from Khe Hổ was shifted
eastward, crossing into Laos before heading south along the western edge
of the Annamite Mountain range and ending in western Cambodia.
That route, known by Hanoi as the “Trường Sơn Strategic Supply Road”
because it hugged the western side of the Trường Sơn cordillera, was labeled
by westerners as the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. Almost 100,000 Vietnamese and
Laotians worked on the trail at its height.89 The number of “confirmed” cadres
and bộ đội90 sent down the trail rose to 4,000 in 1961, 5,300 in 1962, and
4,700 in 1963. There were an additional 12,850 probable infiltrators.91 NVA
General Võ Bầm confirmed that 20,000 cadres moved along that route in the
early years.92 The infiltration rate increased to 12,400 in 1964, 36,300 in 1965,
92,287 in 1966, and 101,263 in 1966.93 It remained a vibrant and active high-
way of invasion of the South. Hanoi sent 100,000 troops down the trail in
1973 and 80,000 more during the first half of 1974. By that time, the roads
were macadam or paved all the way to the South Vietnamese border.94 It was
no wonder that as soon as Westmoreland destroyed one NVA battalion a new
one had already emerged to take its place.
Throughout the war, Hanoi repeatedly denied having invaded South
Vietnam or having troops in that part of the country although evidence was
widely available. Lê Duẩn in May 1959 through Resolution 15 had sanctioned
armed force to support the political struggle in South Vietnam, the first stage
of Lê Duẩn-Lê Đức Thọ’s campaign for total war.95 In December 1963, one
month after the murder of President Diệm, Lê Duẩn at the Ninth Plenum of
the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party elevated the Viet-
namese civil war to an international Cold War conflict by formulating the
 I. The Border War 27

Tổng Công Kích Tổng Khơi Nghĩa plan (General Offensive General Uprising)
to take over South Vietnam by force.96 Hanoi, by infiltrating troops and arma-
ments into South Vietnam, had not only violated the 1954 Paris Accords but
also started the Second Vietnam War. Since it had planned the war back in
1959, Hanoi and the Communist Party should bear all the responsibility and
consequences of their actions.
Hanoi also established a sea infiltration route in South Vietnam under
Group 959, a parallel naval unit97 with a base set up on the Gianh River in
the province of Quảng Bình and a communication base high on the Hải Vân
Pass in Quảng Nam, central Vietnam, to broadcast navigation directions.
Group 959 would send out soldiers and cadres disguised as local fishermen
in wooden boats for local infiltration. Later, they sent larger Chinese ships98
loaded with soldiers and armaments that eventually disembarked at
Sihanoukville, formerly named Kompong Som, a Cambodian port on the
Gulf of Siam. From November 1966 to January 1969, 34 ships suspected of
unloading ordnance had docked at Sihanoukville. Twelve that were well doc-
umented had delivered more than 14,000 tons of ordnance from November
1966 to October 1968.99
All these shipments through Laos and Cambodia would not have been
possible with the complicity and/or weakness of these governments. These
two countries claimed to be neutral because they were too weak to even
defend their territorial integrity. They hoped that a neutral status would save
them from an invasion. But Hanoi did not care about anything, even world
opinion. It used Laos and Cambodia as transit routes to move armaments
and troops from North Vietnam to western Cambodia, without any of these
two countries raising a problem. Hanoi even used Cambodia as a huge army
camp to station its forces as well as storage areas for guns, tanks, ammunition,
and food to be later dispensed for use inside South Vietnam. The U.S., by
respecting their neutrality, simply played into the hands of Hanoi. The Viet-
namese have an expression for Hanoi’s attitude: “vừa ăn cướp, vừa la làng”
(loud mouthing while stealing). It was fine for them to abuse the neutrality
of these two countries, but once the South Vietnamese moved into Laos,
they cried foul forcing the U.S. to pressure the South Vietnamese back home.
The communists controlled the minds of its people. They used radical
methods to destroy the links between the recruit and his family, forcing him
to devote completely to the revolutionary cause. By killing individualism
and inserting him into a cell of three people to control one another, they
built a socialist and communist man dedicated not to his family or society,
but to the party. The recruit was then subjected to daily indoctrination and
self-criticism. Corralled by the other people in his cell, the new recruit had
28 INSIDE AN LOC

no chance of escaping from the system.100 They set up a well-regulated prop-

aganda system with loudspeakers blaring off all kinds of propaganda all day
long, forcing civilians/soldiers to think one way. By 1975, indoctrinated
northerners, although very poor, still believed they were waging the war to
“liberate” the South from imperialist oppression. They believed southerners
were so poor they did not have rice to eat and bought cheap-quality rice
from the North. Only when they arrived in Saigon did they realize southerners
were much better off than northerners. A female writer—a youth brigade vol-
unteer and party member—Dương Thu Hương, was amazed to see all kinds
of books displayed for sale in the open markets of Saigon: “I could see all the
great authors, Russian, American, and so many others…. I could buy Marx
in Saigon, but I couldn’t buy the authors of different opinion in Hanoi.”101
They made the world believe that they were fighting the war alone while
they not only received aid from both Moscow and Beijing, but also played
one off against the other in order to get the best deal possible. Although
aware of Hanoi’s game, to maintain unity within the communist group they
gave the “fraternal assistance” Hanoi requested. The Soviet Union provided
advanced military weaponry and personnel to defend the skies of North Viet-
nam against American bombing.102
China not only sent billions of dollars in aid, but also dispatched “half
a million technicians, advisers, and combat troops to assist Hanoi in its strug-
gle.”103 The Chinese provided missiles, artillery and logistics, railroads, engi-
neers and minesweeping forces. They built and repaired Vietnamese
infrastructure damaged or destroyed by U.S. air strikes. Chinese anti-aircraft
artillery troops peaking at 150,000 men in 1968 would claim credit for down-
ing more than 1,700 U.S. aircraft over North Vietnam. The massive Chinese
force was also used as a shield to prevent any potential invasion of North
Vietnam.104
In 1971, the NVA lowered the draft age from 17 to 16 and raised the
upper age from 30 to 35 to fill their 15 divisions, 14 of them located outside
North Vietnam. The average training time had been reduced from six to five
months. Between October 1971 and March 1972, the USSR delivered 271,000
tons of POL (130 percent of requests) to North Vietnam. By the end of 1971,
the NVA personnel strength increase from 390,000 to 430,000. They were
equipped with technically advanced air defense systems: the Strela or “SA-
7 Grail,” a handheld, heat-seeking surface-to-air missile (SAM) that could
destroy aircraft flying up to 10,000 feet. Larger Soviet-made SAMs could
destroy B-52 bombers. They also had .51 caliber machine guns; 23 mm, 37
mm, 57 mm, 85 mm, and 100 mm anti-aircraft guns; and ZSU-24s that fired
anti-aircraft rockets.105
 I. The Border War 29

The Vietnam War was not only a war of aggression, but also an inter-
national one. Without foreign troops and huge amounts of sophisticated and
modern foreign equipment, Hanoi could not have achieved its conquest of
the South. As a war of aggression, of conquest, there was no such a thing as
greatness or nationalism in Hanoi’s goals.

The Border War Under Generals Đỗ

Cao Trí and Nguyễn Văn Minh
Bound by Washington’s “limited war” and reservation about expanding
the war to Laos and Cambodia, Westmoreland had minimal intelligence on
the specifics inside each of the communist Cambodian sanctuaries. His intel-
ligence chief MACV J-2, Lieutenant General Philip Davidson, stated that he
never had half a firm grasp on these sanctuaries although he knew of the
NVA order-of-battle information.106 But as soon as the NVA emerged from
the sanctuaries, fought a battle, lost prisoners or dead soldiers, the order of
battle was immediately known to the U.S.
At least two North Vietnamese regiments marched through Laos into
Northern Cambodia in 1953–1954.107 The 1954 Geneva Accords assured Cam-
bodia’s independence under Prince Sihanouk as well as the withdrawal of
northern troops from Cambodia, although the latter never left Cambodia.
Sihanouk then faced the determined Vietnamese communists on one side
and the softer South Vietnamese and the Americans on the other side.
Between the communists or American imperialism, he made the fatidic
choice of helping the former.108 He allowed them to receive Chinese arms
shipments through the port of Sihanoukville and derived some income from
the transportation of these shipments to the safe sanctuaries in western Cam-
bodia. That deal sealed his demise and his country’s.
Cambodia was therefore essential to Hanoi because from there it could
send troops into the South Vietnamese highlands or III and IV Corps (a dozen
eastern provinces and the Mekong Delta, respectively) and then withdraw
back to the safe Cambodian sanctuaries without fear of being pursued. It
could rest its troops and rearm them for the next battle. But the borders
between Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia stretch over 600 miles beginning
from the western end of the DMZ line to the Gulf of Siam. Watching this
border was difficult and manpower/resource demanding since the area is
mountainous and sparsely populated.
Besides using the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to feed these sanctuaries, Hanoi
also used the maritime approach. It shipped weapons in October 1966 to the
30 INSIDE AN LOC

port of Shihanoukville with the “tacit approval of the Cambodian govern-

ment.”109 Although the Cambodian leader, Sihanouk, sought to preserve his
country’s autonomy, he was faced with aggressive requests from Hanoi
whose troops were already in Cambodia; he relented and made a deal with
Hanoi, which eventually led him and his country downhill. What was worse
was that his family profited by letting Hanoi move its supplies from the port
to western Cambodia.
An NVA ship would dock at Sihanoukville every three months and sup-
plies were trucked to depots west of Phnom Penh. From there, arms and
ammunitions moved through regional facilities at Svay Rieng, Kratie, Kam-
pong Cham, and Stung Treng before reaching one of eight communist bases
in western Cambodia110 where the communists controlled a swath of land 10
to 15 kilometers along the border. U.S. bombers easily targeted these com-
munist bases in Cambodia. Although it was a military success, it lost public
and congressional support, which drastically cut down U.S. military advisory
effort and military aid to South Vietnam.111
In January 1969, newly elected President Richard Nixon decided to
bomb NVA bases in Cambodia. The strike began in March 1969 and lasted
until August. Operation MENU, the secret bombing of Cambodian sanctuar-
ies, targeted six of the 16 sanctuaries along the Vietnamese border that posed
significant threat to Saigon and surrounding areas.112 The secret bombing of
Cambodia cemented the adversarial relationship between Secretary of
Defense Laird and the Nixon White House, forcing Laird to push for faster
withdrawals from Vietnam.113
Nixon, recognizing the Americans’ disenchantment with the war and
the decline of U.S. power,114 began the pullout process. Some 25,000 men
left in August 1969, 40,000 more in December and 50,000 by April 1970. A
total of 115,000 soldiers, or one-fourth of the U.S. forces, were withdrawn
in the span of nine months. Another 90,000 more were scheduled to depart
by December of 1970.115 This withdrawal was associated with cuts in U.S.
tactical air and B-52 operations.
Then on 1 May 1970, U.S.–ARVN launched a cross-border attack into
Cambodia. The advance rarely moved farther than 15 kilometers inside the
Cambodian border and cleared both banks of the Mekong Delta all the way
to Phnom Penh. All the forces returned back to South Vietnam by 1 July.116
Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Minh was promoted commander of
the ARVN III Corps and 3rd Military Region (III Corps and MR3) after the
most brilliant ARVN officer, General Đỗ Cao Trí’s, helicopter was blown up
while flying above the province of Tây Ninh on 23 February 1971.
During his tenure, the ARVN had made many military operations from
 I. The Border War 31

all four corps against communist strongholds along the Cambodian and Laot-
ian borders and pushed them deep into the Laotian and Cambodian territories.
At the high-water mark, the ARVN had more than 29,000 troops in Cambodia
and the U.S. about 19,300. One NVA cache yielded 1,300 individual- and
more than 200 crew-served weapons, along with a million and a half rounds
of AK-47 ammunition. Huge treasure troves of intelligence were found, more
than a million pages of documents and 32 cases of cryptographic material
in just the first three weeks of the cross-border operation.117
Operational units from the III Corps and MR3 under Lieutenant General
Đỗ Cao Trí had achieved the highest results. From April 1970, they had
pushed the North Vietnamese Army 7th Division (7th Div/NVA) and the VC
9th Division (9th Div/VC) of the COSVN out of their strongholds in the Fish
Hook area on the northwest border of Bình Long and the Parrot’s Beak on
the southwest border of Tây Ninh respectively. They had also destroyed the
strongholds, big and small, of the COSVN (Central Office of South Viet-
nam—the political and military nerve centers of northern communists in
South Vietnam), killed more than 11,000 PAVN soldiers, taken 2,200 troops
prisoners, and confiscated hundreds of tons of ammunition and armaments.
The VC 5th Division (5th Div/VC) had pulled back into Cambodia and been
followed closely by the ARVN IV Corps and MR4.
Up north, along National Route 7, tank units from the III Corps and
MR3 crossed the rubber plantations of Mimot, Krek, and Chup, all the way
to Tonle-Bet on the eastern side of the Mekong River across from the city
of Kampong Cham—the headquarters of the FANK, 1st Military Region
(FANK/MR1) of Brigadier General Fan Muong from the National Cambodian
Armed Forces (Forces Armées Nationales Khmères, or FANK). In the south,
along National Route 1, other tank units from Lieutenant General Trí moved
to the outskirts of Sway Rieng to support the forces of Colonel Dap Duon,
the governor of this eastern Cambodian province that lies across the border
from Tây Ninh of South Vietnam.
While staying on Cambodian soil for close to one year, the ARVN
worked with the Cambodian military government to repatriate approximately
20,000 Vietnamese living in Cambodia. The main goal of Lieutenant General
Đỗ Cao Trí’s “Toàn Thắng” (Total Victory) operations was not only to destroy
communist forces and their strongholds in Cambodia and to support the weak
and young forces of General Lon Nol (who was the chief of staff of Cam-
bodian forces that overthrew Norodom Sihanouk in March 1970 when the
latter was out of the country), but also to free the tens of thousands of jailed
Vietnamese who were suspected by the local government of siding with the
communists. In mid–April 1970, I was assigned by General Trí to be the liaison
32 INSIDE AN LOC

officer in the province of Sway Rieng in place of Colonel Lê Đạt Công, then
the chief of 2nd Bureau (in charge of military intelligence), III Corps and
MR3 (ex–III Corps and 3rd TZ). I received instructions and understood the
worries of General Trí with regard to the Vietnamese living in Cambodia.
Therefore, after knowing the needs of Colonel Dap Duon, province chief of
Sway Rieng, and satisfying a few important matters, my first job was to
request Colonel Duon to allow me to meet with the 2,000 Vietnamese being
held prisoner at the local primary school. In front of the school gate, I prom-
ised to the representatives of the Vietnamese to transmit their wishes to be
repatriated to Vietnam to General Trí. That I have done.
In May 1970, I was assigned to Kongpong-Cham as a liaison officer at
the headquarters of Brigadier General Fan Muong, along with a group of 10
officers and NCOs of the 2nd and 3rd Bureaus and communications of III
Corps and MR3. In Kongpong Cham, I had also requested Lieutenant Colonel
Ly Tai Sung, deputy of General Fan Muong, to let me see the Vietnamese
being held prisoner by the Cambodians. More than 2,000 Vietnamese, includ-
ing women and children, huddled in the deep and wide trenches within the
perimeters of the FANK/MR1 headquarters. This happened only in the morn-
ing after I requested General Trí to send South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF)
jets to relieve the blockade around the headquarters caused by the VC J-16
Sapper Battalion and the NVA forces the night before. Pointing to the Viet-
namese in the trenches, Ly Tai Sung told me in Vietnamese in straight terms,
“If you did not call the Air Force to free us up, these people would be shot
dead.”
From the time we arrived to Kongpong Cham, we communicated with
Major John Fernandez, the chief of staff; Ly Tai Sung, deputy commander;
and Brigadier General Fan Muong, commander in French since we did not
speak Cambodian and had never heard them speak Vietnamese at any time
before. When I heard Ly Tai Sun utter these words, I told him, “You are thus
a Vietnamese. Do you mean that you would kill the Vietnamese prisoners
and our group too?”
He smiled.
“You have underestimated the huge consequences of your action,” I
told him.
Ly Tai Sun or Lý Đại Sơn did not say any other word. I went inside
right away and told Brigadier General Fan Muong about Ly Tai Sun; I then
reported to General Trí who sent helicopters and some airborne troops to
take us back to Biên Hòa in the afternoon. Maybe Brigadier General Fan
Muong later apologized to General Trí. The important problem was to solve
the problem of thousands of Vietnamese being held prisoners by the Cambodian
 I. The Border War 33

government many months earlier before the North Vietnamese communists

and the Khmer Rouges began their attacks on Cambodian cities and the cap-
ital of Phnom Penh. A few days later, Major Nguyễn Văn Lý from the 2nd
Bureau, III Corps, and another liaison team were sent to Kong Pong Cham.
Later Colonel Trần Văn Tư replaced Major Lý.
Although I was not privy to the high-level relationships between the
government of South Vietnam and Cambodia on that May of 1970, VNN
(Vietnam Navy) and ARVN missions continued and brought back tens of
thousands of Vietnamese in the months of May, June and July of 1970. During
that period I was assigned to the 2nd Bureau, III Corps, under the leadership
of Colonel Lê Đạt Công, sometimes at Biên Hoà, other times at Hiếu Thiện,
Tây Ninh and rotating around to advise him about army intelligence until
General Trí passed away.
After Lieutenant General Minh replaced General Trí and following the
latter’s solemn funeral, the military situation in the III Corps and MR3 had
significantly changed for two reasons.
First, the communists significantly increased their forces in all the bat-
tlefields in Laos and Cambodia with offensives in Tchepone and along Route
9 all the way to the border with Khe Sanh; along Route 7 from the rubber
plantations of Minot, Chup, to the Vietnamese-Cambodian border, the Par-
rot’s Beak and the Fish Hook area. The 8th Regiment and an armor unit of
the ARVN 5th Infantry Division (5th Div/ARVN) suffered heavily and with-
drew from Snoul, Cambodia, at the end of May 1971. The only remaining
place that the RVNAF III Corps and 3rd MR still maintained on Cambodian
soil was the combined U.S.–Vietnamese firebase located at Krek, at the inter-
section between Highways 7 and 22 going to Tây Ninh, about 12 kilometers
from the Viet-Cambodian border.
Second, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Minh, a thoughtful man, pre-
ferred defense rather than offense. He was not a tiger like General Đỗ Cao
Trí, but more like an intellectual general. Besides, strategy had changed after
the Lâm Sơn 719 Operations in lower Laos. He fell into a difficult command
situation for having graduated from Class IV of the Dalat Military Academy
while his two subordinates were from a senior class. Major Generals Nguyễn
Văn Hiếu and Lâm Quang Thơ, commanders of the 5th and 18th Divisions
respectively, graduated from Class III of the Dalat Military Academy. After
the withdrawal from Snoul, Major General Hiếu was transferred to another
post. Colonel Lê Văn Hưng, province chief of Cần Thơ, had been promoted
to succeed Major General Hiếu. Shortly after, Major General Lâm Quang
Thơ was replaced by Colonel Lê Minh Đảo.
In the first week of June 1971, I was ordered to report on the positions
34 INSIDE AN LOC

of enemy forces inside and outside Vietnam that III Corps had to deal with
to Colonel Hưng, the new commander of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division.
The bulk of the report was no different from what I have written here. Of
course, no mention was made about Generals Trí, Minh, Hiếu, and Thơ. I
discussed about the NVA and COSVN local communist forces operating close
to the Vietnamese-Cambodian border after the ARVN withdrew from Cam-
bodia; the strengths, equipments, and territory of operation of each of these
units according to our latest news; and speculations about their future plans.
I thought that we needed to decrease the pressure exerted by NVA troops
that gathered to attack Krek following the presence of COSVN in the Snoul
area and the reactivations of the NVA secret bases close to the border of
Bình Long and Tây Ninh. I thus gave the usual report on enemy strengths
at the military divisional level. Colonel Hưng apparently heard me well and
did not raise any question. After I completed the report, he turned to General
Minh and said, “General, Dưỡng was not only my classmate, but also in my
platoon.” He stood up, walked to the podium, shook my hand and embraced
me. This was the first sign of friendship he had shown 15 years following
our graduation from the Thủ Đức Military Academy in January 1955 as 2nd
lieutenants. At the time of the report in 1971, I was a major, a member of the
2nd Bureau III Corps while he was a colonel, commander of a division. Posi-
tions in the military were indeed a world apart.
The border war was just delaying the final outcome of the war by con-
taining the NVA inside Cambodia. When allied forces left Cambodia, the
NVA just stepped up and rebuilt their forces in the safe Cambodian sanctu-
aries to get ready for the next strike across the border. For as long as the
NVA could safely maintain troops and armaments in Cambodia, they had
the upper hand in the war. From there, they could rest their troops and infil-
trate new units to whichever regions of South Vietnam they liked.
One could see that Washington had restrained itself in a “limited” war
while Hanoi used a multi-pronged attack against Saigon and brought the war
to the heart of Saigon.
 II

General Lê Văn Hưng and I

The first time I met Lê Văn Hưng was at the Thủ Đức Military School
Center, about 15 miles northeast of Saigon, where we went through a yearlong
military training to become reserve officers in the new South Vietnamese
Army in 1954.

Formative Years of the South

Vietnamese Army
On 1 May 1950, President Harry S. Truman by approving a $10 million
grant for needed military assistance items for Indochina made the formal
commitment to militarily support the Government of Vietnam (GVN). From
1950 to 1954, the U.S. contributed $1.1 billion to France to prosecute the war
in Vietnam including $746 million worth of army materiel to the French
Expeditionary Force in Indochina. Following the signing of the 20 July 1954
Geneva Accords, the U.S. began to directly assist the GVN under President
Diêm. The U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (MAAGV)
was limited by the Accords to 342 individuals. It was only in February 1955
that a joint Franco-American Training Relations and Instruction Mission
(TRIM) was established to develop a program to train the Vietnamese Army.
Since the French still retained a portion of their army in South Vietnam until
1956, its chief, General Paul Ely, was head of the TRIM and U.S. General
O’Daniel’s operational superior.
The work of the TRIM was severely limited because of the internal and
political situation in South Vietnam. This affected the South Vietnamese
Army, which lacked trained leaders, equipment and adequate logistical capa-
bilities at all levels. Logistical matters were still controlled by the French
who withdrew their advisers only on 28 April 1956. Following their departure,

35
36 INSIDE AN LOC

they took with them the best equipment in the quantities desired for their
future needs, leaving the Vietnamese with obsolete or inadequate materiel,
which could not be upgraded because of lack of Vietnamese logistical sys-
tem.
By September 1959, the South Vietnamese Army was reorganized into
seven divisions of 10,450 men each and three Army Corps headquarters.
Each division consisted of three infantry regiments, an artillery, a mortar,
an engineer battalion, and company-size support elements. The airborne
troops were organized into a five-battalion group.1
The Civil Guard Corps (Regional Force or RF) created in April 1955
assisted regular forces with internal security duties and local intelligence
collection. Initially placed under the control of the president, it was turned
over to the Ministry of Interior in September 1958. The People’s Self-Defense
Corps or Force (PSDF), officially established in April 1956, policed villages
and protected the population from subversion and intimidation. Their num-
bers were 46,000 and 40,000 respectively.2

Military Training at Thủ Đức

The Thủ Đức Reserve Officers School was established by the French
in October 1951 to train cadres and specialists of all branches of the South
Vietnamese Army including the infantry. After the 1954 Geneva Accords,
the management changed from the French to the Vietnamese armed forces.
The school changed its name to the Thủ Đức Military Academy in 1955 and
to the Infantry School in July 1964. From 1952 to November 1969, it graduated
over 40,900 students and continued to be the largest source of officers in the
Vietnamese armed forces.3 Thủ Đức offered nine months of military instruc-
tion to high school level officer candidates, and graduates received a reserve
commission, the rank of aspirant (CW5 or chief warrant officer 5), and a
four-year active-duty obligation.4 The latter could mean ten to 15 years of
active duty as the war progressed without end. Many well-known generals
had graduated from this academy, including Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Cao Văn
Viên, Đỗ Cao Trí, Nguyễn Khoa Nam, Ngô Quang Trưỡng, Lê Văn Hưng,
Lê Nguyên Vỹ, Lê Minh Đảo, and so on.
The Vietnamese National Military Academy (VNMA), which was
founded in Huế in December 1948, was moved to Dalat in the Central High-
lands because of better local weather. When the Vietnamese assumed control
of the academy in 1954, they changed its name to Dalat Military Academy.
After 1955, under the American advisory effort, the curriculum was extended
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 37

from one to two years (1956) and then to a four-year degree-granting uni-
versity under President Diêm in 1959. However, because of short- term
demand for junior officers, it only graduated three-year classes. It was only
in December 1969 that it graduated its first 92 cadets from its four-year pro-
gram. During 1970, a second-year VNMA cadet was the first Vietnamese to
be accepted for entrance to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point.5
The number of cadets of Class V, Vì Dân (For the People), at the Thủ
Đức Military Academy totaled more than 1,300. This included two infantry
companies that were sent to the Dalat Military Academy for training while
the remaining cadets were dispatched to the Thủ Đức Military Academy in
May 1954. Lê Văn Hưng and I were assigned to the 8th Platoon of the 2nd
Infantry Company under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Nguyễn Hưng
Chiêu. We slept in the same mixed room as cadets of the 7th Platoon of 1st
Lieutenant Lê Văn Sỹ. In this mixed central room, each platoon had 12 men;
two main rooms located on either side of the mixed room housed 24 cadets
of these two platoons each.
In this Class V were two infantry companies and six specialized com-
panies: armor, artillery, engineering, signal, ordinance, and administration.
The 1st Infantry Company included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Platoons; the
2nd Company was composed of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Platoons. My 8th
Platoon had 36 students, of whom I remember more than 30 names. Platoon
8 of Company 2 of 2nd Lieutenant Nguyễn Hưng Chiêu was the only platoon
to have produced two major achievements: graduate a valedictorian and the
only general for the whole class who would later become famous nationwide.
The latter was Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng, from Hóc Môn, province of
Gia Định. He, along with four other generals, committed suicide on 30 April
1975 following the fall of Saigon.6
At that time, cadet Lê Văn Hưng compulsively blinked his eyes: the tic
persisted when he became a general. Whether it was congenital or acquired
in his youth was not known; but by the time I knew him as a cadet, he had
already acquired it. In the dorm room, he was always bare chested, wore a
red Cambodian sarong with dark green stripes and a gold necklace threaded
through a small boar tooth. Like many South Vietnamese, he rarely spoke,
but he was very likable because he frequently smiled—a gentle smile that
captured the heart of many ladies. His skin was somewhat dark, but he was
tall like a hero rather than a student. He was also married at that time.
Close to the completion of the first phase of the training and after being
allowed to wear the alpha sign of a cadet, we were released every other
week to allow us to visit families and relatives. For each platoon of 36
cadets, one-half would remain in the camp while the other half took leave
38 INSIDE AN LOC

each weekend. I was in the same group as Hưng, whether on leave or in the
camp.
As Vietnamese, we all faced moving experiences, and I was not the
exception. When I entered the Thủ Đức Military Academy, I was a single
student from a poor family who had no nearby relatives. Two months after
my enrollment into the school in May 1954, my country became divided into
two states following the signing of the Geneva Accords. My small birthplace
of Cà Mau, in the southernmost region of the country, became the rallying
center for all the communist and insurgent armed forces in the southern part
of Vietnam before they were relocated to North Vietnam according to the
agreements of the Geneva Accords. During the same period, almost one mil-
lion northerners migrated to the South by various means, most likely ships
from allied forces.7
My father and elder brother moved to Bạc Liêu to work for the gov-
ernment. In spite of my small cadet salary, I did send some money to help
my parents, my younger school-aged sister, my widowed sister and her two
children.8 During weekdays, when practicing in the fields, I carried the left-
over breakfast that other cadets did not consume—mostly bread, chocolate,
and cheese—to use it during class breaks while other well-to-do classmates
scurried around local vendors who provided fresh food. At dinner time, I
used to take back to the dorm a can-size bit of white rice to use as an evening
snack while more fortunate cadets frequented the mess or the many vendors
(usually wives of camp staff soldiers) who brought dessert for sale on the
doorsteps of the dorm. I quietly took my rice along with a bottle of soy
sauce, sat on the steps at the beginning of the sewer system being built on
a stream close to a row of dormitories, and ate it under moonlight or in total
obscurity. I swallowed these cold rice grains on many nights with feelings
of self pity. And one day, I don’t remember which one, Lieutenant Nguyễn
Hưng Chiêu caught me eating rice in the dark. He shone his flashlight in the
can of rice and the bottle of soy sauce while I was standing in a salute position
as a cadet would do in front of his superior. He did not say a word; he let
me stand there and went back to the dorm. I quietly returned to the dorm
with a lot of apprehension in my heart and fear of having committed some
kind of infraction against one of the school rules; I was waiting for punish-
ment. On the contrary, I received a 100-piaster bill—which was a huge
amount at that time—that was slipped into my notebook when the company
commander returned it to the cadet. He quietly gave me the cash to let me
know he understood my economic situation. For more than six decades, I
felt I still owed him for having made me into an ARVN officer and a com-
passionate and righteous person like him. I did not dream of returning the
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 39

favor to him in this life because I knew of nothing comparable to his mag-
nanimous heart. On the other hand, the person who did him a huge favor
was General Hưng through his brilliant military career and his self-sacrifice;
he was another cadet that Lieutenant Chiêu had trained and educated.
At that time, I rarely took weekend leaves. When I did, I got out on
Sunday morning, strolled around the big downtown district of Saigon,
watched a movie, and waited for late afternoon to go to Hai Bà Trưng Street
behind the National Congressional Building where the academy’s GMC
trucks were waiting to take us back to the camp. When not taking leave, I
dressed up in full military gear and mingled with northern cadets who were
made “orphans” like me by the 1954 Geneva Agreements. Many northerners
either had families stranded in the North or were relocated far from Saigon.
We then strolled around the camp’s flagpole where rows of trees, although
rare, projected their shade on the grass and where cadets used to meet their
visiting families when they were stuck in the camp.
The peacefulness, happiness, and vibrant vitality generated from this
family environment were also seen in the mess and kiosks, dining stands
around the mess. Naturally, among the crowd of visitors, there was no lack
of beautiful, smiling ladies who were the sisters, relatives, girlfriends, or
wives of the cadets. One of them was Hưng’s wife. From afar, one could tell
she was beautiful. The fact that she was tall, thin but strong and well pro-
portioned made her look like a European lady. Her face was bright and her
skin fair. Her composure and clothing placed her in the middle class. Each
time she came, she brought with her a one-year-old daughter. And the family
huddled together and looked very happy. But one could not predict what the
future would bring to people.
At the end of the training, we said good-bye to one another, and each
of us went his own way. Absorbed in our military as well as personal life,
we did not keep in touch with each other. Nine years later, toward January
1964, I suddenly received news about Hưng. During the 1 November 1963
overthrow of the government, President Ngô Đình Diêm and his brother
were assassinated. Colonel Nguyễn Văn Phước, the second bureau chief of
the Joint General Staff of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (II
Bureau/JGS/RVNAF) was jailed and replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Văn
Lời, commander of the Cây Mai Intelligence School. I followed him and
became the Administrative Branch chief of II Bureau/JGS or J-2/JGS.
While reading the mail one day, I noticed a transfer order from the Min-
istry of Defense releasing then Lieutenant Lê Văn Hưng back to the Military
Intelligence Branch under the control of J-2/JGS. Before the overthrow,
Hưng was the district chief of Trà Ôn District in southwest Vietnam. He
40 INSIDE AN LOC

could thus have gone through an intelligence course or held a job in the field
of military intelligence, which I was not aware of. Later, I received his per-
sonnel file indicating that by graduating high in the class at Thủ Đức, he
chose to serve the 15th Regiment in Gia Định in the III Military Region,
which at that time comprised the present III and IV Corps with Major Lê
Thọ Trung as the regiment commander. Later when Hưng became a general
and commander of the 5th Div/ARVN, then Lieutenant Colonel Trung became
Hưng’s chief of staff.
Less than one week after he was transferred to the J-2/JGS/RVNAF, a
lady requested to see the colonel, chief of J-2. I met her as an administrative
representative of the bureau in place of my supervisor. She stated she was
Hưng’s former wife but had divorced him. I then realized that she was the
lady I saw a decade earlier at the Thủ Đức Academy. She was thin and still
beautiful for a middle-aged lady. She carried a document requesting that his
salary, according to a court’s verdict, be sent directly to her in Gia Định. I
wrote down her request, although could not make any decision because Lieu-
tenant Hưng had not shown up for duty at the bureau yet.
Not long after, I received another memo from the Personnel Directorate
of the Ministry of Defense transferring Lieutenant Hưng to the 21st Infantry
Division (21st Div/ARVN). Therefore, up to 1971 I still had not met Hưng
because he showed up for duty at the 21st Div/ARVN instead of the J-
2/JGS/RVNAF. By the end of 1967, I unintentionally met his ex-wife again
one evening at the Victoria Dancing Club in Tân Định close to the JGS Head-
quarters where she was a dancer. Although I recognized her, she did not
remember seeing me four years earlier. At that time, I was a major and Hưng
a lieutenant colonel, commander of the 31st Regiment of the 21st Division.
A short while later, I heard he was made colonel and province chief of Cần
Thơ. From 1967 after the meeting at the dancing club, I had no further
encounter with Hưng’s ex-wife. That was more than half a century ago.

Intelligence Work
After the June 1971 briefing, Lieutenant General Minh invited Colonel
Hưng, commander of the 5th ARVN Infantry Division, and I to have lunch
in his trailer that lay in the front yard of his residence in Biên Hoà. I might
not have had the privilege to be invited to have lunch with the two com-
manding officers had it not been for the fact that Colonel Hưng had men-
tioned me as his classmate. The other reason why I was included in this
high-level meeting was that in early 1955 when I was transferred to the 61st
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 41

Vietnam Battalion to serve as chief of the personnel office until August 1955,
then Major Minh, recently promoted commander of the 61st Vietnam Bat-
talion and district chief of Đức Hòa District of Chợ Lớn Province, had
assigned me to serve as the Secretary Office chief of the battalion and the
Đức Hòa District. After the election of the South Vietnamese Congress and
the president of the First Republic of Vietnam, Major Minh was promoted
lieutenant colonel and province chief of Sadec. I was transferred to the 1/43
Battalion of the 15th Light Infantry Division and stationed at Dục Mỹ, Nha
Trang.
During the Second Republic, Minh was rapidly elevated, from colonel
and commander of the 21st Division to brigadier general, major general, then
lieutenant general and commander of the Saigon Military Zone, and of the
III Corps and MR3. He had not forgotten that I had worked for him some
15 years earlier. As to the third reason, I only heard it at mealtime: Colonel
Hưng had asked General Minh to let me serve as chief of the 5th Infantry
Division’s Intelligence Staff or S-2. As that request caught me by surprise,
I asked to have time to think about it. General Minh also did not make his
decision then. After dinner, Colonel Hưng flew back to Lai Khê while I was
given a week of leave in Saigon so that he could reshuffle his personnel.
At that time, since General Minh did not trust Colonel Lê Đạt Công,
chief of J-2 at III Corps and MR3, he transferred him to the 21st Div/ARVN.
Although the S-2 staff had many other lieutenant colonels, I managed most
of the work at the bureau despite not holding any official title. I expected
that Lieutenant Colonel Mạch Văn Trường, a protégé and former J-2 chief
of General Minh who had recently been transferred to III Corps and MR3,
would be nominated as its intelligence chief. The speculation turned out not
to be correct. I had been notified that Colonel Hưng had sent two official
memos requesting my transfer to the 5th Infantry Division. General Minh
told me to go to Lai Khê to help Colonel Hưng, and Lieutenant Colonel
Mạch Văn Trường became commander of the 8th Regiment. Lieutenant Col-
onel Trần Văn Bình, S-2 chief of the 18th Infantry Division, was elevated to
S-2 chief, III Corps and MR3. The move was logical, for Lieutenant Colonel
Bình had a lot of experience and was the former chief of the Intelligence
Branch at the J-2/JGS/RVNAF.
I was saddened by General Minh’s decision, not because I wanted to
escape the responsibility of becoming the S-2 chief of a division, which I
felt was important. But I felt ashamed of having to serve under a classmate.
What I was afraid of most was that any mistake, any casualty, military or
civilian, and any lost outpost related to my work could affect and sap our
friendship as well as cause trouble for him and me to handle. I then valued
42 INSIDE AN LOC

our friendship a lot and was afraid to lose it. Working for another commander
who would be impartial in his judgment would make me feel much safer.
Reward and punishment would be accepted and tolerated in a thoughtful
manner had I been successful or failed on the job. But as a soldier, I had to
accept the leader’s decision. I thus called Colonel Hưng and told him I would
present myself at the division headquarters on 16 June. That day, around
14:00, Colonel Hưng sent his own helicopter to pick me up at Biên Hòa for
the trip to Lai Khê, the division headquarters. In the commander’s office, he
shook my hand and held my shoulder expressing his happiness at seeing me.
Later, I assumed the position without official transfer because my predeces-
sor, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Công Ninh, had left his post a week earlier.
While I was meeting with officers of the division intelligence staff, the com-
mander’s secretary chief, Captain Nguyễn Đức Phương, called and informed
me that Colonel Hưng had invited me to have dinner with him in his trailer
after the daily 17:00-hour meeting at the TOC (Tactical Operations Center
of the division).
The military trailer, protected all around by sandbags, stood behind the
commander’s residence, parallel to the row of offices of the division’s S-2,
where I worked that afternoon, and separated by a mesh for protection from
B-40 rockets. There, for the first time, I was officially introduced to his wife
by Colonel Hưng himself. Her maiden name was Phạm Kim Hoàng. I thought
she was a right fit for him: she was thin and strong with a bright face, soft
voice and fair complexion. She appeared friendly with her husband’s col-
leagues. As for him, he did not ask me about my family or whereabouts since
graduating from school. He and I talked about events larger than the world
of III Corps and MR3 as equals, without any affected style like I did in front
of any superior in the past. After that dinner, I felt I could work with Colonel
Hưng without carrying any guilt complex. On the other hand, I thought I
should work harder, get more involved in my job so that he could understand
me better and at the same time prove that I had enough knowledge and skills
so as not to betray his trust.
That was not the only time Colonel and Mrs. Hưng invited me to dinner
in the trailer at his compound at the Lai Khê headquarters; in fact, this was
a frequent happening during my tenure at the 5th Division under his com-
mand. Each time they threw an intimate family reunion, the only friend to
be invited was me. Also, if in the morning he scratched my name off the list
of people to be promoted or be given the Medal of Valor at the divisional
order, which Colonel Hưng—as commander of a division—had the power
to bestow at the suggestion of the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Lê Thọ
Trung, Mrs. Hưng always invited me to dinner with them. During dinner,
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 43

Mrs. Hưng always said in order to comfort me, “My husband is like that.
Don’t take it personally,” while Colonel Hưng sat there and smiled. The
smile expressed not only an intent to comfort, but also to convey the idea
that he did not want other people to object to the promotion and that the
Medal of Valor was not reserved for staff officers. The person who understood
these rules would be Lieutenant Colonel Lê Thọ Trung, Hưng’s former supe-
rior. I suspected that Lieutenant Colonel Trung had also been invited to such
private dinners with the Hưng, because Colonel Hưng did not forget that
Trung was his former superior when he just graduated from school. Of
course, the person who understood the relationship between commander
Hưng and myself was Mrs. Hưng. These dinners not only occurred at the
5th Division/ARVN, but also later at his residence in Cần Thơ when he
became the deputy commander of IV Corps and MR4.

The Commander of the ARVN 5th

Infantry Division
After working with Colonel Hưng for a short while, I became impressed
by his competence and fairness. As for his competence, his thinking was fast
and accurate and I will elaborate on this later on. As for his behavior and
dealing with others, he was straight like an arrow, energetic, although deeply
emotional—the two examples were his dealings with Lieutenant Colonel Lê
Thọ Trung and me.
He could appear difficult and rigid on the outside because of his tall
stature, strict demeanor, and the few words he uttered here and there. In real-
ity, he loved his soldiers, NCOs, and lieutenants, which he chose with care
to fill the leadership positions of squads, platoons, and companies. At the
battalion level, he always chose young, courageous, battle-hardened captains
and majors who cared for and loved their soldiers. He told me that if these
leaders knew and cared about their soldiers, he did not have much to worry
about. Therefore, he was always close to leaders of squads, platoons, com-
panies and battalions. At times, he remembered the names of certain squad
and platoon leaders of certain companies, which few division commanders
paid attention to. But the division commander could not make any decision
about the regiment commander because the latter’s selection and/or dismissal
came under the purview of the Corps commander or higher.
The ARVN 5th Infantry Division with its 11,000 troops was composed of
• three regiments, 7th, 8th, and 9th;
• an armored squadron, the 1st Armored Squadron;
44 INSIDE AN LOC

• four artillery battalions: the 50th Battalion with 155 mm guns and the
51st, 52nd, 53rd battalions with 105 mm guns;
• one combat engineering battalion;
• one signal battalion;
• one logistical battalion;
• one medical battalion;
• one reconnaissance company;
• one military intelligence detachment;
• one technical company; and
• one transportation company.

The 7th Regiment was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lý

Đức Quân (later promoted to colonel then late brigadier general when he
passed away). He was a highland minority Nùng like most officers, warrant
officers, and soldiers when this regiment was formed under the designation
of 4th Field Division, which was later called the 5th Infantry Division. As
the ARVN expanded, most of the Nùng minorities were regrouped into the
7th Regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Quân was an ideal, religious, competent,
and experienced leader whom Colonel Hưng was very fond of.
The 8th Regiment had been assigned by General Minh to Lieutenant
Colonel Mạch Văn Trường. Upon graduating from Class 12 of the Dalat Mil-
itary Academy, Trường was sent to the U.S. for training as company leader.
On his return, he was assigned to Military Intelligence Branch and had never
commanded a company. As a regiment leader, he would be promoted to col-
onel. Knowing his lack of battle experience, Colonel Hưng had assigned
Major Huỳnh Văn Tâm, a young officer who was a former battalion com-
mander, to be his deputy.
The commander of the 9th Regiment was Colonel Nguyễn Công Vĩnh,
who was one of my relatives. When I met him the first time after many years
of absence, I thought he should have requested a transfer to a central office
position instead of fighting in the battlefield. However, under him were two
excellent officers: Major Trần Đăng Khoa, his deputy, and Major Võ Trung
Thứ, the battalion commander of the 1/9 Battalion who graduated as vale-
dictorian of Class 15 of the Dalat Military Academy. The commander of the
cavalry unit was Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dương.
In early March 1972 in Lai Khê on the anniversary of the formation of
the division, Colonel Hưng was promoted to interim brigadier general, and
Lieutenant Colonel Mạch Văn Trường to interim colonel. The person General
Nguyễn Văn Minh left out was Lieutenant Colonel Lê Thọ Trung, the divi-
sion’s chief of staff, who was not promoted despite his seniority in rank.
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 45

General Hưng was very strict toward officers, especially those on the
division staff. That was the reason why Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ, the division
deputy commander, and other officers from major and above were frequently
“rectified” by General Hưng right during meetings at the Tactical Operations
Center (TOC). One evening, after Vỹ had been rectified I did not remember
how many times, I followed General Hưng after the meeting to his office.
As he was still steaming, he was surprised to see me walking in but did not
say anything. I immediately began: “Excuse me. May I say something?”
Before he had the chance to utter any word, I continued: “I believe you have
been too harsh with Colonel Vỹ. He cannot work if he is constantly ‘rectified.’
Colonel Vỹ and we, high-ranking staff officers, have the duty to express our
opinions, right or wrong…. If we are rectified all the time in front of our
junior staff, we would not be able to talk freely.”
“That’s none of your business,” General Hưng exploded.
“Excuse me, General. If it is not my business, I’ll go.” I saluted him
and left.
That was the first and last time he called me by mầy—like “toi” in
French—a word used only to address subordinates or very close friends,9
and I felt that he used that word because we were close “buddies”—class-
mates who graduated from the same school—and not because he saw me as
his subordinate. Sensitive about causing any hurt feelings, from that time
onward he dropped the word mầy from his vocabulary. And he certainly
understood that the word “General” I used conveyed my dissatisfaction with
him. I usually called him general in front of everyone; however, when we
were alone or in front of his wife, I just called him anh (brother) because he
was slightly older than I. He was born in March 1933, and I in January 1934,
although we were both from the same lunar calendar year: Quý Dậu—pre-
cious rooster. He usually called me “Hey Dưỡng” or “Hi Dưỡng” without
any “toi,” any “cậu,” or “mầy.”
The next morning, I swung by the office of the chief of staff and sub-
mitted my request for transfer before heading to the airport to accompany
General Hưng in his visit to the units. After he stepped down from his jeep
and before getting on his helicopter, he shook Lieutenant Colonel Trịnh Đình
Đăng’s hands and mine. When he shook mine, he smiled but did not say a
word.
After we returned to Lai Khê in the afternoon, at around 14:00 hours,
Lieutenant Colonel Trung called me to his office and told me that he had
met General Hưng about my request. He repeated General Hưng’s word,
“Dưỡng was making a fuss; just throw the request away.” I was not making
any fuss but really intended to request for a transfer. I was not embarrassed
46 INSIDE AN LOC

when I met General Hưng before the late-day staff meeting. However, a few
days later, he met with me in private and told me that he and Colonel Lê
Nguyên Vỹ did not get along well. A week later, General Minh transferred
Colonel Vỹ to the III Corps and made him deputy for Operations, III Corps
and MR3.
The position of deputy commander of the 5th Infantry Division was
left unfilled. Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm, province chief of Long Khánh, was
transferred to the 5th Division because he was not trusted by General Minh
who dismissed him. When he arrived at the division, he became the chief of
staff for Field Operations, but not deputy commander or deputy of Operations
to General Hưng. Colonel Điềm was a veteran officer, a man who accom-
plished a lot in the battle of An Lộc a month later. He was left out like an
old oak in a forest of trees somewhere in Bình Long. It was only by the end
of 1972 that the division had a new deputy commander in the person of Col-
onel Nguyễn Bá Long aka Thin, formerly province chief of Kontum who
had accomplished a lot in preserving the city of Kontum; maybe there was
also some unfairness related to this officer.
I will write in particular about the injustice that had occurred during
the battle of An Lộc as it happened in reality, which is different from what
some other authors have written, although I realize that what I touch upon
may not only make certain people unhappy, but also may bring some adverse
reactions to myself. I accept them when I write about the truth and only the
truth. Many people knew about the truth, although they were not able to talk
about it. I would have liked to forget it for the past few decades but could
not. I just wonder whether the aura of many ARVN heroes had been over-
shadowed by a small cast of inept leaders whose shadows loomed so large
as to completely obstruct the former. I have pondered for a long time and
held my tongue too long when I did not mention about the injustice suffered
by General Hưng or Colonel Điềm and others who were victimized by their
superiors. As of today, some of them have also been “victimized” by outsiders
who did not know about the truth. If I know about it and do not speak out,
then who will? I am the witness, the insider, although my knowledge only
allows me to mention the least and the most civil event of all.
I write for those who are still alive, especially for Hải and Hà, General
Hưng’s children who were still young when their father passed away. Now
that they have reached maturity, they need to know the turbulent and difficult
life of their father. I will mail a copy to Mrs. Hưng, who lives somewhere
in the States, to tell her I am proud of having shared the miseries and dangers
with a hero I did not know then.
A hero is different from a mortal by his stature. Those who long for
 II. General Lê Văn Hưng and I 47

power, position, and glory but avoid the danger, who run away when the tide
turns, leaving behind soldiers and flags, though they be generals, are simply
mere mortals. Generals who consider their lives and their families as too
important cannot be heroes or gods. But generals who die for their country
may become heroes or gods. The adage says, “Born as a general, die as a
god.” Vietnamese history is still there; our behavior will be reflected by the
mirror of posterity. The five generals who sacrificed themselves on the last
day of “Black April” will have their names forever inscribed for posterity.10
 III

Prelude to the
Bình Long Battle

When General Nguyễn Văn Minh replaced General Đỗ Cao Trí whose
command helicopter blew up in the air above Tây Ninh for unknown reasons
in February 1971, it was not known why he did not use the valuable talents
left behind by General Trí. He first transferred Colonel Lê Đạt Công from
the III Corps’ intelligence staff to the 21st Infantry Division and did not use
Brigadier General Trần Quang Khôi, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry
Brigade who had just returned from high-level training in the U.S. General
Minh then dispersed the cavalry brigade and the III Corps Assault Force pre-
viously built by General Trí and under the command of Brigadier General
Khôi, basically demoting the latter without taking away his star. General
Minh’s operational tactics changed with the evolution of the battlefield. He
gradually withdrew all his units from Cambodia to buff up the defenses in
his assigned area of responsibility. The III Corps thus became a tactical
defensive force instead of an offensive force like under its former com-
mander.
This may have to do with the rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces, which
suddenly created huge defensive gaps in the III Corps and MR3. In 1968,
the MR3 was home to a formidable U.S. fighting force: the 1st Infantry Divi-
sion, the 25th Infantry Division, the Tropic Lightning, the 199th Infantry
Brigade, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, two brigades of the 1st Cavalry
Division, and one battalion of the 17th Air Cavalry Regiment. By December
1971, U.S. troop strength was down to one squadron of the 17th Air Cavalry,
a portion of the 1st Aviation Brigade, one squadron of the 11th Armored Cav-
alry Regiment, a provisional brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and a bat-
talion of combat engineers.1 At a time when the NVA was building up, the
U.S. was drawing down. The tactical shift allowed the NVA forces to rebuild

48
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 49

their units in Cambodia and get ready for an all-out across-the-border attack
on Bình Long Province.
However, in the last quarter of 1971 with the reinforcement of a Marine
brigade and an Airborne brigade, General Minh who organized an offensive
inside the Cambodian territory along Highway 7 in order to relieve enemy
pressure on the last U.S.–Vietnamese firebase at Krek in Cambodia before
abandoning it had inflicted severe damage to NVA units. That was the last
South Vietnamese victory on Cambodian soil. After the attack, he withdrew
from Krek to reinforce his troops along Route 22, on the northern side of
Tây Ninh, and to reshuffle his units in the III Corps.
The III Corps oversaw the 5th, 18th and 25th Divisions. It also had
• a brigade of armored cavalry
• a battle group of rangers,
• a reserve force used for out-of-the-country offensive battles under
the Đỗ Cao Trí years, and
• units of artillery, engineering, air force and navy.
The 18th Infantry Division’s military range encompassed the MR3’s
eastern provinces: Biên Hòa, Long Khánh, Phước Tuy, Bình Tuy and the
town of Vũng Tàu with its headquarters at Xuân Lộc. That division would
become famous in the late phase of the war in 1975.
The 25th Infantry Division took care of the southwestern provinces of
MR3: Tây Ninh, Hậu Nghĩa, and Long An with its headquarters at Củ Chi. The
Capital Special Zone—later Capital Military Region—included Saigon, Chợ
Lớn and Gia Định, which were under the purview of the III Corps and 3rd MR.
After taking over the command of the 5th Infantry Division from Major
General Nguyễn Văn Hiếu in early June 1971, General Hưng consolidated
his forces and opened some offensives at the regimental levels (usually with
the combined forces of an infantry regiment plus an artillery battalion and
an element of cavalry) into communist strongholds in the north-central prov-
inces of MR3: Bình Long; Phước Long; Bình Dương and the Iron Triangle;
Long Nguyên, Bến Than; and VC secret zones along the Saigon River—
mainly secret zone D on the right side of Bé River—south of Đồng Xoài,
known as bloody theaters between the U.S. and ARVN forces and communist
forces in the 1960s. The command center of the 5th Division was located at
the rubber plantation in Lai Khê, Bến Cát District, province of Binh Dương.

The ARVN 5th Infantry Division

Tây Ninh, Bình Long, Phước Long, and Bình Dương, four of the north-
ern provinces of the III Corps, form the southern foothills of the Trường Sơn
50 INSIDE AN LOC

Range and constitute a buffer zone between the Central Highlands in the
north and the Mekong Delta in the south. The area contained some of the
richest rubber plantations in the world and was traversed by two important
highways, 13 and 14. Highway 13 linked Saigon to Cambodia while Highway
14 led to Ban Mê Thuột and the Central Highlands.
Highway 13 ran the whole length of Bình Long Province from north to
south and bisected it into two almost equal sections. It traversed the southern
district town of Chơn Thành, the Bình Long capital of An Lộc, and the north-
ern district town of Lộc Ninh before crossing the border into Cambodia. A
2,240-square-kilometer area, Bình Long was one of the smallest provinces
in South Vietnam. Phan Nhật Nam, a soldier-writer, lyrically wrote about
the soon-to-be-famous Highway 13:
This road [Highway 13], a dark black line between the rows of green-leafed
rubber tree plants, stands out against the reddish brown earth. Its unlucky
number and the color of the earth suggest that fate had planned everything: a
road with the number of death and dirt the color of dried blood.2
The areas of responsibility of the 5th Infantry Division comprised three
provinces from north to south: Phước Long under Colonel Lưu Yểm, Bình
Long under Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt, and Bình Dương with Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Của as province chief.
The divisional forces were distributed as follows: the Task-Force 9 (TF-
9), under the command of Colonel Nguyễn Công Vĩnh, included the 9th
Regiment with three battalions 1/9, 2/9, and 3/9; the 53rd Artillery Battalion
with 14 105 mm howitzers and four 155 mm howitzers (from the 50th Artillery
Battalion); and the 1st Armored Cavalry Battalion. It served the northwest
region of Bình Long from Fire Support Base (FSB) Alpha (10 kilometers
north of Lộc Ninh) to the Vietnamese-Cambodian border on Highway 13 and
toward the east through the intersection of Lộc Tấn between Highways 13
and 14 to the district of Bố Đức of Phước Long Province.
The headquarters of the TF-9 was located at the main base of the 74th
Ranger Battalion situated at the end of the Lộc Ninh airfield runway on the
western side of Highway 13 and from the market that ran parallel to the run-
way to the rubber plantation west of the Lộc Ninh village.
The 74th Ranger Battalion controlled FSB Alpha close to the Vietna-
mese-Cambodian border with four 105 mm howitzers placed under the oper-
ational leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dương, commander
of the 1st Armored Cavalry Squadron. The headquarters of the 1st Armor
Cavalry, located at the Lộc Tấn intersection, was upgraded with four 105
mm howitzers and two armored companies, the 3/1 Cavalry and the 1/1 Tank;
overall it had 40 tanks, including 14 M-41, 26 armored cars of different types,
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 51

as well as trucks, jeeps and GMC trucks. These units operated on Highways
13 and 14 north of Lộc Ninh.
The whole 1/9 Battalion camped at the Bố Đức District on Highway 13,
on the left side of the Bé River, province of Phước Long on the border of
the Bình Long Province.
The 2/9 Battalion that operated on the northwest side of Lộc Tấn col-
laborated with and supported the 74th Ranger Battalion.
The 3/9 Battalion, a mobile unit, operated in an area from three to five
kilometers southwest of Lộc Ninh. Each battalion left behind a company to
protect the headquarters of the TF-9, while the 9th Reconnaissance Company
operated on the border of Bình Long-Tây Ninh, north of Tống Lê Chân Base
where the 92th Ranger Battalion stationed, close to the Saigon River north
of Bến Than and northwest of the Chơn Thành District, province of Bình
Long.
The 53th Artillery Battalion headquarters of Lieutenant Colonel Hoàng
Thông and other artillery units from the same base were located on a line
parallel to the air strip at about 400 meters from the headquarters of the TF-
9 and 200 meters from the headquarters of the district and Lộc Ninh Sub-
sector. Major Nguyễn Văn Thịnh, district chief and commander of the Lộc
Ninh Sub-sector had two companies of provincial Regional Forces (RF) and
two platoons of People’s Self-Defense Forces (PSDF) to care for the security
of the headquarters. In addition, there were four companies of RF and other
platoons of PSDF within the province and a platoon of police located at the
Lộc Ninh market. The RF and PSDF were drawn from the local populace
and were responsible for the defense of their towns and hamlets. RF battal-
ions and RF companies were assigned to provinces and districts respectively,
while PSDF platoons were controlled by hamlets and village chiefs.3
All NVA artillery guns, designed by the Soviet Union and manufactured
either by the Soviet Union or China, had very long reach. The Soviet D-74
122 mm gun had a range of 23.9 kilometers, and the Soviet M-46 130 mm
gun could strike at 27.5 kilometers. All ARVN guns came from the U.S. The
105 mm howitzers—the M-101-A1 and the M-102 used in South Vietnam—
could fire 10 rounds per minute, and the sustained rate of fire was three rounds
per minute. A standard six-gun battery could strike 60 rounds per minute but
only at 11.27 kilometers. The 155 mm howitzer could hit only at 14.6 kilo-
meters. The NVA thus outgunned the ARVN in long-range artillery duels.4
About 15 kilometers south of Lộc Ninh lay the Cần Lê River, which
connected the Saigon and Bé Rivers. A sturdy concrete bridge spanned across
the Cần Lê River on Highway 13. There stationed a company of 2/9 Battalion,
a combined 155 mm and 105 mm artillery company, a fighting engineering
52 INSIDE AN LOC

company, and two companies of RF, all under the leadership of Lieutenant
Colonel Nguyễn Văn Hòa. About four kilometers north of the Cần Lê Bridge,
on the left of Highway 13, was the 20-kilometer-long provincial route 17,
which headed westward toward Tây Ninh. About two kilometers from High-
way 13 heading west was the Hùng Tâm base camp, which housed the two
battalion-sized bases located respectively north and south of route 17. At the
request of Brigadier General Hưng, General Minh sent him the Task Force
52 of the 18th Infantry Division on 28 March 1972 which would be stationed
at these two Hùng Tâm bases. This unit comprised the 2nd Battalion of the
52th Regiment (2/52) and the 1st Battalion of the 48th Regiment (1/48), a
reconnaissance company and four 105 mm and two 155 mm howitzers, and
an engineering company.
At nine kilometers south of the Cần Lê Bridge sat the provincial town
of An Lộc, which also served as the headquarters of the military zone of
Bình Long. Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt, chief of the province and the military
sector, was an experienced Marine officer, a former commander of the 43rd
and 48th Regiments of the 18th Infantry Division. A brave officer, although
modest, subtle, and skillful with dealing with people, he was respected by
superiors and subordinates. U.S. advisers often praised him, probably
because of his cleverness. From An Lộc, he commanded two battalions of
RF and many platoons of PSDF for a total of 2,000 soldiers who were scat-
tered throughout the province. In An Lộc and nearby sites like Windy Hill
and Hill 169 were stationed 800 soldiers with some old V-100 armored cars
and artillery platoons of 105 mm and 155 mm howitzers.
General Hưng placed his forward command post of the 5th Division in
the town of An Lộc itself. On the outskirts of the town heading north was
Base Charlie where the headquarters of the 7th Regiment were located. Two
battalions, the 2/7 and 3/7, and the 7th Reconnaissance Company operated
around the province and its northwest area. The two companies of the 1/7
Battalion operated on the northeast of the village while two other companies
stationed at Quản Lợi airfield and base about seven kilometers northeast of
An Lộc. One could also find there a company of RF and a company of Lôi
Hổ. The main base of the 7th Regiment was still in the Phú Giáo District,
Bình Dương Province. The district of Chơn Thành, province of Bình Long,
30 kilometers south of An Lộc, was guarded by two companies of RF. Thirty
kilometers south of Chơn Thành was the Lai Khê rubber plantation where
the headquarters of the 5th Infantry Division were located, in the province
of Bình Dương about 20 kilometers west of the village of the same name.
The 8th Regiment of the 5th Division was located at the divisional head-
quarters at the Lai Khê base, which was protected by one battalion of the
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 53

8th Regiment and a recon company. Another battalion was being trained at
the divisional training center in Bình Dương while a third battalion operated
at Dầu Tiếng District in the province of Bình Dương on the left side of the
Saigon River.
In the beginning of February 1972, in the area of responsibility of the
TF-9, its units had fought on many occasions with squads or platoons of
NVA troops in the northwest border with Cambodia, close to the Fish Hook
area or along the Saigon River at the border of Bình Long and Tây Ninh and
outside Bến Than on the west side of Chơn Thành. They had taken down a
small number of enemy soldiers mostly from the reconnaissance units of the
5th, 7th, and 9th Divisions of COSVN (Central Office of South Vietnam).
Documents retrieved from the bodies of soldiers included those related to
“combined attacks of cities with infantry, artillery, and tanks.” We had also
detected newly formed divisional units that were prepped for the battles of
Tây Ninh and Bình Long. There was the Bình Long Division or the C30B
Division with the 271th Regiment that recycled cadres from the 271th of the
9th Div/VC; the other regiments were the 24th, 205th and 207th which were
composed of soldiers recruited from the Central Highlands. Based on these
documents, I had suggested to General Hưng to open an operation against
Bến Than, north of Route 13, about 15 kilometers west of Chơn Thành. The
1st Airborne Brigade, which was attached to the 5th Infantry Division, thus
began an attack on Bến Than VC secret zone on the second week of February
1972. We destroyed 100 tons of rice and food, confiscated 1,000 personal
guns and destroyed tons of ammunitions that were newly brought from bases
in Cambodia to be stashed there.

Intelligence Estimates
Around mid–February 1972 during a reconnaissance operation five kilo-
meters north of Lộc Ninh and three kilometers west of Highway 13, a recon-
naissance company exchanged fire with a squad of communist soldiers: it
shot four of them dead and caught one with a short gun and two other sol-
diers. The prisoners were brought back to the intelligence unit of the division
for questioning. As the divisional chief of the intelligence staff at that time,
I participated in the interrogation. The one with a short gun was a northern
officer who had infiltrated into the South two years earlier. He was first
assigned to the 7th Div/NVA then transferred to the Reconnaissance Battalion
of the 69th Artillery Division (69th A.Div/VC)—or the 70th Artillery Divi-
sion of COSVN.
54 INSIDE AN LOC

This officer, a 1st lieutenant, stated that he came along with the recon-
naissance battalion commander of the 69th A.Div/VC and two other officers
and a squad of soldiers to look for placement sites for artillery guns. The
main goal was to destroy the headquarters of the TF-9 of the 5th Div/ARVN
at the end of the Lộc Ninh airfield runway, the 1st Armored/5th Div/ARVN
and the 74th Ranger Battalion at Lộc Tấn intersection, and Alpha Base on
Route 13 that connected with Route 14A north of Lộc Ninh in the next total
offensive. The latter would be a major assault as it involved infantry and
long-range artillery against the city.
The prisoner seemed to be truthful during the various encounters with
me. He gave me extensive information during the interrogation process due
to a combination of soft interrogation technique, good food which was pro-
vided to him, and my personal enquiries about his family in the North. He
said that the 69th Artillery of COSVN had changed its name to 70th Artillery
and had received huge artillery guns and ammunition from North Vietnam.
He, however, could not tell when the attack would happen and whether tanks
would be involved or not. He mentioned that once the reconnaissance unit
established the sa bàn of the region—a tactical sand table of enemy tar-
gets—figured out the placement of guns, and received approval, the attack
would begin a week later. But since the reconnaissance unit had been caught
and gunned down, he could not be sure about the date. As for the tanks, he
did not see any in his area but was told during discussions that they would
be involved.
Having nothing else to learn from him, I transferred him to the III Corps
Interrogation Center, following which he opted to switch to our side as a hổi
chánh—a rallier.5 A week after the battle of An Lộc began, this reconnais-
sance officer, who was wearing an ARVN outfit and a gun, followed a U.S.
adviser and came to see me at the divisional headquarters in An Lộc. The
reason I describe this event in detail is to convey the fact that we were not
caught by surprise by the NVA summer offensive. The reality was that, being
a lowly NVA officer, he was not privy to all the details and full extent of the
planned attack during the 1972 Fiery Summer. Although it was possible that
he did not reveal all the information he knew, I was pretty convinced he was
truthful. So was the III Corp Interrogation Center since they allowed him to
be a hổi chánh.
Assigned to the duty of gathering intelligence for a unit the size of a
division, not only I but all the military intelligence chiefs at ARVN divisions
carried a heavy responsibility toward our units and commanders. My respon-
sibility toward General Hưng seemed heavier than normal and our relation-
ship closer because he was not only a strict superior, but also a close friend.
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 55

After the attack by the Airborne Brigade at Bến Than that destroyed impor-
tant COSVN storage centers in the province of Bình Long, based on the dec-
larations of the above-mentioned officer and two other prisoners from the
69th Artillery Division along with documents confiscated earlier, I presented
to General Hưng on the third week of March 1972 an estimate of the aims
and possibilities of the COSVN in their attempts to attack the area of respon-
sibility of the 5th Division and III Corps and MR3. As far as aims were con-
cerned, three points needed to be mentioned:

• A communist attack against the III Corps would be imminent during
the spring or early summer months, although the exact timing was
unknown. This was an important element that required further
assessment and evaluation. Eventually, the enemy launched its
“offensive on the night of 30 March in MR-1, on 31 March in the
B-3 front [MR-2], and on 1 April in western MR-3…. We [U.S.
intelligence] had expected the offensive to begin around 20–25
February…. The earlier timetable was delayed due to B-52 and tac-
tical air strikes, Island Tree interdiction, allied preemptive ground
operations, and the high state of alert of allied forces.”6
• From the prisoners of the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 69th A
Div/VC and documents of large communist units retrieved from
the bodies of communists, the attack would be a combined infantry,
artillery and tank attack on the cities of Bình Long. We knew all
about the communist infantry units, except for the newly formed
Bình Long Division. The 69th Artillery Division had been renamed
the 70th Artillery Division and augmented with artillery and anti-
aircraft guns. It had received ammunitions from North Vietnam
through waterways, from the south of the Khone Falls on the
Mekong River then into the Chllong River in the province of Kratie
in Cambodia.
The presence or absence of enemy tanks in the area of conflict
had raised an important but puzzling question for us. Yet, despite
a very thorough search in Vietnam as well as in Cambodia, we were
unable to physically document the presence of any tank. Although
this failure had been one of our most important intelligence failures
under my watch, General Hưng was prepared to deal with them
should they show up on the day of attack. Troops had been armed
and trained with anti-tanks guns as we shall see later on. General
Thi had reported that Colonel Vinh had told him in 2006 that “roar-
ing noises of tank engines” had been heard and “underwater bridges
56 INSIDE AN LOC

built with logs were discovered in certain stream locations on the

Song Be River.”7 Back in 1972, we did investigate all these leads,
which turned out to be non-conclusive. Prisoners did not give out
any important information, except for the fact that COSVN was very
strict about keeping a tight schedule for receiving guns and ammu-
nition that were transported on barges on the Mekong River on
Cambodian soil. All the artillery guns and ammunition had been
received on commercial ports on the Chllong River at a predeter-
mined time for each night. There were no daytime transactions on
any of these commercial ports, and all the vestiges of any night
transactions had been eliminated. I believed that the NVA trans-
ported tanks from North Vietnam via the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to
Khone Falls where they were camouflaged then loaded onto barges
that brought them on the Mekong River to ports on the Chllong
River every night for at least three months before “D” Day. Tanks
were then hidden in tunnels carved on the side of mountains that
abutted the river. Therefore, despite using all available technologies
and manpower, like air surveillance, air photography, informers,
and recon agents who were dropped in Cambodia disguised as NVA
soldiers in an attempt to detect the presence of any tanks, we were
unable to find pipelines, tank tracks on the Cambodian soil. We had
not left any stone unturned and had even explored another area.
The Vietnamese-Cambodian border in the forested area at the end
of the Trường Sơn mountain range on the northern end of the prov-
inces of Bình Long and Phước Long to Kratié was full of mountain
roads and bridges that were used by trucks carrying logged wood.
If these trucks could pass through mountain roads, then tanks could
too. This fact had worried me a lot. I still believe that tanks were
being transported by barges on the Mekong River although I could
not prove it. We no longer had air support and could not bomb tar-
gets in the Cambodian territory. However, I had marked all the
bridges that crossed falls or rivers so that we could bomb and
destroy them in case of an attack on An Lộc.
• Although I could not identify the exact timing of the attack or find
tank tracks, I believed the attack would occur in late spring or early
summer 1972. The 2nd Bureau of the III Corps thought so too. The
J-2/JGS/RVNAF had also found warnings of an imminent attack,
although the timing and date were unknown at that time. In the
MR3, I informed General Hưng that the communists intended to
take over one of the two provinces, either Bình Long or Tây Ninh,
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 57

to show off the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South

Vietnam (PRGSV), which was led by Nguyễn Hũu Thọ, Trịnh Đình
Thảo, Huỳnh Tấn Phát and propped up by Lê Duẩn and the Com-
munist Party. The appearance of the PRG was necessary for the
North Vietnamese to prove to the world that they were holding
some territory in South Vietnam while the dialogue between
Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ took place in Paris. Which of the two
provinces was the main target and which one was the decoy
remained to be determined. Both these provinces were under the
control of General Hưng.

In my estimate, Bình Long was the main target for the communists in
order to show off their PRG; therefore, the battle would take place in Bình
Long. The main reason was cultural and religious in nature. The province
of Bình Long was a newly formed province under the First Republic. It com-
prised three cities: Lộc Ninh in the north, An Lộc in the middle and Chơn
Thành in the south with a total provincial population of 60,000 people. The
latter was heterogeneous and came from all over the country except 4 percent,
or 5,000 people, who were from the Stieng minority. More than 75 percent
of the people worked for the huge rubber plantations at Lộc Ninh, Quản Lợi,
Xa Cam, Xa Cát, and Xa Trạch, and 10 percent were merchants. The remain-
ing people were government officials, military personnel, and their families.
Geographically, Bình Long sat along the main axis of Highway 13. In
Cambodia, Highway 13 joined Route 7 at Snoul; from there, it went south-
ward, crossed the border, entered the towns of Lộc Ninh, An Lộc, and Chơn
Thành in succession, then Bến Cát of Bình Dương, and finally ended up in
Thủ Dầu Một of the same named province. In South Vietnam, the north-
south Highway 13 sat in the middle of the province, about 15 to 18 kilometers
from two rivers: the Saigon River on its western side and the Bé River on
its eastern side. The rubber plantations thrived between the two rivers. The
northeast and northwest of Lộc Ninh contained huge forests of precious
wood with large tree trunks spaced out about 4 to 5 meters from each other
through which tanks could easily roam without being detected. Kratié, a
Cambodian province north of Phước Long, and Bình Long formed the
COSVN den from where the communists could direct the battle. From Bình
Long, they could control the battlefield in South Vietnam more easily.
On the other hand, the Tây Ninh Province with a population of 300,000
people shared the same border with Sway Rieng of Cambodia at the Parrot’s
Beak. The latter housed an important complex of communist bases that
served as depots for guns and ammunition shipped from North Vietnam many
58 INSIDE AN LOC

years earlier. After General Đỗ Cao Trí became commander of the III Corps
and MR3 until February 1971, these bases had been totally destroyed and not
yet repaired except for bases along Route 7 on Cambodian soil on the north
end of Tây Ninh. In case of a major attack, the communists could only move
on Route 22 all the way to Tây Ninh. On the east and northeast, the grass
was dry or marshy, with open spaces that were susceptible to ground shelling
or bombing by VNAF. The most important element was the population, which
was very homogeneous and four times larger than that of Bình Long, with
70 percent of them being from the Cao Đài sect.8 The latter were fiercely
anti-communist and had battled against the communists in the 1940s and
1950s. Years of warfare had hardened these Cao Đài making them fierce
fighters. Also, the locals had settled in the area for many generations that
dated back to the time when the lords Nguyễn from central Vietnam began
their expansion and conquest of the south in the 17th century. Therefore, a
battle in this province would lead to the destruction of Tây Ninh and cause
a lot of anger and resentment from the populace. Besides, North Vietnam
was fighting for real estate, for a place to show off its provisionary govern-
ment. Since land grabbing was the main objective, the fewer people who
stood in the way the better it was.9 From these geographical and demographic
conditions, Tây Ninh might just be a decoy area and Bình Long the real tar-
get.
General Minh, commander of the III Corps and MR3, believing in these
estimates, reshuffled his forces and gave additional ones to General Hưng’s
5th Division. An airborne brigade was sent to Chơn Thành and opened an
offensive at Bến Than. The TF-52 of the 18th Division/ARVN was reassigned
to the Hùng Tâm bases as noted above.
Some authors, Vietnamese and American, have erred when they wrote
that Colonel Lê Nguyễn Vỹ was General Hưng’s deputy. This was not correct.
As mentioned earlier, when the battle of An Lộc broke out, Colonel Vỹ was
General Minh’s operational assistant, a title he held when he was reassigned
to the III Corps following his tactical disagreement with General Hưng. Once
General Minh agreed with the assumption from Lieutenant Colonel Trần
Văn Bình, chief of intelligence staff of III Corps and MR3, and mine, that
the communists would attack Bình Long, he decided to move his Forward
Operational Command Headquarters from Tây Ninh to An Lộc. He therefore
sent Colonel Vỹ and an engineering platoon to An Lộc to organize the place
in order to eventually house the III Corps’ Tactical Operations Center (TOC).
The place where Colonel Vỹ had reorganized in the city of An Lộc was
a row of houses with concrete walls facing Nguyễn Huệ Street and a small
villa located behind the row of houses. A large underground bunker, which
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 59

lay beneath the garden behind the villa, was left behind by the Japanese after
World War II.10 This garden was surrounded by barbed wire and lay next to
the administrative building of the Bình Long Province, which was the former
headquarters of a Special Forces unit.
When the battle of An Lộc broke out, General Minh’s Operational Com-
mand had not moved to the bunker yet, although Colonel Vỹ was already
there. When the Forward Command Post of the 5th Division/ARVN, located
by the train station area in a bunker built with sandbags by the division engi-
neers,11 was heavily damaged by enemy rockets and mortars on the first day
of the attack, Colonel Vỹ and the staff of the division had suggested to Gen-
eral Hưng to move his headquarters to the labyrinth of underground tunnels
described above. The communists, therefore, did not know the exact location
of General Hưng’s new command center in the city after the move. At one
time, one of the enemy battalions was just one street away and attacked the
area furiously, although they did not know which unit was resisting them.
This was how close the victory could have gone to the other side. Two T-54
tanks drove by the command headquarters, and when they tried to turn
around, Colonel Vỹ shot at one of them point blank, blowing it up. For three
months, rockets and mortars had been falling on the old command center
that faced the province chief’s compound, ripping it apart and eventually
flattening the whole area. Had the divisional headquarters stayed there, the
victory again could have gone to the other side; but luckily no rocket fell
directly on General Hưng’s new command center. Although westerners do
not believe in these signs, Asians do. General Hưng and his staff were twice
close to being wiped out, although the war gods had favored them and helped
them survive the ordeal.
My report to General Hưng suggested that the NVA would use known
units stationed in Cambodia, like the communist COSVN’s 5th, 7th, and 9th
Divisions as well as the 429th Sapper Regiment, the revamped 69th Artillery
Division and the Bình Long Division. According to my estimate, the enemy
would have two strategic options when planning their attack of Bình Long
with the use of a total force of 40,000 to 45,000 troops, infantry and artillery
units.
The first strategic option was the “concentration attack” strategy—Tập
Tấn—during which enemy forces would concentrate most of their forces on
one target at a time, jump to the next one on Highway 13, then mass their
units for the final assault on An Lộc. If the enemy adopted this strategy, they
would use one division to attack the 5th Division/ARVN units on the northern
end of Highway 13 such as the 74th Ranger Battalion and the 1st Armored
Cavalry unit at Alpha base and Lộc Tấn intersection at the same time as the
60 INSIDE AN LOC

1/9 Battalion at Bố Đức on Route 14A. At the same, they would use another
division along with tanks to attack the 9th Regiment headquarters, the 53rd
Artillery Battalion, and the headquarters of the Lộc Ninh Sub-sector that
stood along the road parallel to the Lộc Ninh airfield runway. They would
be protected by the 70th Artillery Division with their well-known motto:
“Artillery first, then infantry.” The third division would block the northern
end of Highway 13, between the Cần Lê Bridge and Lộc Ninh District.
Another regiment would block Route 14A between Lộc Tấn intersection and
Bố Đức District and at the same time attack Quản Lợi Airfield to prevent
reinforcements from coming in from Saigon. The 70th Artillery Division
would also support the local guns and directly target An Lộc to neutralize
the ARVN 5th Infantry Division. After taking care of the small targets in the
district of Lộc Ninh, COSVN would mass two divisions, a sapper unit and
an artillery unit to attack An Lộc while a third division would ambush on
Highway 13 south of the rubber plantation Xa Trạch and north of Chơn
Thành.
The second option was to use the “dispersion attack” strategy—Tản
Tấn—during which enemy forces would simultaneously attack three sites:
Lộc Ninh, An Lộc and Lai Khê. The first attack on Lộc Ninh would comprise
an infantry division supported by strong artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, and
a sapper battalion attacking two sites: first, the headquarters of the 9th Reg-
iment, the 53rd Artillery Battalion, and the town of Lộc Ninh; the second
site would include the 1st Armored unit and the 74th Ranger Battalion at
base Alpha and the Lộc Tấn intersection. These small bases would be flat-
tened by artillery first before the infantry launched its attack. The second
attack would take aim at An Lộc, which at that time had only two battalions
of the 7th Regiment patrolling the outskirts of this capital city of Bình Long
Province. The defense also had two companies of Regional Forces (RF) sta-
tioned at the nearby Windy Hill and Hill 169 and two other companies inside
the city—also called military sector. The communists would use an infantry
division, two artillery regiments, an anti-aircraft regiment and two sapper
battalions. They would also attack the units at the airfield and at the Quản
Lợi plantation. The third attack would focus on the headquarters of the 5th
Infantry Division at Lai Khê and use a sapper battalion to destroy the reserves
and ammunition while artillery would level the area. An infantry regiment
supported by an anti-aircraft battalion would block reinforcement on Route
13, south of Lai Khê.
Luckily, when the communists launched the so called “Nguyễn Huệ”
campaign, they adopted the concentration strategy and focused on the periph-
eral bases in the district of Lộc Ninh before attacking An Lộc.
 III. Prelude to the Bình Long Battle 61

Had they chosen the second option and applied their strategy dương
đông kích tây, or “show up in the east and kick in the west,”12 for three con-
secutive days, especially with the assistance of tanks, the South Vietnamese
units in III Corps and MR3 would have crumbled in disarray; unable to
reshuffle units around fast enough, An Lộc would have fallen on the third
day. The nail having been placed on the coffin, the ARVN, even if they were
willing, would not be able to retake An Lộc. If they pulled major units like
the Airborne Division, the Marines, and the rangers to protect the distraught
Saigon, they would lose Kontum and Quảng Tri. Had they moved two divi-
sions from the Mekong Delta, the IV Corps would have been in disarray too.
Using their motto “fast forward, fast victory” at that time, communist
leaders simply did not think clearly enough, whether it was Võ Nguyên Giáp,
Văn Tiến Dũng, or the party in Hanoi. The main reason was that they were
so confident in their anti-aircraft SA-7 missiles and the most modern artillery
guns, and their Russian T-54 and PT-76 tanks, that they abandoned their dis-
persion attack technique and simply used the concentration attack strategy
or the Chinese communists’ “human wave” tactic. They did not believe that
the powerful U.S. Air Force and the ARVN that had matured with time would
blow them away. Using the mass invasion strategy simply meant losing the
battle in this case.
 IV

The Fall of Lộc Ninh

The first attack fell on Lộc Ninh, a tiny district town on the northernmost
end of Bình Long Province, although diversionary attacks were launched
somewhere else.

Diversionary Attacks on Southern

Bình Long
What I had predicted about the communist attack on the III Corps and
MR3 that summer had been presented to General Hưng; and my counterpart,
Lieutenant Colonel Trần Văn Bình, had also presented his report to General
Minh. Of course, we both had given private communications to these two
commanders earlier. They later had discussed among themselves and their
staff and in the end had suggested the above-mentioned troop reinforcements.
ARVN units were thus ready and prepared for the attack that summer.
What was missing was that the Forward Operational Command of III
Corps had not moved yet to An Lộc when the attack broke out. General Minh
was at that time still at his general headquarters in Biên Hòa and would later
move his forward command post from Tây Ninh to Lai Khê, the main base
of the 5th infantry Division, to coordinate the battle during the subsequent
months.
It should be remembered that if any province in the III Corps and MR3
had been lost, Saigon would have become jittery and Washington might have
been in disarray because the Vietnamization of the war had not been com-
pleted yet. The U.S. internal politics would have become feverish when the
elections would take place later that year. In that aspect, had General Nguyễn
Văn Minh won the An Lộc battle, he would be the hero who had saved not
only An Lộc, but also Saigon and Washington by extension. And Nixon and
Kissinger would have thanked General Minh.

62
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 63

However, when the attack occurred, there were rumors in Saigon and
Washington that the ARVN was caught by surprise. The reason behind the
rumors was the following: At 02:00 hours on 31 March, the communists fired
rockets at all the bases belonging to the TF-49 unit of the 18th Infantry Divi-
sion along Route 22 from the forward base of Xa Mat at the Vietnamese-
Cambodian border to Thiện Ngôn on the northern end of Tây Ninh. Defenders
of the base of Lạc Long, in particular, who were unable to withstand the bar-
rage of attacks, decided to withdraw all their forces, about a battalion of
infantry, artillery and tanks. On their retreat route to Tây Ninh, they fell into
an enemy’s ambush and suffered heavy casualties.
That morning, General Minh ordered General Hưng and me to meet
him at the forward command post in Tây Ninh. When we arrived, Lieutenant
Colonel Bình, the chief of the 2nd Bureau of III Corps and MR3, was already
waiting for General Minh in the waiting room of the commander’s office at
the Forward Operational Command headquarters. General Minh, who flew
in from Biên Hòa, walked straight into the room without shaking anyone’s
hands, including General Hưng. We followed General Minh who, sternly
looking straight at Bình and me, exploded: “What kind of intelligence is
that? They have already destroyed the 49th Regiment. What do you think?
What will happen next?”
Lieutenant Colonel Trần Văn Bình (presently in California), who before
1971 was the chief of the Intelligence Operational Branch of the Joint Intel-
ligence Staff of the Joint General Staff of the RVNAF (J-2/JGS/RVNAF), was
an expert intelligence officer who knew exactly the level of communist forces
in both North and South Vietnam. He calmly explained to General Minh that
COSVN would still attack Bình Long and An Lộc. The attack the night before
on Route 22 was just a decoy.
Luckily, at that time an officer of the S-2 III Corps and MR3 walked
in and presented to Lieutenant Colonel Bình documents that a unit of the
49th Regiment had retrieved from the dead bodies of the communists during
their attack on the base. The documents revealed that the attacking commu-
nist unit belonged to the COSVN’s C30B Division, newly formed in Tây
Nguyên—Central Highland—and later renamed the Bình Long infantry unit.
Absent from the battlefield were the communist 5th, 7th, and 9th Divisions
that were most likely getting ready for the next attack. After reading these
documents, General Minh calmed down and appeared to trust Bình’s report.
However, he requested that General Hưng return the airborne brigade that
had been assigned to the 5th Division/ARVN and was operating at Bến Than,
west of Chơn Thành. Helicopters picked up the airborne brigade in the after-
noon and dropped it close to Route 22, which was its next target. Another
64 INSIDE AN LOC

unit of the 18th Div/ARVN and a ranger unit were also sent to the area. Gen-
eral Hưng was also told to return the TF-52 unit stationed at Hùng Tâm and
to get the 7th Regiment of the 5th Division/ARVN, which was operating out-
side An Lộc, ready if needed to be transferred to Tây Ninh the following
day depending on the progress of events on Route 22.
But things turned out quite strangely that morning. After attacking the
TF-49 base, all communist units withdrew out of the area without collecting
their trophies or removing the bodies of their dead comrades. General Minh’s
reserve units which were brought into the battle did not fire any shots or find
traces of enemy forces. On the second day of April, Route 22 in Tây Ninh
was considered safe for travel. From that day until 3 April, the whole III
Corps and MR3 was quiet without any gunshot. This frightening silence
foretold a violent storm that was about to ride in.
It turned out that these were only diversionary attacks that helped to
hide the movement of the 5th, 7th, and 9th NVA divisions into Bình Long.
The 5th Div/VC positioned itself north of Lộc Ninh, the 9th Div/VC around
An Lộc, and the 7th Div/NVA close to Highway 13 south of An Lộc. The
main aim was on An Lộc itself, although the ARVN leadership did not know
about it at that time.

Attack on Lộc Ninh

Things that should happen eventually happened. The communist Ngu-
yễn Huệ campaign in the III Corps and MR3 soon began.
In 1972, Lộc Ninh was a small district of 3,000 inhabitants, most of
them ethnic Montagnards who worked for the rubber plantations. A local
airfield sat half a kilometer west of Highway 13 with the 9th ARVN Regiment
headquarters located close by, although its forces were scattered throughout
the area. There were three small compounds parallel to the airfield: the sub-
sector headquarters compound, the artillery battalion firebase, and the reg-
iment’s headquarters at the southern end of the airfield. The FSB Alpha was
10 kilometers northwest of Lộc Ninh. A smaller force of five armored per-
sonnel carriers and a single M-41 tank were left at the junction of Highways
13 and 14 about four kilometers north of Lộc Ninh.1
In the early morning of 5 April, at 03:00 hours, my phone rang. At the
other end of the line was General Hưng. He told me that Colonel Nguyễn
Công Vĩnh, commander of the TF-9, reported that the 9th Regiment head-
quarters, the 53rd Battalion firebase and the headquarters of Lộc Ninh
Sub-sector were massively shelled and most likely being attacked. The 3/9
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 65

Battalion, which was operating south of Lộc Ninh, was ordered to return to
its base and was followed closely by enemy forces. The 1st Armored Cavalry
Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dương and the 74th Ranger
Battalion at Lộc Tấn and FSB Alpha were also shelled heavily. General Hưng
ordered me to come immediately to the division’s Tactical Operations Center
(TOC). He added, “They have already attacked. The campaign has begun.”
When I arrived at the TOC, the 3rd Bureau chief (operations) Lieutenant
Colonel Trịnh Đình Đặng was already there. General Hưng came in a few min-
utes later. I then heard that earlier, when ordered to go on operation, the 3/9
Battalion heard tanks roaring on the west side of Route 137, which linked High-
ways 13 and 7 across the forest, from the Cambodian border toward Lộc Ninh.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dương, commander of the 1st Cavalry
Battalion, stated that none of his tanks’ engines were turned on at that time.
Therefore, communist tanks had been active in Lộc Ninh’s battle zone. This
fact embarrassed me and caused me to feel ashamed of my limitations while
General Hưng continued to receive report that Lieutenant Colonel Dương’s
units were heavily shelled. If they remained in place, they would either suffer
major damage or be annihilated. Lieutenant Colonel Dương was ordered to
move his armored unit out of base Alpha and Lộc Tấn intersection; at the
same time, the 2/9 Battalion, which was operating in the northwest of Lộc
Tấn, was ordered to accompany the 1st Cavalry Battalion and to return to
the headquarters of TF-9 at the Lộc Ninh District. However, Lieutenant Col-
onel Dương could not execute the order at that time, because it was still dark
and the armored battalion, the rangers and the 2/9 Battalion were still being
heavily shelled. The 1/9 Battalion was also shelled at Bố Đức District. All
these details had been reported to the division’s TOC. General Hưng himself
would like to report these events straight to General Minh but could not con-
tact him on any audio or telephone system from that time until 09:00 hours
of 5 April. Of course, all other generals and officers at III Corps and MR3
had similar difficulty communicating with General Minh.
When General Hưng was able to connect with General Minh, he was
flying in the airspace over Lộc Ninh. In his helicopter, besides General Hưng,
were Colonel William Miller, U.S. adviser to the division; Lieutenant Colonel
Phạm Trọng Phùng, the division artillery commander; Lieutenant Colonel
Trinh Đình Đăng, the chief of staff of operations S-3 (Thủ Đức Academy
Class 5, like General Hưng and myself; he was promoted colonel after the
battle and presently resides in California); and me, chief of staff, intelligence
S-2. We all wore combat helmets equipped with headphones in order to listen
to communications between General Hưng and unit commanders on the
ground, and General Minh and other officials.
66 INSIDE AN LOC

Earlier, when his helicopter flew over Lộc Ninh, General Hưng had
received a report from Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dương that his
armored unit was moving on Highway 13 when it was ambushed south of
Lộc Thạnh Hamlet. He asked for permission to destroy four 105 mm and two
155 mm artillery pieces in order to move faster and lighter. General Hưng
agreed only after they direct-fired on the enemy before destroying them. The
procedure consisted of lowering the elevation of the artillery tubes and firing
directly into the enemy. Of course, the orders had been encoded before being
transmitted. A while later, Lieutenant Colonel Dương reported back that
although the orders had been executed, he could not still move to Lộc Ninh
because of enemy ambush. General Hưng ordered him to go back to the Lộc
Tấn intersection, wait for the 74th Ranger Battalion, and regroup the two
forces together before moving forward to liberate Lộc Ninh. The reconnais-
sance company of the 9th Regiment, which was also placed under the com-
mand of Lieutenant Colonel Dương, was ordered back to Lộc Tấn. All units
executed the order. However, around noon, the 3/1 Armored Company with
accompanying infantry unit broke through the ambush and moved to Chùm
Bao close to Hill 177, roughly one kilometer from Lộc Ninh, but could not
move further because it was surrounded and attacked by enemy troops. Lieu-
tenant Colonel Dương could only communicate by wireless telecommuni-
cation.
When he finally got in touch with General Minh, General Hưng made
his report. He was immediately dissed by General Minh—the first time during
the An Lộc battle. General Minh’s words sounded clear and loud. “What
kind of fight was that? Nothing major has happened yet, and you have already
decided to pull back?”
He then hung up leaving General Hưng surprised. Obviously General
Minh had not understood the overall picture and the gravity of the situation
at Lộc Ninh, which would unfold within the next few hours. Everyone in
the helicopter sat quietly and looked saddened following the exchange. Only
the loud motor engine kept roaring. The divisional helicopter soon had to
leave the Lộc Ninh airspace to let South Vietnamese airplanes move in to
bomb NVA soldiers who were attacking the TF-9 base. After the planes did
their job, General Hưng’s helicopter turned back toward Lai Khê for refu-
eling.
A while later, Colonel Miller, the division’s U.S. adviser, asked, “What
did General Minh say, 45?”
Although General Hưng’s code name was 45, he did not answer. No
other officer in the helicopter had the courage to answer for him because
there were certain things that an ARVN officer could not disclose to a U.S.
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 67

adviser. These “things” were personal in nature and had nothing to do with
war or strategy. The relationship between General Minh and his subordinate
General Hưng being a personal topic, the officers would simply refuse to
discuss it with an adviser, although a stranger who is not blood related, like
Colonel Miller. There was no offense intended because they simply believed
that dirty laundry should not be aired in public.
This attitude has to do with “face,” which is a Chinese concept that has
been around for millennia. Other Asians, the Vietnamese included, have
adopted that concept and made it their own. Face in Asia often symbolizes
the “soul,” the personality of a person. Saving face is therefore crucially
important to Asians and is akin to the English “preserving honor, prestige,
good name, or reputation.” Since being yelled at by one’s boss could lead
to a loss of prestige or reputation in Asia, not talking about it would seem
to be a natural way to preserve someone’s “face” in public.
Westerners, on the other hand, are not too sensitive about the issue of
“losing face.” Being more open than Asians, they see “yelling” as a way to
express their anger, their disapproval about something or somebody. There-
fore, yelling has become a fairly common process in certain milieus to the
point of being considered normal. As such, a westerner does not take it as
personally as an Asian does. Being more pragmatic, he just accepts it and
moves on. This is part of the cultural environment.
While a westerner may interpret silence as an attempt to hide or cover
something, an Asian would see it as a time to draw down, an attempt to help
someone save his face. For the Asian, not talking about something does not
mean hiding; it is a civil way to avoid embarrassing someone. Again, personal
things need to be dealt with on a personal level, not in public. And there
were many such personal “things” during the battle of An Lộc that General
Hưng could not disclose to Colonel Miller. This cultural difference eventually
may have led to bigger misunderstandings between the two officers during
this important battle.
After refueling, the helicopter took off again and flew over Lộc Ninh,
but at 3,500 feet to avoid intense enemy anti-aircraft missiles. In the after-
noon, General Hưng communicated directly with his commanders on the
ground, listened to their report and called for immediate air assistance when-
ever needed. He had the talent of directing air attack right on enemy positions
that were one street away from ARVN positions or ordering an air strike on
fixed positions without looking at maps, especially while flying in a heli-
copter. He could do that because on the map he used daily, he had already
marked the coordinates of important locations, like intersections, bifurcations
of streets or rivers, villages, high-rise buildings, and important strategic
68 INSIDE AN LOC

positions. He remembered all these coordinates in the territory under his

control. In our daily report with him, we had to be careful about naming
positions and coordinates; otherwise he would correct us. He would tell us
that the coordinates we had given him were incorrect, and this turned out to
be true on many occasions. This method of remembering important positions
seemed very neat and useful for commanders. It allowed them to retaliate
rapidly to the enemy’s attacks either through artillery or bombing or to direct
and move troops rapidly and precisely, especially when they were airborne.
General Hưng had done this since he was a regiment commander at the
ARVN 21st Division. While working with him, I had tried to acquire this
technical feat, although I was not always successful.
However, in all the battles that occurred that evening as the VC hung
onto unit wings of ARVN forces—from the TF-9 bases to those of the 53rd
Artillery Battalion—or to units moving to join a new gathering site, like the
74th Ranger Battalion, 2/9 and 3/9 Battalions, and the 9th Reconnaissance
Company, General Hưng was unable to save them all. First, air force planes
reported that anti-aircraft artillery was so intense that they could not support
moving units except fixed bases along the runway of Lộc Ninh airfield. Sec-
ond, enemy forces were rather large. Defense forces had effectively pushed
back repeated enemy attacks, and airplanes had supported them rather effi-
ciently. Units at the level of companies or platoons had either been over-
whelmed or withdrawn and dispersed. The Lộc Ninh market and church had
been taken by the enemy. Enemy shelling continued into the night and
resulted in heavy casualties. Defending forces were frightened by the inten-
sity and the barrage of the shelling. The fixed and visible positions of ARVN
105 mm and 155 mm howitzers made them sitting ducks for enemy guns.
Enemy units executed orders in a strict but rigid manner. In one exam-
ple, the COSVN’s 70th Artillery Division shelled the 1st Armored Cavalry at
Lộc Tấn the night before until the latter unit moved out of its base. Then it
suddenly stopped shelling as if its mission had been accomplished. In mid-
afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Dương who had contacted all the units under
his command, ordered them to move toward Lộc Ninh in a two-wing for-
mation across the plantation and parallel to Highway 13 but avoiding its use.
After two unsuccessful attempts, Lieutenant Colonel Dương ordered with-
drawal back to Lộc Tấn to rest for the night. That night was peaceful as they
were not shelled like the night before.
On 6 April, Lieutenant Colonel Dương proceeded again to advance to
Lộc Ninh using a two-wing approach. The first wing was composed of the
1st Armored Cavalry with 60 tanks and trucks of all kinds including 14
M-41s and M-113s along with two 155 mm and four 105 mm howitzers. The
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 69

second wing consisted of the 2/9 Battalion and 9th Reconnaissance Com-
pany.
The first wing, under the direct command of Lieutenant Colonel Dương,
did not use the west side of Highway 13 like the day before, but crossed the
forest deep on the eastern side and then swung back to Highway 13 at the
level of Hill 150 north, which lay on the east side of the road but south of
Highway 13 and south of Hill 177. These two hills were about one or two
kilometers southwest of Lộc Ninh. Hill 150 south sat to the southeast of Lộc
Ninh and about two kilometers from Hill 150 north. The day before, when
the VC came down from Hill 150 north to take over the market, the church
and the local police station, other enemy units also came down from Hill
150 south to attack the headquarters of TF-9, the 53rd Artillery Battalion,
along the airport runway. The second wing supported the first one on its
eastern side and swung back to Highway 13 to attack Hill 178.
Had the two ARVN wings been able to control Hills 150 north and 178
on both sides of Lộc Ninh, airplanes would have had an easier task of bomb-
ing Hill 150 south where a large enemy contingent used to attack the ARVN
units along the airport runway, thereby decreasing the pressure while waiting
for reinforcement. That was General Hưng’s strategy when he ordered all
units under Lieutenant Colonel Dương to pull out of Lộc Tấn to move to
Lộc Ninh.
Things, however, did not turn out well. When Lieutenant Colonel Dương
moved out to Highway 13, it was 08:00 hours. The leading 1/1 Armored Com-
pany, whether by error or because of another reason, moved out of the forest
at Chùm Bao close to Hill 177—at the same place where the 1st Armored
Cavalry was ambushed the day before—instead of close to Hill 150. While
tanks moved up the hill, enemy troops as numerous as ants ran downhill,
waves after waves, and almost eliminated the 1st Armored Cavalry and the
74th Ranger Battalion. In the helicopter above the Lộc Ninh Region, General
Hưng could not communicate with Lieutenant Colonel Dương for many
hours afterward. When he relayed the news to General Minh, the latter
sneered at him for the second time during this battle.
It was later known that at the battle at Chùm Bao on 6 April, ARVN
units were attacked by the VC full 5th Division and the 95B Regiment that
came down from the highlands to reinforce the Bình Long units. They had
taken Lieutenant Colonel Dương and other officers prisoners.
The second wing was composed of the 2/9 Battalion and the 9th Recon-
naissance Company under the leadership of Captain Nguyễn Quang Nghi.
From Lộc Tấn, they moved deeper into the forest and took over Hill 178 on
the east side of the Lộc Ninh village. Captain Nghi was a well-known battalion
70 INSIDE AN LOC

leader who had led his battalion and 1st Lieutenant Thái Minh Châu’s recon-
naissance unit all morning but was unable to move up Hill 178 because of
the enemy’s superior number. In the afternoon, General Hưng communicated
with Captain Nghi and after receiving his report told him to abandon the
objective on Hill 178 and to turn around and look for Lieutenant Colonel
Dương’s units. He followed Highway 13 but could not get into the area where
Lieutenant Colonel Dương was located. In the evening of 6 April, Captain
Nghi reported that his units had reached the market of Lộc Ninh although
they had suffered heavy casualties. Apparently, only a small portion of the
unit had arrived at the market; the remaining forces had been harassed by
enemy forces all night.
The base of the Lộc Ninh Sub-sector, the 53rd Artillery Battalion, and
the headquarters of TF-9 unit of Colonel Nguyễn Công Vĩnh were heavily
shelled on the night of 5 to 6 April. The TF-9 base at the end of the runway
was heavily damaged and the underground emergency unit had collapsed
killing almost all its staff. At daytime, the NVA launched repeated attacks
that were repulsed. The reason why this unit was still active was because
the close bombing by aircraft on enemy troops near the high earthen wall
had protected the unit. The NVA units had also suffered high casualties. The
53rd Artillery Battalion base of Lieutenant Colonel Thông was heavily dam-
aged. All the artillery tubes were hit at close range. Although the number of
wounded at these two units was high, no medical helicopter, U.S. or Viet-
namese, could land on the runway to pick them up because of heavy enemy
shelling.
The 3/9 Battalion operating on the south side of the district, although
harassed by the Việt Cộng, reported that evening that they had arrived at the
southeast side of the runway, on the border of the rubber plantation. General
Hưng told them to remain there to protect the outskirts of TF-9 base camp
and to let only one company enter the base to bolster Colonel Vĩnh’s forces
and another platoon to assist the 53rd Artillery Battalion. The rest of the
battalion remained outside, including the 2/9 Battalion and the 9th Recon-
naissance unit. Enemy shelling continued overnight, and by 04:00 hours,
communication with Captain Nguyễn Quang Nghi, commander of the 2/9
Battalion, and 1st Lieutenant Thái Minh Châu of the 9th Reconnaissance
Company was lost. The second wing of the units on the northeast of the dis-
trict that were withdrawn to Lộc Ninh had ceased to exist. General Hưng
lost almost 2,000 troops, more than 80 tanks and armored cars, and 20 105
mm and 155 mm artillery guns. A dark veil fell over the career of General
Hưng.
On the evening of 6 April while having dinner with General Hưng in
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 71

the forward command post of the 5th Division at An Lộc (fortified but above-
ground and overlooking the residence of the province chief; we had not yet
moved to the underground unit being set up by Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ), he
recounted to me his life as a soldier from the time he was a 1st lieutenant
serving under General Minh at the 21st Infantry Division/ARVN from 1964
to 1968 and how he won battles and praises from General Minh who then
took him under his wing, nurtured him until General Minh became com-
mander of the III Corps, and elevated him to commander of the 5th Division
and then general. During all this time, General Minh never had any harsh
word for him. General Hưng told me,
Dưỡng, this battle is a dangerous one; life and death could occur at any time.
From the same class and unit under Teacher Chiêu, I am a general now while
none of you has become Lieutenant Colonel yet. Having achieved a great
deal, death seems a natural happening for me. As for you, there is no need to
stay here. Go back to Lai Khê tomorrow and send Captain Bé here to me.
Captain Trần Văn Bé was my deputy and chief of the Military Intelli-
gence Detachment (MID) unit of the division. After 1973, he was elevated
to major and transferred to Định Tường Province where he became Section
2 chief of the sector. In 1976, he escaped from the VC reeducation camp at
Suối Máu, Biên Hòa, where he was kept and was caught along with a captain
of the Military Security Directorate. That afternoon, right after these two
officers were shot to death, the sky suddenly darkened followed by thunder
and storms. Prisoners at the Suối Máu camp remembered the day when sky
and earth wept when innocent people were unjustly killed.
I did not answer right away and thought lengthily about General Hưng’s
suggestion. A moment later, I told him about my firm decision not to return
to Lai Khê, but to remain there in An Lộc. The dinner was sad because we
had lost a lot of troops during the last few days. I had my share of respon-
sibility because I had underestimated the huge enemy forces stationed on
the Cambodian territory, at the Fish Hook, the gathering place of all NVA
and COSVN’s units and at bases along the Chllong River of the Kratie Prov-
ince of Cambodia.

Final Hours of Lộc Ninh

The next day, 7 April, was a crucial one for Lộc Ninh.
Early in the morning around 06:00 hours when soldiers in front of the
base camp of the ARVN 9th Regiment saw four T-54 enemy tanks rolling
toward them, they got scared, although there was no infantry attack like
72 INSIDE AN LOC

many days earlier. Coming just a few days after the initial attack, the tanks
immediately raised concern for the defenders. They rolled on the hilly route
while shooting at the hill base. For the average Vietnamese soldier, each T-
54 tank looked like a monster, for it dwarfed all other tanks he had seen
before; it was almost twice as tall as he was and moved around with a great
deal of loud clanking, grinding and roaring. The impressive tank was 6.45
meters long, 3.37 meters wide, and 2.40 meters high and weighted 36 tons.
It was powered by a 580-horsepower V-12 engine and could move as fast as
48 kilometers per hour (30 mph). The main gun shot a 100 mm shell that
could penetrate up to 0.30 meters of armor a kilometer away. It also had a
12.7 mm coaxial machine gun besides the main gun.
Colonel Nguyễn Công Vĩnh relayed the news to his staff in his under-
ground bunker. He then notified the headquarters of General Hưng: this was
his last report before his staff and U.S. advisers to the unit escaped from the
base in an attempt to join the 3/9 Battalion that was stationed outside the
base at the beginning of the airfield runway. Of course, they were caught by
the enemy before they reached their target. Lieutenant Colonel Thông, com-
mander of the 53rd Artillery Battalion running toward the 3/9, was also held
prisoner.
Inside the 9th Regiment base camp, Major Trần Đăng Khoa, deputy
commander, took over the command in the absence of Colonel Vĩnh and
reorganized the defense. Defenders aimed and shot at the incoming tanks
with an M-72 light anti-tank weapon (LAW), apparently with no effect as
the T-54 continued to roll forward. Why did ARVN soldiers at Lộc Ninh not
have any success with the M-72 rocket launchers while their counterparts at
An Lộc were able to kill many T-54 tanks with the same launchers, as we
shall see later? This may have to do with the fact that the M-72 was incapable
of consistently piercing the sloped frontal armor on the Soviet- and Chinese-
built tanks used by the NVA. This has happened before at Lang Vei in 1968,
Bến Hét in 1969, and during the Lam Sơn 719 campaign in Laos in 1971.
As enemy infantry swarmed into the base, Major Khoa called General
Hưng and reported that he had lost contact with Colonel Vĩnh and that enemy
tanks were outside the compound, while ARVN soldiers were battling with
NVA soldiers above the bunker. General Hưng; Lieutenant Colonel Đăng,
3rd Bureau; Lieutenant Colonel Phùng, artillery commander; 2nd Lieutenant
Tùng, General Hưng’s aide-de-camp; and I, who were sitting in the command
helicopter, heard the message, except for Colonel Miller, who did not under-
stand what was happening. Although he asked, no one answered because
they were busy following the tragic events that were unraveling on the ground
beneath them.
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 73

Major Khoa said, “Please drop bombs on my head. They are overrun-
ning the base and shooting at the underground TOC. Please 45, do not hes-
itate.”
“Roger, Khoa; this is 45. I hear you well and will do as you wish. I’ll
take care of your family.” General Hưng answered. These were Khoa’s last
words,
“Thanks and good-bye, 45,” followed by a loud noise.
General Hưng’s face reddened and tears ran down his face. We all shed
tears. General Hưng switched to another frequency and requested the VNAF
to bomb TF-9 base as well as enemy forces that had overtaken the base.
When he asked for the bombing, he knew more than anyone else his own
drama. When airplanes bombed the overrun base, General Hưng made his
report to General Minh and was sneered for the third time—this one badly.
Before getting into his helicopter that morning, General Hưng ordered
the TF-52 commander of the two bases at Hùng Tâm north of the Cần Lê
Bridge to move his two battalions to the intersection with National Route
13. Contrary to the presumption or supposition of writers who thought that
General Hưng ordered the TF-52 unit to head to Highway 13 then to liberate
Lộc Ninh, he only told him to move his troops to Highway 13 to set up a
defense line north of the Cần Lê Bridge. Close by were stationed two com-
panies of the 5th Division, one from the 2/9 Battalion and the other from the
1/7 Battalion, and two companies of RF of the Bình Long military sector
with six artillery guns under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Hòa.
It was only that morning that General Hưng received the report that the
9th Regiment base camp had been attacked by tanks. It was the first time
that the presence of PAVN tanks had been officially confirmed. Therefore,
he wanted to set up another line of defense north of the Cần Lê Bridge and
about eight miles north of An Lộc. General Hưng after losing contact with
the 1st Armored Cavalry the day earlier had no hope of freeing the pressure
on An Lộc.
However, events on the battlefield were different than what was expected.
The TF-52 unit had not reached Highway 13 when it encountered heavy
enemy fire from the NVA 5th Division and the 95th Regiment that had
ambushed and destroyed the ARVN 1st Armored Cavalry the day before.
Before the afternoon of 7 April when General Hưng’s command helicopter
from Lộc Ninh flew over Cần Lê, the TF-52 unit reported that it encountered
heavy fighting on Route 17 but could not receive artillery support because
of the risk of firing on friendly forces. General Hưng told them to try to
withdraw to An Lộc without trying to get to Highway 13.
74 INSIDE AN LOC

What Really Happened in Lộc Ninh?

Contrary to what was mentioned earlier, the American side had a dif-
ferent story about the loss of Lộc Ninh which was related by U.S. Captain
Smith as follows: On 6 April, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Bá Thịnh, com-
mander of TF-52 at Hùng Tâm, sent a battalion to link up with the besieged
garrison at Lộc Ninh. It was ambushed and had to withdraw back to its base.
On 7 April, the TF-52 unit was ordered to withdraw to An Lộc as well
as the two companies at the Cần Lê Bridge. They encountered heavy enemy
attack. Thịnh and three U.S. advisers were wounded. On 8 April, U.S. hel-
icopters supported by closed tactical strike succeeded in extracting all three
advisers. TF-52 continued its withdrawal and arrived at An Lộc later with
only half of its effective force of 1,000 troops.2
The situation in Lộc Ninh was desperate by noon after enemy tanks
launched an attack on TF-9 compound in the early hours of 6 April. The 9th
Regiment held out with close air support. Attacks continued in the night
when enemy artillery and rockets hit the hospital bunker killing wounded
troops. The ammunition depot was destroyed. Another ground attack was
repulsed.
At 07:00 hours on 7 April, the NVA launched another attack. One enemy
tank was destroyed at the base perimeter. Based on Captain Smith’s account,
the only U.S. survivor from Lộc Ninh to tell the story, Colonel Vĩnh, the 9th
Regiment commander, rushed out of the compound gate at 08:00 hours to
surrender to the enemy. The executive officer hoisted a white shirt as a sign
of surrender. But according to Captain Smith, he subdued him, ran the national
flag up the pole, and told everyone to go back to fighting.3
The attack continued and caused major damage to the remaining troops
of the 9th Regiment, although a few bunkers still held on. Smith and his
group held on until 18:30 hours when they abandoned their compound and
ran south. Smith was caught and held by the enemy in a camp in Cambodia.
He was released on 12 February 1973 as part of the provisions of the Paris
Accords. He later received the Distinguished Service Cross for Valor for his
actions in Lộc Ninh.4 His account, however, was not free of controversy as
“Smith and the army are at odds about what happened that day [7 April] in
the bunker.”5 A few other advisers held on in the district bunker until 8 April,
when they too tried to escape, but without success.
From the South Vietnamese side, Colonel Vĩnh was the other survivor
to tell his story. In a telephone interview with General Lâm Quang Thi in
2006, he denied having surrendered to or colluded with the enemy; his exec-
utive officer did not hoist a white flag on the compound flagpole on 7 April.
 IV. The Fall of Lộc Ninh 75

He was instead captured when his compound was overrun by the enemy and
then taken to the NVA campaign headquarters in the district of Mimot in
Cambodia where he met Lieutenant Colonel Dương, the TF 1-5 commander.
They were then blindfolded and transported to a prisoner camp deeper inside
Cambodia.
Released in 1973 following the Paris Agreements, he continued to serve
at the ARVN headquarters in Saigon until 1975 when the communists sent
him to various communist reeducation camps in North Vietnam for a total
of 13 years. This was the second time he landed in communists’ hands. We
have a picture of an elderly Colonel Vĩnh clothed in a pair of black pajamas,
exhausted and worn out by the years in the toughest reeducation camps of
the country,6 when he emerged from the Saigon train station in 1988 flanked
by his wife and middle-aged son who had come to pick him up. Would a
man who had colluded with the enemy serve a 13-year imprisonment and be
in such a sorry physical state? While he was first jailed by the communists
in Lộc Ninh, western writers had written bad reports about him. Years after
his release, he immigrated to the U.S. through the ODP program and settled
in Southern California. He was hard of hearing and subsequently wrote to
General Thi,7
I commanded a unit responsible for the defense of the border. I was defeated
and feel very ashamed. If people say I am weak, I accept that; but don’t
blame me for what I have not done.
Until today, it appears that the chapter on Lộc Ninh on the afternoon
of 7 April 1972 had not been completely clarified except that many troops,
U.S. as well as Vietnamese including Major Trần Đăng Khoa as mentioned
above, had valiantly defended their positions until the end.
General Thi, who had analyzed the Lộc Ninh battle, wrote,
The rapid collapse of Lộc Ninh was due in great part to his failure of leader-
ship. [Facing an imminent attack on MR3] Vïnh had failed to take necessary
actions to reinforce the district town. He should have, for instance, secured
the section of Route 13 north of Lộc Ninh and recalled the mechanized Task
Force back to the district earlier to shore up the defense of the district. On the
other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Dương, the TF 1–5 commander, in my opin-
ion, had failed to take appropriate precautions when he received the order to
return to Lộc Ninh on 5 April.8
General Hưng and his operational staff were in the air above Lộc Ninh
on 7 April 1972 and were monitoring the events that happened to ARVN units
on the ground that day. The loss of Lộc Ninh deeply affected General Hưng.
He thereafter vowed to sacrifice his life to defend An Lộc against the com-
munists.
76 INSIDE AN LOC

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Ngọc Ánh, former assistant

for Operations to General Minh, gave the following tally for the battle of
Lộc Ninh9:
Enemy: 2,150 KIA (killed in action).
2 T-54s and 1 PT-56 destroyed.
ARVN: 600 KIA, 2,400 captured.
38 M-41s and M-113s destroyed or captured.
8 artillery howitzers destroyed or captured.
In Lộc Ninh, the communists clamped down immediately. On 8 April,
all government officials and teachers were rounded up. The head of the local
Self-Defense militia along with a sergeant and another militia man were
publicly executed: they were shot outright without even the benefit of a “peo-
ple’s court.” The rest arrested as “enemies of the people” were trucked to a
secure base in Snoul, Cambodia. The communists then ransacked homes and
plundered offices of both government officials and plantation employees.
Among the most prized booty were half a dozen black-and-white television
sets confiscated by the victorious NVA. They were sent to COSVN in Cam-
bodia where high-ranking officials and cadres closed out each work day by
watching a program broadcast by Saigon.10
In the II Corps on 30 April 1972, after the town of Dak To fell to the
communists, Colonel Stephen Bachinski, the Kontum Province adviser,
wrote,
Stories of VC atrocities continue to pour in from those Highland tribesmen
who survived the long trek through the jungle from Dak To and points south:
clergy murdered; village officials with throats slit; families of U.S. employees
killed and slogans posted over their homes; young boys and girls separated
from their families and taken into the jungle; and refugees being held force-
fully by the NVA in obvious ambush positions in order to avoid B-52 strikes.11
General Creighton Abrams wrote to U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin
Laird,
Enemy staying power is his complete disregard for the expenditure of
resources, both men and materiel, and second on discipline through fear,
intimidation, and brutality. An enemy decision to attack carries an inherent
acceptance that the forces involved may be expended totally.12
The atrocities committed by the NVA forces were innumerable, exces-
sive and known to the whole world. That was how they were able to conquer
South Vietnam.
 V

Crucial Decisions
Made to Save An Lộc

Major Decisions on Highway 13

In the afternoon of 7 April, as General Hưng’s helicopter flew over the
northern end of the Cần Lê Bridge before leaving the area, a long convoy
of what appeared to be trucks was seen moving along the Bé River parallel
to Highway 13. What was unusual was the presence of what looked like com-
munication antennas that only the headquarters of the NVA or large VC units
had while handling emergency operations. Suspecting enemy forces, General
Hưng immediately called the air force to strike the convoy. It was a total hit.
While returning back to the sky above Cần Lê, the TF-52 unit reported
that it was able to cross the southern end of the bridge, although with heavy
casualties. Above Highway 13, although flying as high as 4,000 feet, we then
saw a group of people heading toward the Cần Lê Bridge followed by a col-
umn of 20 tanks. Both General Hưng and Colonel Miller thought they were
tanks, although they could not be completely sure that these were NVA tanks
or those of the 1st Armored Cavalry of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Đức
Dương that had lost contact the day before. Desiring a confirmation, General
Hưng called the 1st Armored Cavalry on its frequency but got no response.
Once more, General Hưng made another important decision. In his mind, he
was afraid that these NVA tanks were rushing south to attack An Lộc using
their famous strategy, “Once victorious, keep moving forward.”
On one hand, he called VNAF to strike a column of soldiers and tanks
on Highway 13 about eight kilometers north of the Cần Lê Bridge. He then
told me to draw two B-52 boxes on the western side of the Bé River and to
give them to Colonel Miller to request bombing that evening or night. He
commanded Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Hòa, commander of the bridge

77
78 INSIDE AN LOC

area, to immediately destroy the steel support of the bridge. Under ideal cir-
cumstances, it would be better to totally destroy the bridge. He also ordered
Lieutenant Colonel Hòa to shell the northern section of Highway 13 each
time aircraft left the area to prevent any enemy troops from moving south
on that highway, and if the enemy attack was too strong, to destroy the
canons. The destruction of the bridge was carried out, and although it was
not totally destroyed, the spans of the bridge were damaged to the point that
tanks could not roll through.
When he returned to his command post in An Lộc and the helicopter
flew back to Lai Khê for refueling, General Hưng went to his TOC to report
to General Minh. At that time, Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ was not there, while
Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm, operational chief of staff of the division, was direct-
ing the move of the division’s forward command post from its former location
to the new one because the night before and that morning, many shells had
been falling on the periphery of the former command center. It was suspected
that the enemy knew of its location.
Prior to getting into his old command center, General Hưng told me,
“I’ll be sneered at again.”
Correct. It was not a simple sneer but a full frontal attack. The staff
furtively left the room as no one wanted to witness the coming storm. I
stayed around because of my friendship with General Hưng. General Minh
declared that destroying the bridge was like leaving children behind in Lộc
Ninh, with no means to return, especially the 1st Armored of Lieutenant Col-
onel Dương. It is possible that the column on the northern side of Cần Lê
Bridge was the 1st Armored Cavalry, which had 60 tanks, armored cars,
trucks and a thousand soldiers; and losing contact did not mean total destruc-
tion of the unit. Acting like that was like killing your own sons. General
Minh thought General Hưng had made hasty decisions without consulting
with his superior.
General Hưng just listened without saying a word because what General
Minh said might sound logical. He did not have any reason to argue back to
his superior, who also was his teacher, except for the fear that the NVA would
be attacking An Lộc that evening. If his assessment were correct, he had
saved An Lộc from falling into enemy hands that morning. But he dared not
argue back. He accepted his perceived “failure” and made up his mind about
his future.
Out of the operation room, he grimly walked to the dining mess without
uttering a word. When the cook set up the table, General Hưng just asked
for water. So did I. How could one eat in such a condition? The losses were
high. In a slow but firm voice, he repeated his decision to hold An Lộc at
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 79

all cost and sadly commented that his career as general was over. On his first
battle as a general, he had lost a lot—almost more than one-third of his divi-
sion. The biggest loss of all was that of his mentor’s confidence. General
Minh had always trusted his battle leadership until now. Once more, he
ordered me to go back to Lai Khê and send my deputy to him.
I told him right then that we had the 5th Reconnaissance Company with
several long-range reconnaissance groups that had just withdrawn for other
sites. As these troops were battle savvy, they would be glad to protect him.
They knew the terrain, were experts in moving through forested areas day
or night, traveled easily on all kinds of terrains, hills, valleys, and rivers,
and were led by savvy and battle-hardened officers. If General Hưng wanted
to kill himself after the loss of An Lộc, we would take his body to the forest,
douse it with fuel, burn it, and carry his ashes to Lai Khê in two weeks. I
was determined to remain in An Lộc and stay alive to carry his body away.
I later notified Captain Dương Tấn Triệu; 1st Lieutenant Lê Văn Chánh, com-
mander of the reconnaissance company; and 1st Lieutenant Nguyễn Đức
Trạch, aka poet Trạch Gầm—the son of writer Tùng Long—who were trusted
officers in charge of secret missions in zones controlled by the Việt Cộng in
the divisional area. These three excellent officers were close and reliable
friends.
After dinner, General Hưng gathered his staff for a meeting: Colonel
Trần Văn Nhựt, Bình Long province chief; Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ, General
Minh’s operational deputy; Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân, 7th Regiment
commander; U.S. advisers at the divisional and military zone levels; the
leadership staff of the forward command post; and Lieutenant Colonel
Nguyễn Văn Biết, commander of the 3rd Ranger Battle Group that had been
sent to An Lộc as a reinforcement unit. The latter had lost a few officers
when their plane was hit by a missile on landing.
This meeting took place at the unique above-ground villa in the new
headquarters area at 14:30 hours on 7 April after the two Arc Light boxes
had been executed by the U.S. Strategic Air Force on the northern side of
the Cần Lê Bridge as requested. At that time, the 1/7 Battalion had withdrawn
from the Quản Long Airfield and the 2/7 and 3/7 Battalions, 7th Reconnais-
sance Company, had also pulled back to the north and northeast of An Lộc
City while the headquarters of the 7th Regiment had settled down in the
administrative buildings of the province. Only the TF-52 unit and the mixed
unit of Lieutenant Colonel Hòa had not withdrawn completely, besides a
few units that had crossed rivers and arrived at An Lộc. The 7th Reconnais-
sance Company and an intelligence team of the division were welcoming
these people and waiting for the rest of the unit.
80 INSIDE AN LOC

Arc Light was the code name for the massive attacks carried out by B-
52 Stratofortress bombers throughout the course of the Vietnam War. The
bombers that flew in groups of three B-52s each positioned themselves to
ensure their bombs would saturate the target area. Each aircraft was loaded
with 84 500-pound bombs carried internally and 24 750-pound bombs under
the wings. Two cells (six bombers) would deliver 360,000 pounds of high
explosives in a period of a few minutes. Each box would target a specific
area of half a mile long and a quarter mile wide.1 However, when President
Nixon insisted that the B-52 fleet supporting the Vietnam War be increased,
SAC deployed some of the B-52G fleet that had a significantly smaller con-
ventional bomb load. There was no way for the person on the ground to be
able to identify the different models or which model was flying a particular
mission. The effect of the Arc Light would be almost the same for the soldier
on the ground: it was deadly and frightening. Every living thing was shocked
senseless or killed, giant trees were shredded and torn apart, and pulverized
rock covered the whole area with a gray powder.

Defensive Setup at An Lộc

After I presented the battle results of the last few days, division losses
at Lộc Ninh, and estimates on the battle of that night and the night after,
Lieutenant Colonel Đăng listed the positions of the various units protecting
An Lộc according to the directions and specifications of General Hưng. Posi-
tions were temporary until reinforcements arrived at the scene.
• The 1/7 Battalion and 7th Reconnaissance Company were positioned
on the north end of town with 2/7 Battalion at its left. They would
leave this position once the TF-52 unit had returned and move left
to occupy the northeast section of town. If the TF-52 unit were
severely damaged, it would stay behind the 1/7 Battalion.
• The 3/7 Battalion would occupy the western position.
• The 3rd Ranger Battle Group took over the eastern zone.
• The south would be under the control of the PSDF, which also con-
trolled the Windy Hill and Hill 169 on the southwest of town.
Two important issues were raised at this meeting.
First, General Hưng asked that Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt (who later
became brigadier general and commander of the 2nd Infantry Division), as
province chief, requisition all available trucks and other commercial buses
in the province. The 7th Battle Group of Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 81

would then use these vehicles as defensive shields to block Highway 13, the
road coming from Phú Lố on the west side of town, and the route coming
from Quản Lợi airfield. This decision was made because there was no time
and no building materials to erect heavy defensive fortifications in these
areas. Without these blockades, the enemy would reach the center of town
and the forward command post without difficulty.
Second, he asked that Colonel Nhựt advise civilians to evacuate the
town because of a potential communist attack. Only essential officials would
be kept such as those dealing with water, electricity, and health care, to avoid
a wasteful loss of civilian lives.
Colonel Nhựt, with his usual subtleness, did not comment on or argue
about these two decisions but later did talk in private to General Hưng. He
argued that the decisions made would ultimately affect the morale of the
people, and therefore he would present them to General Minh and the civilian
delegate of the government.2
General Hưng then left for Lai Khê, the permanent headquarters of the
5th ARVN Division to discuss the defense there with his deputy, Lieutenant
Colonel Lê Thọ Trung, and to resolve personal family matters regarding his
staying in An Lộc. When General Hưng returned to An Lộc in the late after-
noon, the town had been shelled a few times and a few hundred civilians
had been transported to the local hospital for care. On the north end of town,
which served as a commercial zone and town market, soldiers from the 9th
Regiment of the 5th Div/ARVN along with civilians from Lộc Ninh began
to trickle in. The TF-52 unit after fighting against the enemy west of the Cần
Lê Bridge had also arrived at An Lộc; it was positioned north of town. Units
of the 7th Regiment of the 5th Div/ARVN had been moving trucks and huge
commercial buses to set up a defensive shield on Highway 13 according to
General Hưng’s orders but without the consent of the province chief.
Around 20:00 hours in the new underground command post, General
Hưng was rebuked by General Minh, the fifth and last time before the official
battle began, about the requisition of private trucks and buses to shore up
the defense of An Lộc. The matter had been brought up to General Minh by
Colonel Nhựt. But General Minh made no decision whatsoever—whether
to approve or cancel the order—except rebuking General Hưng. One had to
acknowledge the wise decision and military acumen of General Hưng who
had correctly estimated the importance and severity of the battle that would
unfurl in the following days and had made proactive and good decisions that
a wise commander should have made on the battlefield. He would bravely
accept any untoward consequence resulting from his decisions in front of
his superior. As events unfolded rapidly with each succeeding minute or
82 INSIDE AN LOC

second on the battlefield, it would be difficult for a general to fight a war

and report to his superior at the same time. Although deeply saddened fol-
lowing his discussion with General Minh, he changed frequency and called
Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân, commander of the 7th Regiment to inquire
about the progress of setting up a defensive barricade on Highway 13.
At 21:00 hours that night, General Hưng and Colonel Miller rode in a
jeep to see Lieutenant Colonel Quân, commander of the 7th Regiment on
the northern periphery of town. I followed them in a second jeep with Captain
Triệu, a 2nd Bureau member, and a few aides. While General Hưng and Col-
onel Miller made the tour of the defense perimeter with Lieutenant Colonel
Quân, I went to the security and reception unit where soldiers and civilians
who ran away from the town of Lộc Ninh were processed. After one hour
of discussion with soldiers of the 9th Regiment, the 53rd Artillery Battalion,
and the TF-52, I began to realize that General Hưng had been correct in his
assessment of events at the Cần Lê Bridge.
First, civilians running away from Lộc Ninh stated that they heard NVA
tanks rumbling down Highway 13 followed or preceded by soldiers holding
their AK-47s and B-40s and marching toward the Cần Lê Bridge. The VNAF
airstrike on this column had been effective and deadly as NVA soldiers had
to stop to care for the dead and wounded while leaving alone civilians who
were hiding in ditches. Had the airstrike not taken place, the enemy column
would have easily reached and attacked an unprepared An Lộc. They would
have killed or held hostage the civilians to prevent them from warning An
Lộc defenders.
Second, the 52nd Task Force unit had battled with enemy soldiers on
provincial Route 17 after pulling out of the Đồng Tâm bases. It had gunned
down many NVA soldiers, although many more soldiers showed up. But
after B-52 bombers dropped bombs down on the requested areas close to the
Bé River, north of Cần Lê Bridge, enemy troops withdrew from the area
leaving the rest of the task force free to return to An Lộc.
Third, many local Stiengs (minority highlander) living on the banks of
the Bé River had seen columns of NVA soldiers walking through their lands
toward an elevated and large area close to the river. In the morning when
the soldiers pulled up their antennas, the Stiengs, fearing for their lives, ran
away toward the highway in the direction of An Lộc. Later they saw small
planes dropping bombs, then larger planes dropping larger bombs on the
enemy column. They also believed that the bombing had saved them.
From the information gathered, I believe that the assessment of the
progress of the battle—NVA mounting a forced march to attack An Lộc on
7 April, when the defenders had not had the chance to set up their defense—
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 83

was accurate based on the experience of General Hưng. Therefore, his rapid
decisions on Highway 13, Bé River and Cần Lê Bridge had saved An Lộc in
its most critical moments and changed the course of the An Lộc battle right
then and of the war in Vietnam in the following two years. Had An Lộc
fallen on 7 April 1972, what would have remained of Saigon? What would
Washington have thought and how would it react? In which direction would
the “Vietnamization” strategy of Kissinger-Nixon that was in its latest stage
be heading to? Losing An Lộc on 7 April would have dealt a deadly blow
to the Government of South Vietnam, and the ARVN had to fight to protect
Saigon. Where would Saigon find troops to reinforce Quảng Tri and Kontum?
Would the U.S. be forced to reenter the war? Since Washington had made
its decision not to reenter the war, that would have been the end of South
Vietnam then. That early loss would have dealt a huge moral defeat for the
U.S. Therefore, General Hưng’s wise and rapid decisions marked not only
one of the deciding moments in the Vietnam War, but also saved Saigon and
Washington. Had he earned his reputation as one of the most brilliant generals
of South Vietnam? If even many insiders had not grasped the complexities
of what had occurred before the official battle of An Lộc began, outsiders,
no matter how famous they were, who based on this or that person’s com-
ments wrote about the An Lộc battle without seeing it, would easily have
committed errors.
In summary, these were General Hưng’s decisions:
1. Order the bombing and destruction of an NVA divisional command
headquarters on the western side of Bé River.
2. Order the 52nd Task Force to move out of the Hùng Tâm bases to
Highway 13 and to set up a defensive perimeter north of the Cần Lê Bridge.
Although the move had not been completed in time, it held up and prevented
another enemy divisional unit from mounting a surprise attack on the bridge.
This battle gave enough time for the ARVN unit at Cần Lê to fire at the
attacking unit and blow up the bridge.
3. Order the bombing and destruction of an infantry and tank unit that
planned to mount a surprise attack after a forced march on the Cần Lê Bridge
and subsequently on An Lộc.
4. Order Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Hòa to destroy the Cần Lê
Bridge to prevent NVA tanks and infantry from moving south and attacking
An Lộc at a time when its defense was not yet organized.
That night, the 5th Div/VC was no longer heard on the communication
system of COSVN or the operation headquarters of the Nguyễn Huệ campaign
until a week later following a report from the 5th Technical Company of the
84 INSIDE AN LOC

5th Div/ARVN (this is a telecommunication unit belonging to the 7th Joint

Staff of the Joint General Staff of the RVNAF (J7/JGS/RVNAF) that inter-
cepted and dissected orders and news from COSVN and translated all the
coded messages for the division’s 2nd Bureau to evaluate and assess. Each
division had such a telecommunication unit. With news coming from the 5th
Technical Company and from soldiers and civilians returning from Lộc Ninh,
we knew exactly that the advanced operational headquarters of the 5th
Div/VC had been destroyed and the tank and infantry unit that rushed to
attack An Lộc had suffered major casualties on 7 April following VNAF
airstrikes and U.S. Air Force B-52 bombings.
Since the official attack on An Lộc occurred only on 13 April, during
the next six days and five nights, the enemy indiscriminately shelled the
town of An Lộc. The 5th Div/VC moved out of the battle zone on Highway
13 into the secret zone Bến Than, then followed the Saigon River to Dầu
Tiếng where it reinforced its unit’s strength from troops of the C30B Div/VC
(or the C30B Div. of the COSVN) in order to return to the An Lộc battlefield.
The newly formed C30B division which had once used troops from the 9th
Div/VC had fought against the 49th TF/ARVN on Route 22 on 31 March
1972. After that battle, the C30B Div/VC left the area of Tây Ninh to move
to the Saigon River area where it operated from Bến Than on the eastern
side of the province of Bình Long to the east of Lai Khê all the way to Bời
Lời. It attacked all the bases along the Saigon River from the Tống Lê Chân
base to Bến Than.
Once reinforced, the 5th Div/VC returned to An Lộc after the town was
first attacked by the 9th Div/VC, the NVA’s 202 and 203 Armored Regiments,
on 13 April. As for the much-weakened C30B Division, it received order to
attack posts on the periphery of the Bình Dương Province at the battalion/
company level, not at the divisional/regimental levels as before. Failing
there, it picked up new recruits along the Vàm Cỏ Đông in mid–May and
moved to Trảng Bàng and Gò Dầu Hạ. In this area, it attacked Hiếu Thiện
and planned to cut off Route 22 to isolate Tây Ninh but was beaten by the
ARVN 25th Infantry Division, following which it moved to the Parrot’s Beak
area to reinforce itself another time.
The COSVN attack on An Lộc on 7 April had to be delayed because its
5th Division/VC had suffered casualties and the 202 and 203 Armored Reg-
iments were stuck at the bridge. Therefore, General Minh not only did not
lose An Lộc that day, but was also able to reinforce General Hưng with new
troops. From that time on, General Hưng was viewed as a brilliant general
who had defeated the NVA during the summer of 1972 in his area of respon-
sibility.
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 85

General Minh had an excellent perception of men that allowed him to

select the right person to protect the country in times of upheaval. Although
he could get irritated or criticize an officer for the way he moved troops in
a difficult and challenging situation in the beginning, all of this was not
important. General Minh was overall a good leader whom I have always
respected, although I believe his good nature and blind trust of his inferiors
had been taken advantage of and abused by a few other persons.

Political Implications of the Summer

Attacks
To understand the important roles of the generals on the battlefield of
the III Corps and MR3, one has to note the overall spring–summer 1972
campaign of the communists in South Vietnam. One also has to evaluate the
position and role of Washington in this important battle in the context of the
whole Vietnam War.
After the huge battles between the ARVN and the NVA in Laos and
Cambodia in 1971, renowned observers knowledgeable about the world sit-
uation and the war in Vietnam had come to the conclusion that the war was
about to end at any price, but not as a “peace with honor” as Nixon and
Kissinger had always stated. At that time, these two men only considered
Vietnam as a sideshow in a larger political context that the Nixon Republican
government needed to solve if they did not want the Democrats to win the
elections in November 1972. Observers mentioned that Kissinger had almost
defeated the ARVN with the scheme of wasting troops in the Laos and Cam-
bodian battlefields after executing his Vietnamization project. From there
on, the war would end because South Vietnam would be like a crab without
its claws. Kissinger also believed that North Vietnam would land in this
same situation.
From July to December 1971, northern and southern troops had suffered
massively to the point of no longer being able to fight each other for six to
seven months until 1972. During that period, the Paris talks dragged on. Dis-
cussions between Lê Đức Thọ and Kissinger went nowhere. The magician
Kissinger, although having considered South Vietnam as a sideshow, had
pulled out such a masterful trick that even South and North Vietnam were
left surprised and fearful; the deeply worried Soviet Union welcomed Nixon
but delayed the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talk (SALT) on 22
May 1972. A few months earlier, Kissinger had set up the show with Nixon
flying to Peking to meet Chou En Lai, the prime minister of Communist
86 INSIDE AN LOC

China on February 1972. Everyone knew that an ultra-secret settlement of

world order was about to happen. What happened there was anyone’s guess.
The Soviet Union obviously saw a threat to itself in this high-level meeting.
Lê Duẫn, Lê Đức Thọ, and Phạm Hùng had criticized the “Renovation” of
Nikita Krushchev before the IX Central Committee Meeting of Communists
and secretly followed China, although they did not let anything showing on
the outside. Lê Đức Thọ, who controlled everything on the inside—security
and all the material support of the international communists—began purging
members in the Politburo and army.
At that time, the government of Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, although afraid of
Kissinger’s maneuvers, could not do anything, except trust its U.S. benefac-
tor.
The following two factors had forced Hanoi to act within a time frame
because otherwise they would cause Hanoi some serious damage.
On 26 March 1972, the Soviet Union defense minister Marshal Pedoro-
vich arrived in Hanoi with a large military contingent to review the whole
process of attacking South Vietnam. He had also seen the goals of the White
House about Vietnam and given Deputy Prime Minister Podgorny in Decem-
ber 1971 clearance to discuss the process of attacking the South while prom-
ising to supply Hanoi with advanced tanks, T-54, T-55 and PT-76, as well
as 130 mm and 150 mm artillery guns, fighter planes MIG-19 and MIG-21,
anti-aircraft 23 mm and 57 mm guns, anti-tank rockets AT-3 Sagger, surface-
air missiles SA-7 Strela against planes like transport, and attack helicopters.
All these armaments were transferred to Hải Phòng in huge quantities over
many months only after Hanoi had completed its summer attack.
November 1972 turned out to be the election month of the U.S. presi-
dent, congressmen as well as leaders of the executive and legislative branches
of the states. This important election strongly affected world events while
the U.S. was still waging war in Vietnam. If the Democratic Party won, the
U.S. would have pulled out earlier. Therefore, Hanoi needed to defeat South
Vietnam before the elections in order to have a chance to defeat Nixon.
Although South Vietnamese intelligence, civilian as well as military, was
aware of this fact, it could not assess the intensity of the upcoming battle
and its timing because only the U.S. knew about the magnitude of communist
armament shipments to the port of Hải Phòng and the degree of troop infil-
tration through the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. However, on the political side, Wash-
ington made strong announcements when Nixon declared on 4 April, “The
bastards have never been bombed like they’re going to be this time.”3 He
then ordered U.S. Air Force to support ARVN forces to the maximum, includ-
ing the use of B-52 bombers throughout the 1972 Fiery Red Summer conflict.
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 87

The NVA had gone through full mobilization during which 16-year-old
youths were sent to the three main fronts in Quảng Trị in the I Corps and
MR1, Kontum in the II Corps and MR2, and Bình Long in the III Corps and
MR3. During this major offensive, Hanoi had shipped approximately 200,000
troops to the South, not including transportation and support forces that
accounted for twice or thrice the number of offensive troops. This was equiv-
alent to 14 infantry divisions, 4 artillery and air defense divisions, 4 to 6 cav-
alry regiments, and 26 specialized units at the regimental level. Overall close
to 22 divisions equipped with the latest Soviet and Chinese armaments were
thrown into the three fronts in Quảng Trị, Kontum, and Bình Long. Each
battle front was potentially dangerous. However, if one province in MR1 or
MR2 were lost, the impact on the remaining country was not really critical.
It had been estimated that even if the NVA won in both I and II Corps fronts,
South Vietnam could still survive from Nha Trang southward. However, had
Bình Long or Tây Ninh been lost, the situation would be critical because of
the close proximity of Saigon. Therefore, the Bình Long front was utterly
critical to the survival of South Vietnam.
The Hanoi-led “Total Offensive of the Fiery Red Summer of 1972” was
placed under different NVA leaderships:

• the battlefield of Trị Thiên (south of the DMZ) under the direct com-
mand of Hanoi;
• the Central Vietnam battlefield was divided into the highland battle-
field under the command of the communist B3-Front or the NVA
III Military Region (a communist corps-sized command level) in
the Central Highland and the shoreline battlefield under the com-
mand of the communist B-5 Front or the Fifth Military Region (also
a corps-sized command level); and
• the South Vietnamese III Corps and MR3 and IV Corps and MR4
under COSVN command. The latter after having taken control of
Lộc Ninh but failing to attack An Lộc on 7 April had to postpone
the attack until 13 April.

General Hưng to Defend An Lộc to Death

Back to the An Lộc battle zone, after General Hưng had ordered the
destruction of the Cần Lê Bridge (not Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt as mentioned
in some papers), its spans were severely damaged. Under the support of the
31st Ranger Battalion—recently sent to An Lộc for reinforcement—the 52nd
88 INSIDE AN LOC

Task Force unit at the Cần Lê area was able to return to An Lộc with 400
able troops. The situation was not as grim as earlier in the morning. Lieu-
tenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Hòa’s units at the Cần Lê base which comprised
a company of the 2/9 Battalion, two RF companies, 256 and 257, were able
to withdraw to An Lộc in the afternoon after destroying two 155 mm and
four 105 mm howitzers because of lack of available trucks to pull them out.
On 7 April, the 3rd Ranger Battle Group of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Biết had been flown in to reinforce An Lộc. It included the 31st, 36th,
and 52nd Battalions comprising more than 1,500 troops. Lieutenant Colonel
Biết, the battalion and its company commanders were battle-hardened offi-
cers.
The next day, General Minh reinforced An Lộc with the 8th Regiment,
which was part of the ARVN 5th Division and included the 1/8, 2/8 and the
8th Reconnaissance Company with a total of 850 troops under the direction
of Colonel Mạch Văn Trường. The 3/8 Battalion had been kept in Lai Khê
to protect the division headquarters and the forward command post of the
III Corps. However, during the whole battle, the 8th Regiment (-) was under
the command of Major Huỳnh Văn Tâm. When the regiment arrived at the
north end of town close to the Đồng Long Airfield, Colonel Trường standing
in front of his forward command post watched his troops settle in their posi-
tions. A Dodge 4 × 4 running over an M-72 rocket in the far distance caused
an explosion, and a fragment of shell got lodged into the soft tissue of Colonel
Trường’s shoulder. I did not remember which shoulder was injured, because
the injury was insignificant. Dr. Hùng, commander of the 5th Medical Bat-
talion of the division after evaluating and examining the wound reported to
General Hưng that there was no bony or tendon injury. But the colonel
requested to remain at the divisional headquarters for treatment. General
Hưng with bonhomie smiled and gave him his small room—reserved for the
division commander—at the end of the underground tunnel. He also ordered
Dr. Hùng to come and care for the wound every day. For more than two
weeks, he did not use that space, which was the safest in the compound, but
turned it over to the colonel as a place to stay. General Hưng and Colonel
Miller had to use two cots placed at the entrance of the tunnel with a small
table between the cots serving as the operational table for the two men. This
area became the center of operations. Close by was a long table used for the
telephone and other communication gear. Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ, Colonel
Bùi Đức Điềm, Lieutenant Colonel Trịnh Đình Đăng, Dr. Hùng, I and three
or four other essential officers set up our cots on the side of the large table.
General Minh had also received from the RVNAF General Staff the 1st
Airborne Brigade and then the 21st Infantry Division to free the VC blockade
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 89

at Tàu-Ô Stream on Highway 13 north of Chơn Thành. This blockade was

not the usual type seen at the company or battalion level at other battlefields;
it was a defensive rampart deep and wide on both sides of and on Highway
13 itself with deep and sturdy foxholes, especially on top of the two hills
that dominated all this area. The place was a former sturdy U.S. battalion
base. The blockade was manned by the NVA’s 7th Division (7th Div/NVA),
a battle-hardened unit equipped with all kinds of armaments, including anti-
aircraft artillery guns and SA-7 surface-air missiles. This 7th Div/NVA had
bypassed An Lộc to reach this assigned area while the 5th Div/VC was run-
ning down highway 13 to attack Cần Lê and An Lộc. It was successful in
cutting off Highway 13 at Tàu-Ô causing An Lộc to be encircled as of 10
April.
On 9 April, a group of journalists from the Saigon daily newspaper
Sóng Thần, including Dương Phục, Thu Thủy, and Nguyễn Tiến, flew to An
Lộc to interview General Hưng. I was, however, assigned to meet them.
General Hưng told me to relay to them that he was busy conducting an oper-
ation and therefore unable to meet with them. He stated that he would “defend
An Lộc to death. He would take his own life if the town were lost.” He
allowed me to let them know about enemy forces. Among the reporters,
Dương Phục and Thu Thủy were my friends during the 1970–1971 campaign
in Cambodia under General Đỗ Cao Trí. And I stressed to them the words,
“Defend An Lộc to death,” as the general had told me. What General Hưng
meant was that he had vowed he would not be captured alive. The next day,
10 April, everyone in Saigon and the provinces knew that General Hưng
would defend An Lộc to death when the newspaper hit the streets.
He again reiterated his pledge of “not letting the enemy capture him
alive” when the enemy tanks were closing in on his command post on 13
April.4 With this challenge, the NVA responded with another challenge of
their own which the 81st Commando Group found on 5 May following a
shootout with NVA attackers:

In the pocket of each dead body, the commandos found a small piece of paper
inscribed with the following words: “At all costs, capture the 5th Division
commander alive, raise the flag of victory.5

On 12 April, President Thiệu visited Lai Khê, the forward command

post of the III Corps, to survey the battlefield situation and to stress his role
as commander-in-chief. From there, he told senior officials in An Lộc by
radio that “district capitals might be abandoned, but provincial capitals were
to be defended at all costs.”6 Colonel Miller commented that for President
Thiệu, An Lộc was “a Bastogne, a place where a stand and die defense would
90 INSIDE AN LOC

decide the fate of the enemy offensive closest to the national capital.”7 It
would be more accurate to compare An Lộc to Verdun in World War I and
Leningrad, where the fate of the entire nation hinged on the outcome of one
single battle.8 But by directing that the city be held “at all costs,” President
Thiệu all but challenged the NVA to take it. And they kept on coming, even
long after the battle had been decided in favor of the defenders.

Strategic Moves
In the III Corps and MR3, facing General Nguyễn Văn Minh was VC
General Trần Văn Trà who was born in Quảng Ngãi in 1920, joined the Com-
munist Party of Indochina in 1938 (Đảng Cộng Sản Đông Dương), and fought
against the French in the People’s Army from 1946 to 1954. He was promoted
to major general in 1961 and commander of the VC B-2, which comprised
the territories of the ARVN 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Military Regions. That year,
Hanoi sent to South Vietnam Generals Trần Lương, aka Trần Nam Trung,
and Trần Độ to create the COSVN, which was the leading political and mil-
itary office of the CPV. Nguyễn Văn Linh was the highest political official
and General Trần Văn Trà the commander of all communist armed forces in
the South. General Nguyễn Chí Thanh, member of the central party, was
sent south in 1964 as the commander of COSVN, forcing the other two to
move back to Hanoi.
In 1967, Nguyễn Chí Thanh died suddenly in Cambodia while he was
on his way to Hanoi, which recalled him for consultation. He probably died
secondary to a liquidation process by poisoning. Phạm Hùng, the number
four of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party, was then sent south to
direct all aspects of the “resistance” of the party in the South. General Trần
Văn Trà became the military commander of the National Liberation Front
(NLF). At that time, Hồ Chí Minh allowed the NLF of Nguyễn Hữu Thọ and
Huỳnh Tấn Phát to be formed. When General Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, prime minister
of the Republic of Vietnam, called the NLF “a reality but not an entity,” the
communists elevated the NLF from an organization to a government. General
Trần Nam Trung became the minister of defense of the communist temporary
government of South Vietnam, and General Trần văn Trà was made deputy
commander of COSVN and NLF forces.
From the U.S. side, MACV had stated that the NVA was the invading
force of North Vietnam while the VC units were just the armed forces of the
NLF. This was just a smoke screen because, in reality, all the communist
forces in South Vietnam were set up and directed by the CPV from Hanoi.
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 91

All major communist offensives in South Vietnam were planned and directed
by General Trần Văn Trà, including the 1968 Tết Offensive, the Fiery Red
Summer 1972 offensive, the attack on Phước Long in 1974, the attack on
Saigon in 1975, etc. Therefore, Trần Văn Trà had directed hundreds of battles
against the French, then the U.S., before the 1968 Tết Offensive and the
Nguyễn Huệ Offensive during that 1972 summer. If one understands General
Trần Văn Trà’s military talent, one would appreciate General Nguyễn Văn
Minh’s smartness.
From a military point of view, the communist plan of attack by General
Trần Văn Trà, by being too conservative, prevented the NVA from overrun-
ning An Lộc. COSVN had wasted too many troops when it used the concen-
tration strategy. Communist generals often lacked decisiveness and self-
belief because all decisions and final plans were drafted in Hanoi. Had they
been decisive, the war would have ended before the 1972 U.S. election.
If we looked back at the skirmishes from 3 to 7 April, COSVN had four
infantry divisions, one heavy artillery division with two anti-aircraft regi-
ments, two tank regiments, one sapper regiment, and the 95B Regiment that
was brought in from the highlands notwithstanding a few other battalions or
regiments. In reality, the battle that occurred in the first week of the Nguyễn
Huệ campaign could be reported as follows:

• General Trà used the Bình Long Division in Tây Ninh as a ploy, albeit
a successful one, on 31 March 1972.
• Four days later, on 4 to 5 April, General Trà threw in almost all his
forces to destroy the ARVN 9th Regiment and the 1st Armored Bat-
talion of the 5th Infantry Division and to conquer Lộc Ninh District
first.
• He then used a small sapper unit and an artillery unit to attack the
fire base and Quản Lợi airfield, six kilometers northeast of An Lộc.
He did not fire on or attack the headquarters of the 5th Division at
Lai Khê or An Lộc on 4 to 5 April as some reporters have imag-
ined.
• Once Lộc Ninh fell, he sent the 5th Div/VC and the NVA’s 202nd
and 203rd Armored Regiments running down Highway 13 to attack
An Lộc on 7 April.
• Sometime before that date, General Trà mobilized the 7th Div/NVA
around An Lộc to establish a bottleneck at the Tàu-Ô Stream about
15 kilometers south of An Lộc and 15 kilometers north of Chơn
Thành. The plan was to block any reinforcement coming from the
south as well as to prevent any retreat from An Lộc.
92 INSIDE AN LOC

General Hưng called such a plan a “concentration attack,” the goal of

which was to attack one enemy’s target at a time. The COSVN used the Chi-
nese Red Army’s “flood” strategy. The latter had many drawbacks, including
loss of the surprise element and huge losses from artillery and bombing
counterattacks by the enemy. As a result of the first week’s attack, General
Hưng, under attack from two enemy infantry divisions and a division of
artillery and tanks, naturally could not hold Lộc Ninh; but despite the loss
of roughly 2,000 troops, he had caused severe damage to the enemy at Lộc
Ninh and along Highway 13, and at the same time was able to reinforce An
Lộc for future fighting. That was the first reaction by General Hưng; the sec-
ond strike would be delivered by General Minh with his knowledge and mil-
itary experience.
As mentioned above, General Minh, unlike the aggressive General Đỗ
Cao Trí, was a cautious and careful general or simply an “intellectual” fighter.
He thought everything through very thoroughly before making decisions
grounded on military strategy and troop mobilization. Here is an example.
Having heard the report that the 5th Div/VC and the C30B Div/VC had gath-
ered at the Trị Tâm area and Bời Lời secret zone close to Bình Dương—in
reality to pick up new recruits after suffering severe damage on 7 April—
General Minh told reporters, although not exactly word for word,
After attacking Lộc Ninh, the VC 5th Division moved to Trị Tâm to work
with the C30B Division. These two enemy divisions being present close to
Saigon would be dangerous if they moved further south. We need to follow
the VC 5th Division closely through potential new battlefields.
By putting it that way, General Minh implied that in conjunction with
the C30B, the VC 5th Division, besides attacking Bình Dương and Biên
Hòa, including Gia Định, could possibly open new battlefields with local
forces in Long Khánh and Phước Tuy. What he mentioned was within the
possibilities of COSVN.
In reality, the goal of COSVN in moving the VC 5th and the C30B Divi-
sions to Trị Tâm was not to open new battlefields in Bình Dương and Biên
Hòa, but to reinforce the VC Division. However, with General Trần Văn
Trà’s two divisions close to Saigon, General Minh had reason to ask the
Joint General Staff and the president to keep the ARVN 18th Infantry Division
(minus the TF-52 which was sent to An Lộc) on the west side of Saigon
along National Highway 1 and to move the ARVN 25th Infantry Division sta-
tioned in Củ Chi to Tây Ninh, on the west side of Saigon, and the 3rd Tank
and Ranger Brigade belonging to Brigadier General Trần Quang Khôi to sta-
tion in Biên Hòa. These were the basic units of the III Corps that General
Minh could use to deal with any new battlefield caused by the VC 5th Division,
 V. Crucial Decisions Made to Save An Lộc 93

while the JGS/RVNAF did request President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu to send addi-
tional troops to the III Corps.
The JGS, after moving the 21st Infantry Division, sent the 15th Regiment
of the 9th Infantry Division to An Lộc. And to prevent any mishap to Saigon,
President Thiệu moved the 3rd Airborne Brigade from the II Corps and MR2
to assist General Minh and sent the 1st Airborne Brigade and the 81st Airborne
Commando Group to An Lộc. General Minh thus understood the widespread
impact of the An Lộc battle over more than the territory under his care. He
had grasped the operational concept of General Trần Văn Trà in the Summer
Offensive of 1972 which entailed battling at An Lộc and opening several
other battlefields around the capital. From the U.S. side, Creighton Abrams,
the MACV commander, and General James Hollingsworth, commander of
the TRAC (Third Regional Assistance Command) who obviously understood
the situation in the III Corps and MR3, had supported General Nguyễn Văn
Minh to the maximum. If one understands the above war strategy, one has
to realize the operational ability and military intelligence of General Nguyễn
Văn Minh, contrary to past speculations about this cautious ARVN leader.
General Minh had mobilized the necessary units to bolster the defenses
at An Lộc, relieve the blockade at Tàu-Ô Stream and keep the basic units in
their places to meet the challenges of the COSVN offensive.
 VI

The First Attack on An Lộc

The First Attack on An Lộc

Following two days of attack against the small Quản Lợi airstrip about
six kilometers northeast of An Lộc, units of the NVA 9th Division overran
the ARVN 7th Regiment/1st in the evening of 7 April. Defenders were ordered
to destroy their equipment and withdraw to An Lộc. On the same day, at the
national security meeting in Saigon, in view of increasing enemy attacks,
the three Corps commanders were requesting additional reinforcement
troops. General Nguyễn Văn Minh, commander of the III Corps and MR3,
argued that the thrust of the NVA attack was aimed at the III Corps instead
of the 1st or 2nd Corps. President Thiệu agreed with him and gave him the
ARVN 21st Division and the elite 1st Airborne Brigade.
On 8 April during a reconnaissance toward the Đồng Long airstrip on
the northeast side of town, the 3rd Ranger Group saw civilians running
toward them from Quản Lợi. They were followed by enemy troops who shot
at them. Many civilians were killed before reaching the Ranger Group. The
rangers shot back at enemy troops who took cover before withdrawing.
ARVN troops rapidly prepared for the defense of An Lộc. The defending
forces, which were made up of diverse ARVN units brought together and
gradually inserted within the whole defensive system, included the follow-
ing:
• the 7th and 8th ARVN Regiments, an artillery battalion, the 5th Recon-
naissance Company that protected the headquarters of the division
(under 2,500 troops);
• two battalions from Bình Long (under 800 troops);
• the 3rd Ranger Battle Group (more than 1,500 troops);
• the TF-52nd/18th Div/ARVN (400 troops including wounded);
• the 1st Airborne Brigade (2,200 troops); and

94
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 95

• the 81st Airborne Commando Group (450 troops) (that arrived only
on 17 April).
The grand total was more than 7,500 troops.
The enemy forces included the following units according to J-
2/JGS/ARVN:
• 9th Division (7,200 men) with the 271st, 272nd, and 95C regiments.
• 5th Division (5,200 men) with the 274th, 275th, and E6 regiments.
• 7th Division (7,000 men) with the 165th, 209th, and 141st regiments.
It was reinforced with the NVA 11th Anti-aircraft Artillery. Its mis-
sion was to block Highway 13 at the level of Chơn Thành, about 10
kilometers south of An Lộc. The 141st and 165th Regiments partic-
ipated in the second and third attacks on An Lộc.
• 70th Artillery Division (4,000 men) with the 42nd Artillery Regiment,
the 208th rocket regiment, and the 271st Anti-aircraft Regiment.
• 202nd and 203rd tank regiments (500 men) with T-54, PT-76 tanks,
and BTR-50 armored carriers.
• 429th Sapper Group (1,100 men).
The grand total was 21,000 troops—excluding the units that blocked south
of Highway 13—or three times the ARVN defensive forces in An Lộc.
Government forces met increased enemy activity with increased air power
concentrating on hostile forces, moving supplies and equipment. To reduce
the time required to make these strikes, the Bình Long provincial Chief relin-
quished the authority to approve air strikes to the Commanding General of
the 5th ARVN Division…. On 12 April, 200 enemy troops killed by airstrikes
were discovered four kilometers west of An Lộc.1
On 12 April, enemy artillery began shelling An Lộc all day long, picking
up the pace in the evening. The provincial communication center was hit,
resulting in seven casualties and seven wounded.
On the night of 12 to 13 April 1972, about 4,000–5,000 NVA rounds of
all calibers—82 mm mortars, shells from 122 mm and 130 mm howitzers—
were lobbed toward An Lộc, a provincial town that occupied a two-square-
kilometer area. Rockets from 105 mm and 155 mm howitzers captured by
the enemy in Lộc Ninh were also fired at the town. Although expected, no
one had ever dreamed of such a violent salvo. The ground shook and shook
as one salvo was followed by another one almost nonstop for hours. Soldiers
and civilians were all stunned and frightened by the intensity and violence
of the shelling.
After a weeklong lull, the long-awaited attack had finally begun. The
ugly beginning did not presage anything good. As the shelling suddenly
96 INSIDE AN LOC

stopped at daybreak, the NVA launched their first attack with infantry and
tanks at the Đồng Long airstrip on the northeast side of town, which was
held by an RF battalion. The fuel and ammunition depots at the airstrip were
hit and exploded. The RF forces at the airstrip being overrun had to pull
back toward town. The forces on the nearby Đồng Long Hill after beating
back three successive human wave assaults were also overrun. The capture
of Đồng Long Hill allowed the enemy to position its mortars, artillery bat-
teries, and anti-aircraft weapons to aim with good accuracy at ARVN positions
located on the northern end of the town as well as on incoming aircraft.
A column of T-54 tanks and infantry attacked the western sector held
by the ARVN 7th Regiment. Overwhelmed by superior enemy forces led by
armored vehicles, some ARVN units had to pull back from their defensive
positions.
Another convoy of tanks accompanied by infantry troops moved slowly
toward town from the north. Defenders watched it approach, and when the
convoy came within range, they fired their 81 mm mortars on the troops that
ran in all directions.2 Unable to back up, tanks in the front continued their
forward progress without infantry protection. Once in town, the T-54 tanks
became prey for the 8th Regiment troops who positioned themselves from
the windows of buildings on Ngô Quyền Street. When the first tank
approached the center of town, an ARVN soldier braving his fear used his
M-72 rocket launcher to shoot at the third tank in the column; it struck the
tank below the turret. With a flash and a loud noise, the tank came to a stop
and burst into flames. While all the tanks behind it stopped, defenders stepped
out of their foxholes and managed to destroy three more tanks. The two lead
tanks continued their run southward and were destroyed by ARVN soldiers
in another section of the town.3
The first tank destroyed by An Lộc defenders was scored by an RF sol-
dier. The news spread rapidly among defenders that tanks were not invincible
and effectively calmed the long-established fear of these steel monsters. One
U.S. adviser who was quite surprised to see that young RF soldier running
after a tank commented,

This little guy goes out to hunt a 40-ton piece of metal with a light anti-tank
weapon on his back weighing two to three pounds. That’s beyond belief and
it inspired me. How do you describe a little ARVN soldier fighting tanks?4

Although the M-72 rocket launcher light anti-tank weapon (LAW) may
have been new to the 5th ARVN Division soldiers, it was not a new weapon
to either the U.S. or South Vietnamese Army. It was first developed in approx-
imately 1963 and landed in the hands of U.S. Army troops as early as 1964.
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 97

When it first arrived in Vietnam, it was used almost exclusively as a “bunker

buster” in the absence of an enemy armor threat until enemy tanks appeared
in 1968.
The tank threat became more apparent after NVA tanks first appeared
in South Vietnam during the 1968 defense of the Lang Vei Special Forces
camp near Khe Sanh and the 1969 tank-supported attack on the Bến Hét Spe-
cial Forces camp. ARVN soldiers were armed with the M-72 during the Lam
Son 719 Campaign in 1971 but did not understand how to use it. They were
not aware of the relatively short range of the weapon, and they probably
made the same mistake as the soldiers at Lang Vei and Lộc Ninh. The M-
72 was incapable of piercing the sloped frontal armor on the Soviet- and
Chinese-built tanks used by the NVA.
During the Lâm Sơn 719 campaign in Laos, the ARVN declared that the
M-72 was ineffective. This led to an urgent effort to locate as many 3.5-inch
rocket launchers as could be found in U.S. depots and rush them to ARVN
troops. While all of this was going on, MACV tested the M-72 and found it
to be effective just as the 5th ARVN Division later did in An Lộc. It turned
out to be simply a matter of engaging targets within the effective range of
the weapon and aiming at the sides or rears of tanks where the armor was
thinner and not sloped.5
Around 10:00 hours, a T-54 tank rolled aimlessly into the southern sector
without infantry protection. It got entangled in concertina and barbed wire
and remained stuck in the middle of a street. It then used its 100 mm cannon
to fire at the southern watchtower. Colonel Nhựt told Captain Khải, his
artillery commander, to destroy the tank with a disabled 105 mm howitzer.
As its sight instrument was disabled, Khải pointed the gun directly at the
tank and destroyed it with a single round. The captured tank driver reported
that he had infiltrated from North Vietnam to Cambodia in February 1972.
On 13 April, as his unit attacked An Lộc, his commander told them that when
tanks attacked Lộc Ninh, defenders fled in terror. His commander, therefore,
decided to send in tanks first to frighten An Lộc defenders before bringing
in infantry. He also told them that people would greet them with open arms.
Each comrade thus brought with him a new set of uniform to wear in a parade
whenever An Lộc would be captured.6
An Lộc defenders were lucky during this attack because the NVA had
not yet mastered the need to coordinate infantry and armor despite having
received tank training in the Soviet Union. Also, the two army branches
came under separate command structures and lacked coordination, leaving
tanks rolling across town oftentimes without the guidance and protection of
infantry troops. Since tank crews had also been told by their political cadres
98 INSIDE AN LOC

that the town had been liberated, many drove with their hatches open as they
did during a ceremonial mission. Believing that their job was to drive to the
provincial chief’s residence and run the VC flag up the pole, they had become
careless and unaware that ARVN soldiers were right there waiting to take a
shot at them.
Colonel Walter Ulmer, senior adviser to the 5th ARVN division, later
wrote,
During the battle of An Lộc, the North Vietnamese were skillful in the use
of artillery, aggressive in anti-aircraft techniques, but notably amateurish in
the employment of armor. Their hesitant, uncoordinated fumbling with some
well-maintained Soviet vehicles showed once again that successful armor
employment is totally dependent on aggressive spirit and technical skills on
the part of the tank crews.
The close-in destruction of T54 and PT76 tanks in An Lộc is a tribute to
the skill and courage of many ARVN soldiers.7

The NVA used about 100 armored vehicles against the 5th ARVN Divi-
sion and the several units attached to it, of which 75 to 85 were destroyed
in and around An Lộc. Tanks were used on three main occasions during the
many multi-directional thrusts against the town on 12–14 April and 11–13
May. The final use of tanks came on the night of 23 May when a group of
six tanks attacked from the south. The largest single axis formation was com-
posed of 12 tanks. In addition to these main attacks, groups of two or three
tanks would rumble around town before sneaking in from positions held by
the NVA forces.
While ARVN troops were battling against NVA troops and tanks, aircraft
circled above town like vultures preying on their targets. There were the
high-flying B-52 bombers that targeted enemy logistical installations and
staging areas, and slow-flying Cobra attack helicopters, A-37 Dragonfly jet
fighters, and AC-130 Spectres that operated above the city in close proximity
of friendly troops. The Bell Cobra was a two-person attack helicopter gunship
armed with 7.62 mm mini-guns, a 40 mm grenade launcher, and rocket
launchers. Some Cobra had HEAT (high-explosive, anti-tank) rockets that
were just perfect for the roaming enemy tanks. The A-37 Dragonfly was a
converted USAF trainer that was modified for close air support; it could carry
six 500-pound bombs or a mixed load of other ordnance. The AC-119 Stinger
gunships, which were jet-assisted, propeller-driven, two-engine cargo aircraft
converted to serve as fixed-wing gun platforms, were armed with 7.62 mm
mini-guns and 20 mm Vulcan cannons.8
The B-52 could carry up to a 70,000-pound bomb load per mission, and
there were 52 bombers based at U Tapao Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, and
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 99

31 at Andersen AFB, Guam. Flying at 30,000 feet would prevent them being
seen or heard by enemy on the ground. They had a combat range of 8,800
miles (14,080 kilometers). They could destroy everything within a rectangular
box of a half mile wide by two miles long even through cloud cover. These
boxes could be decreased to a half mile by one mile or half by half mile to
concentrate the bombs. The degree of accuracy was so high that bombs were
dropped sometimes half a kilometer away from friendly lines in An Lộc,
although at that range the incidence of broken ear drums; bleeding eyes,
ears, and noses; and disorientation increased among friendly troops.
To prevent air collisions, it was decided U.S. Air Force would cover
the area three kilometers north of Chơn Thành at the Cambodian border
while VNAF would cover the area south of USAF’s sector.
The U.S. Air Force had used large, fixed-wing, multi-engine gunships
to provide support for troops on the ground. With each new generation of
gunships came improved communication systems, targeting systems,
weapons systems, and computer technology. In An Lộc, the U.S. also used
the Spectre gunship—a C-130 transport plane converted into a gunship
equipped with infrared sensors that could detect the heat generated by motor
engines, a 105 mm howitzer, a pair of 20 mm Vulcan cannons, and a Boford
40 mm cannon. The computerized fire-control system maximized effective-
ness on target. This was a very striking gunship that could destroy tanks and
cannon-carrying trucks or NVA mobile cannons at the An Lộc battlefield
especially outside the town. Due to their size, they carried a great deal of
fuel and could fly over the battlefield for hours; they brought a lot of ammu-
nition and flares and could illuminate the night for hours. They were equipped
with FM radios so troops on the ground could talk to them directly.9
In An Lộc and the surrounding area, from the beginning of the battle,
all the ARVN tanks and trucks had been destroyed, except for a few jeeps
that were never used except for travel at night; therefore, the sound of any
motor engine at night could only come from NVA tanks or resupply trucks.
Since there were two engines running in An Lộc, one from the division head-
quarters and the other from the Bình Long Sector headquarters, with both
having fixed positions, the Spectre gunships, originating from U Tapao Royal
Thai Air Base, could not misfire at defenders’ units. Dozens of NVA tanks
and trucks had been destroyed by Spectre gunships outside An Lộc on the
following nights.
Following the violent attacks by the 9th Div/VC and the 202nd and
203rd tank units that had been sent down from North Vietnam, three artillery
regiments of the 69th Artillery Div/VC or 70th Div/VC augmented by an
NVA anti-air artillery regiment and the 429th Sapper Regiment, the defensive
100 INSIDE AN LOC

forces of the ARVN 8th Regiment, the 52nd Regiment, and the 3rd Ranger TF
on the north and northeast had to retreat to their second line of defense. One
section of the city’s commercial center north of Nguyễn Trung Trực Street and
the Đồng Long Airfield had temporarily fallen into enemy control although
enemy tanks had been destroyed in each ARVN area of responsibility.
In General Hưng’s forward command post facing Nguyễn Huệ Street,
the S-3 (operations) office of Lieutenant Colonel Trịnh Đình Đăng was hit
by a 122 mm rocket, which killed six of his staff officers. My S-2 intelligence
office, which was in the same row of buildings, encountered only one casu-
alty. Having no staff to assist him, Lieutenant Colonel Đăng, I and two of
my captains, Dương Tấn Triệu and Nguyễn Chí Cường, decided to gather
details of and to document the operations fought by all units in order to
create an operations log of the division at An Lộc. I kept the operations log
book until General Hưng passed away.
When the COSVN forces attacked An Lộc on 13 April 1972, the 1st Air-
borne Brigade and the 81st Airborne Commando Group had not arrived in
town yet. The city had 5,500 defenders with the RFs included. On that day,
the 1st Airborne Brigade was fighting to unblock the NVA blockade at Tàu-
Ô. But because of the attack on An Lộc, General Minh withdrew the brigade
to send it to reinforce An Lộc. The ARVN 21st Division took over the battle
at Tàu-Ô Creek.
After that first attack, evacuation of the wounded, replacement of troops,
and resupply of food, medicine, and ammunitions were no longer possible
because of the loss of the Đồng Long Airfield and part of the northern com-
mercial section of the city, along with the loss of Windy Hill and Hill 169.
Resupply by C-47 Chinook helicopters was totally interrupted.
Civilians still lived in their houses along the new defensive front,
although most had temporarily moved close to the creek along the railway
track on the southeast side of the village. In the administrative center south
of Hoàng Hôn Boulevard close to the above-mentioned creek and close to
the defensive front, soldiers shared their rations with civilians.
On 14 April, cumulative losses in An Lộc were as follows:
Enemy: 169 killed, two taken prisoner;
3 crew-served and 50 individual guns, 2 communication devices lost;
and 14 to 16 T-54s and PT-76 tanks destroyed.
ARVN: 28 dead, 53 wounded, and
3 crew-served and 42 individual guns lost.
At 04:30 hours on 15 April, the VC/NVA proceeded to shell the town.
This was immediately followed by armor and ground troop attacks, which
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 101

were broken by determined defensive forces and judicious airstrikes. At

10:00, the VC/NVA launched another ground attack, which turned out to be
a little bit more effective than the previous one. But their advance was
stopped. At 14:00, 10 enemy tanks advanced toward the town defensive lines.
Nine of them were destroyed by ground units and air strikes. By nighttime,
the attack seemed to have subsided.10
Although the defenders did not realize it, the first attack had ended after
three days of fierce close combat (13–15 April). By 16 April, the North Viet-
namese had lost 23 tanks. With the help from the U.S. Air Force, the South
Vietnamese had held the town in the face of violent and dizzying attacks.
But they were tired and worn out, supplies were minimal, wounded became
a problem, and morale was at a low ebb. The town was heavily ringed on
three sides with anti-aircraft guns. The 81st Airborne commando reinforce-
ment group had not arrived yet.11
The North Vietnamese were in no better shape. Despite having over-
whelming superiority in troops, tanks, and artillery guns, they had not been
able to conquer the town. On 18 April, a company from the Border Ranger
Battalion ambushed and killed a highly placed COSVN political officer close
to Tây Ninh. On his body were the plans of an attack on 19 August, the next
day, the details of which were helpful to the ARVN. Another letter contained
a critique of North Vietnamese strategy and performance up to that point.
The 9th VC Division and its commander were castigated for failing to take
An Lộc within the first few days of the attack. The use of armor was con-
sidered to be particularly poor.12

An Lộc and the Military District Hospitals

As no area in An Lộc had been spared by the shelling, houses, buildings,
and even the ground bore the scars of bombs and mortars in the form of
huge or small, ragged and irregular craters. At times the ground appeared
like a lunar landscape. One of these craters was large enough to sink a T-54
tank that was being chased by ARVN troops. Even the Catholic Church and
the railroad station were hit, resulting in heavy damage.
Because of its location on a hill and close to the ARVN 5th Division
command post, the An Lộc hospital was regularly targeted. Later, after the
division artillery units, originally located in the soccer field on the south
side of town, were moved to the east side close to the hospital, the latter was
subjected to more shelling. As a result, there was no way to be completely
safe, except leaving town, which was not an option because the town was
102 INSIDE AN LOC

completely encircled by enemy troops. One just had to hunker down in one
of those bunkers or crudely dug-out tunnels and hope for the best. Defenders
and civilians alike were injured, some mildly others seriously, although that
second eventuality was more and more common in view of the frequency
and intensity of the shelling.
The number of casualties, most of them arriving almost at the same
time after a shelling episode was lifted, stressed the medical capability of
the provincial An Lộc hospital. A civilian hospital, it had an attached military
section designated as the Bình Long district hospital strictly reserved for
military personnel. The provincial hospital was staffed by only three military
physicians, of which Captain Doctor Nguyễn Văn Quý was the surgeon; the
staff did its best to provide care for the injured civilians in the face of staff
and medication shortages. Most of the nurses and technicians at the hospital
were civilians. Then, for some unknown reason—whether fear, overwork,
stress, need to care for local family members, or a combination of all those,
no one knows—they all disappeared after the second attack. They were
replaced by a small technical team from the 5th Medical Battalion of the 5th
ARVN Division. Captain Quý performed his procedures about 300 meters
from the battle zone wearing a flak jacket and a steel helmet. Although it
might be safer for him, the outfit was not very sterile. Because electricity was
often lacking, the operations were often performed under flashlight held by the
nurse anesthetist. The mortality rate was of course high because of the frequency
of infections caused by lack of sterile conditions and antibiotic shortage.
Due to the indiscriminate NVA shelling, the hospital had to increase
the number of beds from 60 to 120 to accommodate the overflow of patients,
which meant, for a small hospital, putting two, sometimes three patients in
each hospital bed. Supplies and medications rapidly ran low because of logis-
tical problems. At one time, the presence of 300 bodies in the hospital morgue
close to the operating room made people sick because the smell was just
overwhelming. The hospital was always crowded during the siege, for fam-
ilies often hung around to comfort, feed, and care for the patients as the
nursing staff was overburdened by their work.
Of course, the severely injured patients were evacuated whenever pos-
sible. However, because of the dense anti-aircraft and ground artillery, the
few brave pilots who dared to fly into An Lộc hovered long enough for
wounded patients to hop in; the latter were called the “Olympic” wounded
because they still had the strength to board evacuation helicopters by them-
selves. On occasions, stretchers bearing severely wounded were brought out
to the helicopters for evacuation only to be left behind because the stretcher
bearers had rushed aboard to escape the hell below.13
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 103

The communists, who were not known for their humanitarian concerns,
did not spare the hospital as long as they could achieve their victory sooner.
On 25 April,14 enemy artillery targeted and destroyed the hospital.15 Injured
patients who were brought there for treatment and their families died from
the shelling. Dead bodies were shredded apart by secondary bombing. Blood
and body parts were scattered everywhere. This was an unimaginable carnage
for the local people of An Lộc who were not used to this type of violence.
Once the hospital was destroyed, there were no medical facilities left except
for some aid stations scattered here and there. Worse, there was no place to
store bodies, except for speeding up mass burials. When the two operating
rooms were severely damaged, Colonel Nhựt came to the rescue and provided
two underground rooms to be used as operating rooms. Toward the end of
May as the situation had somewhat improved, thousands of lightly wounded
patients had taken refuge at a pagoda in Phú Đức, southwest of An Lộc.16
The medical condition for South Vietnamese troops was equally bad.
Once the hospital was destroyed courtesy of the enemy who in their wrath
decided to level off the town, church, hospital, and school included, the sur-
gical facility had been moved to a small bunker. Medical care consisted of
laying down critically wounded men and assigning their less-wounded com-
rades to cook, clean and care for them until they could be transferred. Ster-
ilization of surgical instruments was out of the question, although some rare
instruments were required to be sterilized. Due to lack of supplies, the sur-
geon, who had to improvise again, used threads taken from old sandbags to
be used as suture materials.17 Of course, this was not sterile either, but what
was the choice?
About the mass burial, Dr. Quý wrote this in his “An Lộc diary”:
When the vehicle was full, the driver left immediately for the common grave.
They threw the corpse into the common hole. By eight o’clock in the evening
two loads were done. They worked like this continuously through two days
before emptying all the corpses out of the hospital. Bulldozers had to dig new
holes as long as the schoolyard had enough room left. Past the Xa Cam inter-
section along the rubber tree orchard, a funeral company dug more common
graves that were very large. I heard that a grave held about a thousand bod-
ies…. Here you could die not only once, but two or three times? When
artillery rounds hit the graves, pieces of bodies were ploughed up, buried
again and then hit again, parts of decomposing bones and flesh strewn all
over with a horrible rotten stench.18
One day, as he was resting in his room, Dr. Quý was asked to see an
American pilot who was doing some reconnaissance work over An Lộc when
his plane was shot down. The pilot was able to open the cockpit, eject himself
and parachute down. He luckily landed in friendly lines but hit his head on
104 INSIDE AN LOC

landing. Besides a few forehead bruises, he was in good condition. ARVN

soldiers took him to their superior who referred him to the hospital for eval-
uation. After examination, he was given a tetanus shot and taken to the head-
quarters to be evacuated later to his unit.19
Another gallant surgeon was Captain Dr. Cao Phú Quốc, of the 183rd
Medical Company from the 18th ARVN Division. At the beginning of the
battle, he was evacuating wounded patients back to An Lộc for care. He had
escaped death many times while his regiment was withdrawing from Lộc
Ninh, especially at the Cần Lê Bridge where it was racked by enemy machine
guns without having a place to take cover. He did his best to alleviate the
pain and suffering of soldiers and civilians and was well loved by his unit
troops. He was killed in An Lộc by an artillery shell early in the battle while
trying to help a wounded paratrooper near the city soccer field.20
The Bình Long District Hospital was a military field hospital that was
set up in a former underground facility of the Ranger Border Defense Forces.
It was about 20 meters long, 6 meters wide and 1.8 meters high. Its corrugated
galvanized steel roof was protected from shelling by six layers of sandbags.
The ground-level outpatient examination room that sat on top of the hospital
was large enough for a small wooden table and two chairs. The belowground
hospital was divided into five sections with the nine-meter-long operating
room (OR) in the center, which contained three surgery tables and two resus-
citation beds. On the right of the OR were the physicians’ quarters, and on
the left the pharmacy and the non-commissioned officers’ quarters.
Lance Corporal Bình was in charge of cooking for the injured soldiers
and patients. The kitchen with its outdoor cooking area was protected from
the elements by a roof of corrugated steel sheets. Conveniently located near
the entrance of the underground complex, it allowed staff to run down for
protection once the characteristic departing pop of an incoming projectile
was heard. The typical officer fare, after several days of no supply due to
the downing of helicopters by enemy fire, consisted of moldy rice, some
salted soy paste and salted dry fish.
Each battalion usually treated its lightly wounded patients and only
referred the severely injured ones to the hospital for surgery or further treat-
ment. When a fierce battle raged on, Drs. Lê Quang Tín and An T. Thân
operated side by side on the two OR tables while medic Xa would suture
simple gashes, clean wounds, or apply casts or splints under the physicians’
supervision. On many occasions, the surgeons were devastated for not being
able to save the lives or limbs of our comrades. All they could do was emer-
gency damage-control surgery and then request rapid chopper evacuation to
Cộng Hòa Military General Hospital, a tertiary-care center in Saigon.
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 105

As they frequently got shelled, Dr. Thân still vividly recounts instances
of death or cheating death. In a heavy bombardment that took place one
early morning, the driver of the military ambulance was immediately killed.
An older medic warrant officer was seriously injured in the lower jaw and
neck. He was suffocating from the bleeding and required immediate tra-
cheostomy. He recovered nicely from the operation. On one another occasion,
Dr. Thân came out to the surface to take a cigarette break and enjoy fresh
air. For no particular reason, he decided to go back down to the bunker to
look for a book to read. As he was shuffling things around in the bunker, a shell
hit exactly the spot where he was sitting a minute earlier. It was like fate or
luck that forced him to go back down and saved him from a certain death.
He had also saved the lives of three communist soldiers and operatives who
were ambushed and captured by the district rangers. On one occasion, he had
the courage to deny the army intelligence officer immediate access to one
prisoner of war to interrogate him before his injuries could be stabilized.21
Facing the high casualty rate and the problem of splattered body parts
and to prevent the spread of epidemic diseases in a very confined environ-
ment, which could lead to disastrous medical consequences, Colonel Bùi
Đức Điềm, the operational chief of staff of the division, following an enemy
tank assault, found who knew where, a bulldozer, which he himself used to
dig a huge hole in the front yard of the town high school. Soldiers of the 5th
Reconnaissance Company then gathered corpses and fragments of bodies
for a mass burial. Later, another burial site was dug out in a vacant lot
between the high school and the hospital. With mounting casualties, mass
burials soon became common whenever war conditions allowed. On one
occasion, Colonel Điềm’s men had buried 956 corpses in one day. This was
a sad and gruesome ordeal in the midst of a violent carnage. Everything
pointed to a deadly and unpredictable environment.
Colonel Điềm was one of those rare officers who always showed up at
the battle sites, in personal defensive holes with soldiers when missiles rained
down or while visiting soldiers along the divisional defensive line. He was
a brave, courageous and energetic officer. I had never seen an officer like
him during my whole military life. It was only at night that he went down
into the bunker to sleep close to me after he had everything on the ground
under control and did everything he could do that day.

The 3rd Ranger Group

The 3rd Ranger Battalion Group, led by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Biết, consisted of three battalions: the 31st Ranger Battalion was led by
106 INSIDE AN LOC

Major Trương Khánh; the 36th Ranger Battalion by Major Tống Viết Lạc;
and the 52nd Ranger Battalion by Major Lê Quý Dậu. Prior to the battle,
they were conducting a search operation in Cambodia trying to locate the
NVA 5th, 7th, and 9th Divisions when they were ordered to report back to
An Lộc. The first battalion arrived on 6 April 1972 and the rest the following
day. After briefing, they were told that they had encountered enemy rear
services and transportation units that were running away from them instead
of fighting against them in Cambodia. The main NVA forces were instead
gathering and ready to move across the border into Vietnam.
A few days after their arrival, An Lộc was shelled repeatedly with long-
range heavy artillery guns such as the 122 mm and 155 mm howitzers the
enemy had captured in Lộc Ninh as well as organic artillery, 130 mm artillery
units and 105 mm howitzers. It was at that time that civilians abandoned
their homes and sought refuge in soldiers’ bunkers. They cooked and ate
with the soldiers who in return tended their wounds and gave them medi-
cine.
The artillery sounds and the tremendous blasts of shells filled the rangers
“with fear and dread” since they never knew when one might hit their loca-
tion. They were particularly afraid of the “delayed fuse” rounds, a type of
155 mm round that penetrated into the bunker and buried itself in the dirt
before exploding, causing tremendous destruction and widespread casual-
ties.22
One morning, the Ranger Group headquarters received a call advising
them that the enemy had moved in the direction of and occupied the province
“Open Arms” Office while firing at the 52nd Battalion. The enemy was in a
threatening position because the office was close to the 5th Division com-
mand post and the rangers’ headquarters. First Lieutenant Nguyễn Văn Hiếu
was ordered to retake the office. While commanding the attack, Lieutenant
Hiếu was suddenly killed by a sniper when his company was fired on by
machine guns and M-79 grenade launchers. With the loss of their leader, the
rangers were pinned down and could not move an inch. In the afternoon,
another company under 2nd Lieutenant Phước was ordered to take over the
job. It got stuck at the same place as the first company despite valiant efforts.
Since this government office in An Lộc was located on high ground and had
concrete bunkers covered with a tin metal sheet with layer over layer of
sandbags, the decision was made to request helicopter gunship support. As
VNAF pilots could not fire because of the close proximity of friendly posi-
tions, a U.S. Spectre gunship was requested. It fired round after round causing
the top of the bunkers to cave in.
The attack occurred during a heavy downpour, and water flooded enemy
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 107

positions. The gunship was asked to stop firing so that Lieutenant Phước
could finish the enemy off. After policing the area, he counted more than 10
enemies killed and captured a medium machine gun, two M-79 launchers
and six AK-47s and large quantities of M-79 ammunition. One pallet of para-
chuted supplies had landed into the Open Arms Office giving enemy troops
food rations and M-79 rounds for their use.23
One day, one ranger company shot and disabled an enemy tank. The
latter drove away but fell into a crater bomb. The rangers sneaked into the
tank where they recovered important military and communication documents
and a radio. While trying to get out of the crater, they were fired at by enemy
troops. Once they returned to the ranger headquarters with their booty, they
were shocked to discover among the radio documents the secure radio plan
and codes of the 5th Division. The latter was contacted, and Colonel Vỹ and
two S-2 officers were sent to recover the documents. Investigation was ini-
tiated, and the division’s secure radio plans and codes were immediately
changed.24

The 1st Airborne Brigade

Commanded by a two-star general, the Airborne Division was under
the direct control of the country’s national leadership. Serving as a reserve
force, its units were sent to critical areas where its combativeness, ardor and
resourcefulness were needed. Its three brigades were led by colonels and the
battalions by lieutenant colonels.
When General Minh rolled out his strategy of reinforcing An Lộc with
the 1st Airborne Brigade, Colonel Miller gladly approved it. However, after
Colonel Lưỡng was brought to the divisional headquarters at An Lộc for dis-
cussion with General Hưng, things turned out differently.
When the Airborne Division was formed in 1966 to serve as the back-
bone of the ARVN general reserve, the 1st Airborne Group became the 1st
Airborne Brigade. It was the oldest and most experienced brigade of the Air-
borne Division for having participated in all major battles in 1968 and 1971.
Colonel Lưỡng, a graduate of the Thủ Đức Reserve Officers School in 1954,
rose rapidly through the ranks and assumed command of the 1st Brigade in
early 1968. He was born and raised in Bình Dương Province and knew the
region well. He proposed a better and more reasonable strategy that proved
his talent as a tactician and an experienced warrior.
He suggested that if his 2,200 troops were dropped on the open field
between Cần Lê Bridge and Đồng Long Airfield, the first lift, whether by a
108 INSIDE AN LOC

Vietnamese or U.S. C-47 aircraft, because of its sudden and unexpected tim-
ing would be successful. But from the second lift onward, his troops would
become easy prey for enemy troops and artillery, which had been stationed
there for a few weeks. Casualties would be high in the order of 50 percent
or more. They would be unable to mount an attack against the Đồng Long
Airfield after suffering such a high casualty rate, despite leaving the wounded
behind or bringing them along. Besides, if troops were dropped at that land-
ing zone, only airborne troops could be released, not the artillery regiment:
the big guns would not be available to mount an immediate attack. Even if
the airbornes were successful in getting to the airfield, they would not be
strong a force enough to dislodge enemy troops stationed at the airport and
the north end of the city, the number of which was still unknown. Victory
would not be certain, but defeat was looming. Even if the airborne were suc-
cessful in dislodging enemy troops, with only about one regiment left due
to casualties, they could not withstand further attacks from enemy troops. If
a strong and elite group became a battered unit, the reinforcement of An Lộc
would be futile. With this reasoning, Colonel Lưỡng suggested another strat-
egy.
Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng viewed his offensive concept of reinforcing
An Lộc not only as augmenting troops to a strategic area, but also helping
local leaders to boost the morale of defenders. The latter should not only be
able to defend from enemy attacks, but also to counterattack when the situ-
ation allowed. The reinforcing unit should not be the main force striking at
the occupying force, the strength of which could not be assessed at this time.
Was it a divisional or inter-regimental level? In reality, we only knew that
the enemy’s artillery, especially anti-aircraft artillery, was very strong. If
troops were dropped in the barren fields south of Cần Lê but north of An
Lộc, they would be subjected to constant shelling from the enemy’s artillery
and then wiped out.
The other option was to drop forces to clear a secret landing zone (LZ)
south of town. Troops would land safely because enemy troops would not
have time to react and reposition their guns to a surprise landing at the
unknown LZ. The 6th Airborne Battalion would immediately attack Windy
Hill and Hill 169, the two high elevations occupied by enemy forces about
three kilometers south of and overlooking the town. The 3rd Artillery Air-
borne Battalion would land after the two hills were secured. These two bat-
talions would be led by Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Ngọc, deputy commander
of the airborne brigade. The brigade headquarters, the 5th and 8th Battalions,
would then land in the following days.
The 5th Battalion would support the 8th Battalion’s advance toward
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 109

Highway 13, which led to the Xa Cam rubber plantation, three kilometers
south of town. This highway was 20 meters wide, on each side of which
U.S. units had deforested a swath of land about 800 to 1,000 meters, which
could accommodate a temporary large landing zone for Vietnamese and U.S.
aircraft. Later, the 8th Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh would
take over and control this LZ, allowing defenders to evacuate wounded com-
batants and receive fresh troops.
The 5th Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Chí Hiếu would move to the southern defense line of the village and serve
as a reserve force for the 1st Airborne Brigade and General Hưng. The brigade
headquarters, protected by the Reconnaissance Company, would stay with
the Bình Long Military Sector headquarters close to the other two battalions.
Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng said,
If the airborne troops could open a LZ and protect the area around it south of
the town, defenders would be able to evacuate wounded troops and receive
fresh ones. Defending troops would be stronger. Then, the RVNAF could
interrupt the supply route of NVA troops and isolate this wing from their
COSVN base weakening them in the long range. Defending forces in An Lộc
would wait until they shook hands with the 21st ARVN Infantry Division that
would move northward from Chơn Thành after blasting through the NVA/VC
forces located at Tàu Ô. At that time they could open their offensive and take
back the northern end of the provincial town as well as the Đồng Long Air-
field. That was a safe strategy for An Lộc defenders to resist for a long dura-
tion and for enemy forces to wither under continuous bombing attacks by the
Air Force, Vietnamese and U.S. That was the recipe for success for we could
at the same time hold the fort and fight the enemy.

Based on the battlefield events at the time, Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng’s

operational strategy was the best among the options suggested. After an hour
of discussion with General Lê Văn Hưng who wholeheartedly supported the
strategy, Colonel Lưỡng flew back to Lai Khê to discuss with General
Nguyễn Văn Minh, who approved the mission. From the evening of 14 to 15
April, the airlift of the airborne troops was successfully executed causing a
big surprise to COSVN General Trần Văn Trà. All the airborne units reached
their objective in An Lộc on 17 April with minimal casualties (4 percent)
thanks to the surprise element and the carefully chosen LZ. The latter was
the local Route 245 that crossed Srok Ton Cui in a southeast direction and
close to Windy Hill and Hill 169. All Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng’s operational
details had been meticulously executed.

• Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Đỉnh’s 6th Airborne Battalion from

the LZ moved to the targets and attacked enemy units on the two
110 INSIDE AN LOC

hills. On the evening of 14 April, one hour after they landed, the
airborne troops had retaken Windy Hill and Hill 169.
• The whole 1st Airborne Brigade composed of the brigade headquar-
ters, the Reconnaissance Company, and the 5th and 8th Battalions
completed their arrival by 15:00 on 15 April at the LZ near Windy
Hill.

On the same day, COSVN forward headquarters launched a tank and

infantry offensive against General Hưng’s defensive lines after raining 5,000
missiles on the town. The attack on the west and northwest side of the town
appeared to have been hastily executed because tanks arrived without infantry
support. In the northeast, the pressure of the attack was heavy. In the south-
east, enemy could not attack because the airbornes had already taken over
the two hills and the surrounding area. Enemy tanks, which arrived in town
in a haphazard manner, without knowledge of targets or topography, were
therefore easily destroyed by ARVN troops. The most likely reasons for this
showing were the following.
On 14 April, to decrease enemy pressure and cut off enemy resupply
lines after they launched a northwest attack on the town on 13 April, and to
distract them away from the landing of the airborne brigade, General Hưng
had ordered me to draw 10 B-52 Arc Light boxes for referral to Colonel
Miller to request for strategic bombing on that same day. Two of these boxes
were aimed at ấp Phú Lố about three miles from the town of An Lộc and Âp
Phú Bình, roughly half a mile from the defense perimeter.
That afternoon, U.S. Air Force executed these two boxes on Phu Lố
and Phú Bình hamlets on the northwest side of the town. The other eight
boxes were aimed along the axis of movement of enemy troops. Villagers
had abandoned these hamlets to move into town on 7 and 8 April. Although
dwellings were empty, they still served as resting places for enemy troops
who would find fresh water from wells and gardens full of vegetables and
fruit. We later found out the B-52 bombing on 14 April had completely
destroyed the headquarters of the NVA 271th Regiment, its two battalions
along with its anti-air artillery. These units were the main forces attacking
the northwest side of the town.
On 15 April, without its infantry support, an enemy tank unit roamed
aimlessly again in An Lộc without knowing its targets and the layout of the
streets. On that day, 10 NVA T-54 and PT-76 were destroyed inside the town
limits. On the same day because the LZ had been safely secured, the head-
quarters of the 1st Airborne Brigade, the 5th and 8th ARVN Airborne Battal-
ions landed safely in Srok Ton Cui. Since An Lộc was under attack, General
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 111

Hưng told Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng to hold his forces around the three hills
south of the town.
The following day, Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng ordered the airborne
brigade to move into An Lộc from two different directions.
The first wing, which comprised the brigade headquarters, the Recon-
naissance and Engineering Companies, and the 5th Airborne Battalion under
the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Chí Hiếu, moved into the mil-
itary zone perimeter via the Sóc Gòn hamlet. A U.S. adviser wrote,
The paratroopers of the 5th Airborne Battalion were tough, experienced, and
totally professional…. The march through the trees was conducted at a cau-
tious but steady pace…. Along a slope of rising ground, they had found the
remains of a South Vietnamese company…. There were fifty or sixty
Rangers, each one swollen up and turning black and leaking into the bottom
of his foxhole…. They had been overrun and killed by a North Vietnamese
attack…. Personal weapons were still with the bodies, but the enemy had
taken the hand grenades, claymore antipersonnel mines, and tactical radios….
It was hard to look at the dead soldiers’ bloody faces and broken heads, torn
and shot full of holes, fly covered and rotting in the heat. The bodies were
without a shred of dignity, or even humanity.25
The second wing was under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Văn
Bá Ninh, commander of the 8th Airborne Battalion whose target was the
highway south of An Lộc, close to the headquarters of the military zone
through the Phú Hòa Hamlet, which was about one kilometer outside the
defense perimeter on the east. Sóc Gòn Hamlet was located about one kilo-
meter northwest of Phú Hòa Hamlet.
Both wings encountered enemy troops. The 8th Battalion entered the
Phú Hòa Hamlet first after encountering minimal resistance. It stationed in
Phú Hòa on the night of 16 April to support the 5th Airborne Battalion that
encountered vigorous attack from a regiment of the NVA 5th Division at Sóc
Gòn Hamlet. Enemy troops launched consecutive attacks with tanks and
infantry but were repulsed. Colonel Lưỡng’s units destroyed four T-54 tanks
and took seven crew-served weapons and 20 AK-47s; the enemy left 86
troops killed. The airborne brigade suffered 3 losses and 13 wounded.
In the morning of 17 April, all airborne units had arrived at their planned
positions according to Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng’s strategy. The 6th Airborne
Battalion and its 3rd Artillery Battalion under the direction of Lieutenant
Colonel Lê Văn Ngọc were securely stationed at Windy Hill, Hill 169 and
Srok Ton Cui; the biggest part of the airborne brigade under Colonel Lê
Quang Lưỡng’s command settled at the planned sites. The brigade head-
quarters and the reconnaissance company stayed at the military zone head-
quarters, the 5th Airborne Battalion close by. The most important thing was
112 INSIDE AN LOC

that the 8th Airborne Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh had
secured a large area of the highway south of the town all the way down to
the Xa Cam rubber plantation on 18 April. There it exchanged fire with a
unit of the NVA 7th Division, causing enemy troops to leave behind 40 dead
and many crew-served and individual weapons. Thereafter, the 8th Battalion
and the Engineering Company proceeded to clean up an area on the highway
to provide a safe landing path for Vietnamese and U.S. Air Force helicopters
and Chinooks. This battalion kept the LZ open throughout the rest of the
battle. Helicopters flew in and out safely, although they could not avoid
enemy missiles, to evacuate hundreds of wounded defenders and bring in
new reinforcements, food and light ammunitions, although heavy equipment
still had to be dropped by USAF planes.
On 18 April, the 5th Battalion was ordered to disengage and move to a
new defensive position on the south side of town with the 51st Company to
cover its retreat. As the U.S. adviser was slow to move out, Lieutenant Col-
onel Hiếu approached him.
After quickly pointing out the direction the battalion was going to move, he
grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me close. Looking me directly in the eye
and shouting over the roar of the gunfire, he gave me a message I will never
forget—do not stay here long: 51 Company will die today. I’d previously
studied the theory of the Detachment-Left-in-Contact in service schools…. It
[the company] was going to make the stand so the rest of the battalion could
fight the next battle. But the harsh realities had not sunk in…. They [para-
troopers] had thrown away their helmets and pull on their maroon paratrooper
berets…. Committed to a fight they could not possibly win, those men had
decided to face their enemies wearing the symbol that best described who
they were. I realized with a jolt they were actually getting ready to die right
then and there in that patch of torn-up rubber plantation…. Seeing their
willingness to accept their fate, their own impending deaths, really shocked
me.26

It was also in An Lộc that the oldest lieutenant paratrooper died. He

started his career as a boy soldier fighting against the Japanese during World
War II. In 1954, as part of the Fifth Parachute Battalion, he jumped into Điện
Biên Phủ not once but twice. Captured by the communists, he managed to
survive their prison camps. After his release, he joined the Vietnamese Army
and his old unit, now designated the 5th Airborne Battalion. Over the years
he had been promoted to sergeant major and commissioned a lieutenant
because of his experience and leadership quality. Without formal education,
he knew he would not be promoted beyond the rank of lieutenant but decided
to soldier on until he was killed.27
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 113

The 81st Airborne Commando Group

On 16 April, the 81st Airborne Commando Group with less than 500
troops under Lieutenant Colonel Phan Văn Huấn’s command had been dis-
patched by the JGS to General Nguyến Văn Minh and ferried to An Lộc by
Chinook helicopters. The Commando Group once belonged to the ARVN
Special Forces. When the latter were deactivated in 1970, its personnel were
transferred to the ranger battalions or to the Commando Battalion which was
then upgraded to the 81st Airborne Commando Group. This unit was expert
at night operations, in close combat operations, and in conducting small-
unit long-range reconnaissance patrol deep into enemy territory, capturing
prisoners, and destroying rear base installations and infrastructures; they
were not normally engaged in conventional warfare. The unit was allowed
to retain its uniform and its green beret. It had proven its effectiveness in
the destruction of enemy “chốt” (reinforced blocking positions) like the ones
in Chơn Thành.28
They landed safely at 17:00 hours at the Ro Falls, close to the Srok Ton
Cui LZ of the airborne brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Phan Văn Huấn shook
hands with Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Ngọc, deputy commander of the air-
borne brigade, on arrival. On their way to An Lộc, the Commando Group
made contact with two companies of the 3rd Ranger Group that had been
separated from the 52nd Ranger Battalion, which was defending Hill 169
during the 13 April attack. The rangers had not been supplied for many days.
Hungry and exhausted, they were happy to join the commandos in an attempt
to return to their unit. The wounded rangers were treated and evacuated by
the helicopters that had brought in the commando group. Later, they received
a phone order by General Hưng to position themselves on the north end of
An Lộc by following the railway tract. However, due to darkness, the Com-
mando Group decided to camp outdoors at whatever was left of the Sóc Gòn
village, a Montagnard hamlet that had been abandoned by the enemy after
their encounter with the 5th Airborne Battalion.
They were armed with everything under the sun to include weapons taken
from the enemy. Their uniforms were equally diverse with some soldiers in
camouflage and others in mixed uniforms. Some of them were wearing steel
helmets and others had on soft caps…. They were the toughest looking crew I
had seen in many a month. That was saying a lot because up until that point
the paratroopers I was serving with were as ferocious as any soldiers I had
ever laid eyes on…. They possessed extraordinary bravery and were
supremely confident.29
On 17 April, the 81st Airborne Commando Group moved to the northern
side of An Lộc. They saw corpses of NVA soldiers and civilians scattered
114 INSIDE AN LOC

all around the streets. Close to the An Lộc hospital, hundreds of unburied
bodies were piled up inside two big holes, the stench of which was sickening.
The hospital itself was in ruins; most of the roof had disappeared and the
collapsed front wall revealed a row of empty beds with sheets and blankets
lying on the floor.30
The 81st Commandos were assigned the north-central section of the
town, flanked on the right by the 5th Division’s TOC and the left by the 8th
Regiment. A few days later from midnight until 03:00 hours, they moved
northward in small groups at the squad level. Buildings had collapsed, and
bunkers that civilians had dug out for their own safety were used by the
enemy. The commandos moved slowly from house to house using knives
and grenades to kill the enemy in their foxholes. They were able to regain
a small enclave 400 meters from their starting point. This was a small step
for the commandos, but a giant leap for the defenders in An Lộc.
But by moving unilaterally northward, their flanks became exposed.
Lieutenant Colonel Huấn, the commander, asked units of the 5th ARVN Divi-
sion to also move forward. The 5th ARVN Division asked Lieutenant Colonel
Biết of the Ranger Group if they could expand northward to cover the right
flank of the commandos. The 36th Ranger rapidly occupied the northeastern
sector toward the high ground near the airfield, scattering enemy soldiers
who fled toward the Quảng Lợi Plantation. The 8th ARVN Regiment under
Major Huỳnh Văn Tâm, deputy commander, however, did not move to fill
the gap on the left flank of the commandos. The enemy then launched a two-
pronged attack against the commandos, one from the north, the second from
the west. Fearing encirclement, the commandos withdrew to the market area.
By the end of 18 April, they controlled the whole assigned area stretching
about 100 meters in the northern direction.31
In the night, they started digging graves to bury their fallen comrades
following their tradition of working during the day and burying at night.
Soon a well-kept cemetery emerged amid the ruins of the besieged city. Old
ladies came to burn incense and offer prayers at the graves of these heroes.32
Hanoi was so confident about its victory in An Lộc that they proclaimed
on the National Liberation Radio that effective 20 April 1972, An Lộc would
become the seat of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Viet-
nam. On 19 April, Hanoi unleashed an intense and brutal attack on the north-
ern sector of the town preceded by a heavy artillery barrage followed by tank
and infantry assault. The latter was stopped by effective close air support.
The airborne commandos were ordered to counterattack while the enemy
regrouped. They crossed Trần Hưng Đạo Street and retook the New Market,
the bus station, and the hamlet of Thánh Mẩu (Blessed Mother) abandoned
 VI. The First Attack on An Lộc 115

earlier by the 8th ARVN Regiment. They moved stealthily from one house
to another, one building to the next, by blowing holes about one meter high
by half a meter wide in the city walls to avoid being observed and shot by
snipers. They used hand grenades and M-72 rocket launchers to destroy
enemy bunkers, forcing them to retreat to the north. When they reached the
pagoda and the Field Police headquarters, the enemy counterattacked by
assaulting their left flank. The 5th ARVN Division had to call for B-52 sup-
port, which after being diverted from another mission unloaded bombs 200
to 300 hundred meters from the commando line to prevent them from being
overrun. The commandos regrouped and engaged in hand-to-hand combat
to dislodge the last pockets of resistance. By the end of the day, they had
regained most of the lost territory.33
From that day onward, the 81st Airborne Commandos racked up many
valiant deeds, although they suffered moderate losses from incoming enemy
missiles. Captured NVA prisoners admitted they were most afraid of three
things: B-52 strikes, the 81st Commandos, and then paratroopers.34 Their
deeds had been published in the Vietnamese military history. Their small
cemetery in An Lộc bore two sentences that were used to memorialize them.
Although the cemetery no longer exists because the communists after their
victory in 1975 erased all traces of South Vietnamese glory and valor includ-
ing cemeteries, remembering plaques, steles, etc., any ARVN soldier could
remember these words:
On the famous battlefield of An Lộc,
Airborne commandos have sacrificed their lives for the country.
Also, on the brick wall of the cemetery, one could read Vương Hàn’s
two sentences that were inscribed in large letters:
TUÝ NGOẠ SA TRƯỜNG QUÂN MẠC TIÊU.
CỖ LAI CHINH CHỊẾN KỶ NHÂN HỒI
It’s better to go to the battlefield drinking and laughing,
for from antiquity, not many had come back from there.
This poetic note depicts the gallant attitude not only of the 81st Airborne
Commando Group, but also of the common broad-minded, magnanimous
spirit of ARVN soldiers. They fought courageously with the ultimate goal of
protecting people; they were generous, altruistic, and acted without any hate
like the bloodthirsty North Vietnamese Army, known as “Bộ đội Hồ Chí
Minh.” The latter, “born in the north and dead in the south,” killed people en
masse during the Tết Offensive in Huế, the withdrawals from the highlands
and the I Corps in 1975, and on every battlefield where their goal was to attack
and kill everyone, whether soldiers or civilians, without discrimination.
An Lộc that summer was also an example of this genocide of innocent
116 INSIDE AN LOC

people by “Hồ’s bộ đội,” where old men, women and children were mowed
down when they tried to escape the war zone on 7 April under the leadership
of Catholic and Buddhist priests. The communists would not spare anyone
standing in front of the barrels of their guns. That was their policy.
An Lộc was a provincial town without any system of fortifications or
trenches like Điện Biên Phủ. It never was a camp or a military fort. In that
town, the proportion of civilians to soldiers was five or six to one. If there
were 4,000 to 5,000 defenders, there were about 20,000 civilians or more.
Before the battle erupted, thousands of civilians left the village in groups in
direction of Chơn Thành or Bình Dương. They were mowed down by AK-
47s or killed by incoming VC mortars on Highway 13 over many kilometers
from the Xa Cam rubber plantation heading south.
Besides, on the first attack day coming from the east, the communists
pushed in front of them hundreds of Quản Lợi civilians using them as shields.
This was a cowardly and heartless act. Although ARVN troops had faced such
difficult situations, they had tried not to use their firepower against civilians.
On the contrary, on the same day, the NVA soldiers fired directly at the An
Lộc local hospital and civilian homes on many other occasions causing hun-
dreds of injured people who later died at the hospital. They kept on shelling,
causing dead bodies to disintegrate in multiple pieces or into globs of flesh
and bones flying all over the place inside and outside the hospital. The fol-
lowing day, the shelling continued as many thousands of shells rained down
on the town daily. It was natural for troops to die, but in this case hundreds
or thousands of civilians also died while the town totally collapsed under
the onslaught of shells and bombs. There was no house left standing, no wall,
no street, no tree trunks that did not carry scars from mortars, missiles, or shells,
big or small, courtesy of Ho’s bộ đội. The small local church also was turned
into rubble, except for the still-standing pedestal holding the statue of Jesus
the Redeemer. It should be remembered that An Lộc was a town, not a system
of trenches or fortifications. It was a live dwelling place for villagers, not
an armory or a military camp to be turned into a no man’s land.
The presence of these two airborne units in An Lộc raised the hope of
defenders whether they were the 5th ARVN Infantry Division, 3rd Ranger
TF, or soldiers and civilians of the Military Sector of Bình Long. The latter
reorganized their fighting positions—they mostly enlarged or deepened their
foxholes to be better protected from shelling or attacks. Defense techniques,
reliance on M-72 launchers, and a formidable anti-tank armament introduced
to 5th ARVN Division soldiers in 1972 raised the fighting spirit of the troops
as well as their belief in the will of their leaders, especially their commander,
General Lê Văn Hưng.
 VII

A Clash of Personalities

One could not remain inside this small bunker in the middle of the
besieged An Lộc town without feeling the tension between the two main
officers who directed the battlefield from the South Vietnamese side. If every-
thing was hot outside the bunker, it was also “electrically charged” within
on various occasions. If bombs and shells exploded outside the compound,
verbal explosions shattered the calm inside. If the outside skirmishes affected
the tension on the inside, the inside dispute could adversely affect the war
on the outside.

Easterner and Westerner

One does not know when the animosity between the two officers began,
but even before the first explosion was heard in An Lộc, Colonel Miller had
tried to have General Hưng dismissed.1 This was the first official salvo that
the former had “fired” against the latter.
General Hưng, however, did not respond to the offense but continued
to work as usual as if nothing had happened maybe because he had the full
support of his superior, General Minh. General Hưng did not share anything
with me about that topic either. He was a calm and quiet, some say taciturn,
officer who rarely discussed his personal problems with anyone. As a true
southern introvert—although it is hard to generalize—he kept everything to
himself and tried to correct and improve himself through his own effort.
Like many Vietnamese, he was an individualist who had been successful so
far by that time; that success in turn had given him some inner confidence
that allowed him to meet the challenges of the An Lộc battle. Some people
may call this attitude “aloof,” although many southerners would simply char-
acterize it as an acceptance of adverse events. They thought that if they could

117
118 INSIDE AN LOC

not change or refute an event, they simply accepted it. Since General Hưng
could not change the mind of Colonel Miller, who bore preconceived opin-
ions about him, he just accepted the fact, went on with his life, and proved
himself later on the battlefield.
From the Vietnamese side, accepting an adverse event did not mean
ignoring it or ignoring Miller: that would only create more problems down
the road. A shunned or discredited Miller could have, for example, held off
air support, which could have led to a battlefield disaster. Therefore, General
Hưng had to diplomatically maneuver through a minefield whenever he had
to deal with his adviser. If at times he would support Miller’s ideas and go
along with them, on other occasions he would stick to his own ideas and
pursue them until he reached his goals. On a battlefield, there was no way
to prove beforehand that decisions one had planned to take would always
be foolproof, successful or logical. These decisions General Hưng made,
derived from the combined years of experience on the battlefield, from “gut
feeling,” and from the confidence he had in his troops and military reserve.
Having fought the Viet Cong for many years, he had the “gut feeling” of
how the enemy would react if such or such decision were taken. How could
he relay that feeling to an American who had not had that same experience?
How could he convey that feeling to a person of a different culture, especially
when Vietnamese officers, in general, did not have a good grasp of English
to explain everything in detail? How could he convey all the subtleties of
the art of warfare, the nuts and bolts of a maneuver, when they both had
graduated through different military schools and lived in different cultures?
Other factors also played a role in the relationship between the two officers.
Although at times he had shared his ideas with Colonel Miller, it was always
difficult in the heat of a battle to explain in detail the maneuvers or decisions
he had planned to take. Taking time to explain everything could cause him
to lose concentration on the rapidly changing events of the battlefield.
Although he would like to explain everything to Miller and put him at ease,
it was not always possible in all occasions.
Accepting an adverse event, on the other hand, did not mean that he
was wrong: it simply meant that two people have two different opinions
about an event. In this case, he believed that there was no need to argue or
discuss because neither side would budge or change his mind. It was like
being a communist and a non-communist in Vietnam. Each side would stick
to his argument and believe he was right until time had come for the differ-
ences to break into the open and to fight again.
An American, however, would not accept an event/status a priori. Col-
onel Miller, especially, had opinions or ideas about everything, which he
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 119

tried to sell to General Hưng on every occasion. He would offer his own
ideas—many of them were odd, to say the least—even though they were not
requested, to the point of forcing them on his counterpart.
This is where the mind of the Vietnamese (easterner) and the American
(westerner) differs. One side is passive, subtle, or introvert and tries not to
impress his counterpart; however, when he was convinced he was right, he
would proceed ahead anyway, leaving his counterpart confused. The western
side is aggressive or extrovert and tries at all cost to smother or dominate
his counterpart. Thus, if the Vietnamese may appear difficult for the American
to judge or decipher, the American may appear arrogant or abusive to the
Vietnamese. Although this is a generalization, it is true in the majority of
cases if majority can be defined as happening in more than 51 percent of the
cases. Unrefined, an American or a Vietnamese may harbor preconceived
ideas about the other, especially if either is tainted by a complex of inferi-
ority.
Although General Hưng did not say anything, I was pretty convinced
that Colonel Miller’s attempt to replace him by another officer did hurt him.
This was a direct and personal attack on his character, ability, and self-worth,
and no officer in his right mind would take that affront lightly. A Vietnamese
would rarely make such a direct frontal attack, such as asking for the resig-
nation of someone. As a soft or passive person, he would indicate his dis-
pleasure in a more indirect way. Born in an open society, an American has
been told from a young age to speak his mind; he usually does it without
realizing that this attitude could be felt as offensive by Asians. Although it
is the purview of an adviser to suggest certain things, such a direct frontal
attack may not be “politically correct.”
James Bruton, a former military adviser in Vietnam, contrasts the Viet-
namese and American psychological differences a little bit further.2
American Tendency Vietnamese Tendency
Individualistic outlook Collective outlook
Diffuse authority Top-down decision making
Decentralized decision making
Speedy results—short-term Patience—long-term view
perspective
(Rush to failure) (Cautious deliberative action)
Direct communication Indirect communication
Straightforward—“all cards on the Reticence
table”
Confrontational Harmony, face saving
Human agency as primary causality Role of fate, karma
Truth is fixed, permanent Truth is strongly contextual
120 INSIDE AN LOC

American Tendency Vietnamese Tendency

Contract terms are binding Contract terms are circumstantial and
subject to change
Overstatement of achievements Self-effacing
Universalization of American Particularistic outlook
experiences
(others should imitate American ways)

Additionally, the adviser, in this case, Colonel Miller, was lower in rank
than his advisee, General Hưng. For a lower-ranking adviser to suggest
removing a high-level officer was an act rarely seen, unless the advisee was
a really bad person. This was not the case with General Hưng who was not
a womanizer, did not take bribes, and did not shy away from his military
duties. In fact, he was a straightforward and capable officer who during this
An Lộc battle was fighting alongside his troops in the trenches. He had
endured the terrible shelling of the town with all his troops and suffered
through highs and lows throughout the duration of the battle in the forefront
of the battlefield. As a matter of fact, on two occasions, the NVA came within
50 yards of his bunker. Had the enemy proceeded forward, they would have
neutralized the commanding post and captured all the officers, and the battle
would have been lost.

An Lộc Field Commander and U.S. Adviser

After the first attack on An Lộc, part of the northern side of the city fell
into enemy hands, especially the area around the Đồng Long Airfield, which
prevented resupply and evacuation of wounded troops. General Minh’s deci-
sion was to drop the 1st Airborne Brigade—which included the 5th, 6th, and
8th Battalions; the 3rd Airborne Artillery Battalion; and a reconnaissance
company under the command of Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng (later promoted
to brigadier general, the last commander of the Airborne Division)—on two
dry fields close to Highway 13 north of town and at mid-distance between
the Cần Lê Bridge and the Đồng Long Airfield. From there, the troops would
march south and attack enemy troops stationed at the airport and the northern
end of the town. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Biết along with Lieutenant
Colonel Lý Đức Quân’s 7th Regiment would attack the enemy from the
south. Of course, the VNAF and U.S. Air Force would drop bombs before
the airborne, rangers and infantrymen mounted their attacks.
This strategy, when presented to the ARVN 5th Division leadership, was
approved by Colonel Miller, although General Hưng decided to first meet
with Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng, the Airborne Brigade commander, the following
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 121

day, 14 April, to discuss the plan. On that day, in the early morning mist, a
helicopter flying low above tree tops dropped Colonel Lưỡng at the Military
Sector headquarters of Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt. And I was ordered to meet
and pick up Colonel Lưỡng and drive him back to the divisional headquarters.
When I arrived at the underground headquarters of the Bình Long Mil-
itary Sector, I understood why U.S. advisers fell backward and overwhelm-
ingly praised Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt, province chief and commander of the
Military Sector. The underground bunker, named B-15, previously housing
the ARVN Special Forces, was recently built by the U.S. forces. It was deep,
sturdy, and three times larger than the small, cramped, somewhat moldy, and
darkly lit divisional bunker. There was no starker contrast between the more
than two-decade-old divisional bunker and the recently built B-15 bunker.
The latter was brightly lit, large enough for Vietnamese and U.S. officers to
sit and work in an orderly manner around an operation table, which was
filled with up-to-date maps of the town and the battlefield. There was no
lack of cigarettes, tea, coffee, and other food products dispensed around.
Compared to the divisional bunker, the B-15 bunker appeared in the midst
of the confrontation like a vacation home.
As mentioned above, Colonel Nhựt was a warrior and a politician.
Almost all the U.S. advisers in An Lộc were housed at the B-15 bunker,
except for Colonel Miller and two of his subordinates. The total number of
U.S. advisers from the military zone and other units during this whole battle
could have been as high as 10 or more, from lieutenant colonel down in rank.
They all had been well treated by Colonel Nhựt who displayed a natural
smartness or “emotional intelligence” as previously mentioned. On the other
hand, it was thanks to this handful of advisers who contacted the U.S. Tactical
Air Command and the Strategic Air Command to drop bombs on enemy
forces that the defenders were able to hold on to An Lộc. Later, it was only
natural that this group would praise Colonel Nhựt for his close collaboration
as well as his demeanor.
However, Colonel Nhựt only commanded a small number of troops,
maybe less than a battalion of RF and SDF or roughly 600 soldiers, in An
Lộc itself. Although the advisers had suggested that he commanded a regi-
ment of 1,000 troops, that number was somewhat high. Colonel Nhưt also
did not make any major tactical battlefield decision at An Lộc; that military
role belonged to General Hưng. One of the advisers of the TF-52 unit was
then 1st Lieutenant James H. Willbanks who arrived at An Lộc on 12 April—
one day before the An Lộc battle began, but more than one week after the
battle of Lộc Ninh—and had to be evacuated on 9 July because of a shrapnel
wound. On his return to the U.S., he took a post-graduate course and was
122 INSIDE AN LOC

later promoted to lieutenant colonel. Based on Colonel Miller’s documents,

he decided to write as part of his master’s degree on the battle of An Lộc
where he effusively praised Colonel Nhựt while downsizing General Lê Văn
Hưng’s role in the battle. Being located in another bunker, he was not aware
of, nor did appreciate, the huge cultural and military differences as well as
thinking processes between Colonel Miller and General Hưng before and
during the An Lộc battle.
Willbanks noted that General Hưng was a “demoralized” man, “totally
indecisive and unable to handle the stress of high-intensity combat.”3 In the
same vein, Andrade reported that “Colonel Miller thought that Hưng would
probably be happy as long as he could sit and do nothing, even if the entire
country burned around him in the meantime.” All these assessments could
only come from Colonel Miller, because neither Willbanks nor Andrade was
in close contact with General Hưng. The scornful language Willbanks used
in his 1995 book—two decades after General Hưng’s death—suggested the
deep distaste Colonel Miller had for the general.4
When Colonel Miller first came to the ARVN 5th Division in the summer
of 1971, he reported to TRAC (Third Regional Assistance Command) that
“Hưng displays outstanding leadership, is aggressive, organized, and force-
ful. He appears extremely knowledgeable, has confidence in himself, and is
quickly gaining the confidence of his subordinates.” No one knew why Miller
had diametrically changed his opinion a few months later. Either he was not
candid about his earlier observations or he had badly misread his counterpart.
Andrade further wrote that although “he respected Miller, Hưng rarely sought
out his advice and often did not inform him of tactical decisions.”5 Therefore,
the problem with Miller was that he felt disrespected by Hưng.
General Thi commented that Hưng, like many South Vietnamese as
detailed in the first chapter, was a “rather taciturn and independent man
[who] … liked to act on his own and was not eager to listen to the advice
of his counterparts.”6 Andrade pointed to the fact that he “disliked overbear-
ing Americans who wanted the war fought according to American rules. This
resentment colored Hưng’s relations with U.S. officers since the early 1960s,
garnering him a reputation as being “anti–American.”7 This reasoning was
not correct for two reasons. First, General Hưng had never displayed any
overt anti–American stance. On the contrary, he deeply appreciated the help
of U.S. advisers who called for air support day in and day out for him. Sec-
ond, he had an excellent working relationship with Colonel Ulmer, Miller’s
replacement. Colonel Ulmer did not experience any burst of anger or any
major verbal argument toward General Hưng; nor did he threaten to pull the
adviser group out of An Lộc like Miller did.
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 123

The other argument rested on the difference of opinion regarding the

strategic defense of Lộc Ninh. Colonel Nguyễn Công Vĩnh, commander of
the ARVN 9th Regiment at Lộc Ninh was an old and weak officer who needed
to be transferred to a desk office or to simply retire. What was holding him
in Lộc Ninh was unknown to Hưng, although Miller speculated that it was
because of Vĩnh’s relationship with Hưng. But when Miller asked Hưng
about replacing Vĩnh, Hưng responded that he “would incur the wrath of
someone in Saigon with political ties to Vĩnh if he did that.”8 That alone
would suggest that Hưng had nothing to do with keeping Vĩnh in his position
in Lộc Ninh. Besides, according to ARVN rules, a division commander could
only make a recommendation but could not fire or demote his regimental
commander. Only the Corps commander could. Either way, replacing him
would take time and could not be done while a major enemy attack was
threatening.
Although Colonel Miller thought that Lộc Ninh could be reasonably
defended,9 the location of the town on the northern end of the province and
close to the Cambodian border made the task extremely difficult, if not
impossible. The huge NVA forces stationing in Cambodia could relentlessly
attack this outpost until it fell and then withdraw safely into their sanctuaries
without worrying about reprisal from a stretched ARVN force. For the ARVN,
bringing reinforcement troops to An Lộc was already a huge task, let alone
taking them all the way to Lộc Ninh. Since that outpost was very small in
size and could barely accommodate three small compounds, positioning the
reinforcing troops there would present a huge safety problem. The outpost
would be massively shelled like An Lộc and would surrender faster; other-
wise it would be destroyed in no time. Lộc Ninh with its flat terrain and lack
of natural defenses was, therefore, not a defendable place.
As mentioned above, Colonel Miller had suggested that General Hưng
relinquish his command to Colonel Nhựt, Bình Long province chief.10 This
in-your-face suggestion from a colonel to a general, from a foreigner to a
native, from an adviser to a commanding officer, reeked of arrogance because
it was not only insulting, but was also a major break of military protocol
and common sense. Colonel Miller would have been wiser to report his rec-
ommendation to his superior, General Hollingsworth, who would commu-
nicate with General Minh, the Corps commander; the latter in turn would
have made the final decision.11 Or the matter could go higher from General
Hollingsworth to General Abrams then to General Cao Văn Viên, chairman
of the JGS. When an American adviser reported via his superior to General
Viên about a Vietnamese officer whom he considered ineffective, inept or
otherwise unsuited for command, General Viên and his counterpart General
124 INSIDE AN LOC

Abrams would travel together on field inspections, and General Abrams

“would comment tersely on the state of the command and the ability of the
commanders as he saw it. But he never suggested either the promotion or
the relief of anyone.”12 If even General Abrams would not suggest any pro-
motion or relief of anyone, why would Colonel Miller continue to attack and
disparage General Hưng through the writings of then Lieutenant Willbanks?
Frances Fitzgerald was probably close when she wrote about U.S. mil-
itary advisers, especially Colonel Miller.
Covered with righteous platitudes, theirs was an essential colonialist vision,
borne out of the same insecurity and desire for domination that had motivated
many of the French. When their counterparts did not take their instructions,
these advisers treated the Vietnamese like bad pupils, accusing them of cor-
ruption and laziness, and attempted to impose authority over them.13
Prior to the battle, General Hưng commended Colonel Miller for being
a brave and resilient officer who had come through U.S. Army ranks, from
a private to colonel, which was a respectable and worthwhile achievement
indeed. The French have this nice expression “un très respectueux officier
sorti du rang.” He also felt that although Colonel Miller was a fine com-
mander in the Korean War and other battlefields, he had not had enough
experience in the war in Vietnam to lecture a Vietnamese general, commander
of a division. Besides, in a military organization, whether Vietnamese or
American, a general is a general, and a colonel is a colonel, and the gulf
between the two is sometimes as wide as the Grand Canyon.
Colonel Miller, on the other hand, considered General Hưng as a
“young” general or a “Delta-Clan general,” a derisory and belittling term,
which equated to being “green.” The American press at that time reserved
this appellation to senior members of the ARVN 21st Division who were
staunch supporters of President Thiệu. However, only a few of them were
eventually rewarded with good positions in the army or administration. By
extension, it designated young military personnel who rose rapidly through
the ranks because of suspected political ties to Thiệu.14 This was not the case
of General Hưng who rose in ranks through his own merits. He was a sea-
soned fighter and a well-regarded regiment commander in the IV Corps
before becoming the commander of the 5th ARVN Division; he also had
received more combat medals than any other Vietnamese counterpart of his
rank.
The two fighters disparaged each other and subconsciously became ene-
mies. But their attitudes were totally different. Colonel Miller violently
argued with General Hưng right in the tiny bunker at An Lộc. As a southern
gentleman, General Hưng was an easygoing person who forgot everything
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 125

even after a heated discussion. Colonel Miller, on the other hand, brought
his grudge back to the U.S. and during each presentation, discussion, con-
ference he made about the An Lộc battle, he continued to belittle General
Hưng.

Tactical Disagreements
The other event had to do with what happened inside the underground
bunker. On 7 April 1972, for security reasons, the divisional operational head-
quarters was moved to the bunker located close to the administrative building
of the village. This was an old bunker built by the Japanese some two decades
earlier and refurbished to house the Forward Operations Center of the III
Corps commander, General Minh, for the An Lộc battle. Since General Minh
decided not to come to An Lộc, the bunker was turned over to General Hưng.
From the ground through the opening of the bunker and down 10 steps,
one would immediately face the main room of the bunker or the division’s
TOC where all the sleeping cots were located. Five steps toward the left was
the communication section with all its electronic devices. This was the nerve
center of the 5th Division. Twenty steps toward the right was located a private
room reserved for the commander with its iron bed, a small refrigerator, a
small table and a chair. General Hưng, however, had relinquished his private
room to Colonel Mạch Văn Trường who was recovering from a shrapnel
injury to his shoulder sustained prior to the first enemy attack. He would
only reoccupy his room by the last week of April. During that interval period,
he slept in the bunker’s main room where two cots placed side by side were
reserved for the two most important officers at An Lộc, General Hưng, field
commander, and Colonel Miller, U.S. adviser. The two cots were separated
by a small coffee table. Close to Colonel Miller’s cot were those of the two
other advisers, Lieutenant Colonel Ed Benedict, assistant to Miller, and
Major Alan Borsdorf, operations assistant of the adviser group. At the coffee
table where the two main officers often discussed the strategy of the day,
many loud confrontations had occurred during that April month.
Colonel Miller, seeing An Lộc being reinforced with the 1st Airborne
Brigade and the 81st Airborne Commando Group, suggested launching an
immediate attack to reoccupy the commercial center on the north end of the
town as well as the Đồng Long Airfield. These areas had been occupied by
enemy troops during the first attack from 13 to 16 April. If such a counter-
attack were to occur, Colonel Miller mentioned that he would request Strate-
gic and Tactical Air Force to provide maximal support for General Hưng’s
126 INSIDE AN LOC

troops. He also suggested using the 1st Airborne Brigade, the 81st Airborne
Commando Group and the 3rd Ranger TF during the main attack while the
other units would be ready to fight from their positions. He estimated that
General Hưng could mobilize 3,000 troops for that endeavor and the Đồng
Long Airfield, once recovered from the enemy, would be useful to the resup-
ply and evacuation operations; it would provide a more stable and economical
supply route than the daily airdrop. Without the Đồng Long Airfield, Viet-
namese and U.S. helicopters flying in and out of the LZ were in constant
danger of being shot down by enemy forces. Although Colonel Miller’s sug-
gestion was correct, it was premature.
According to prisoners’ statements—an NVA officer who was caught
by the ARVN 3/7 Battalion during the first attack on 17 April and another
NVA hồi chánh15—the fact that the 271st Regiment of the VC 9th Division
had been wiped out by B-52 boxes at Phú Lố and Phú Bình hamlets a few
days earlier suggested the NVA 5th Division had failed in its attack in the
northwest section of the town. Enemy troops—the VC 272nd Regiment—
were only holding the Đồng Long Airfield and the northern section of An
Lộc. The prisoners also reported that COSVN would prepare for a bigger
attack on An Lộc from the northeast by the 5th Div/VC. Another smaller
attack from the southwest would be spearheaded by the 9th Div/VC. Tanks,
artillery, and anti-aircraft guns would support the above two divisions. The
7th Div/NVA would send a regiment to attack the southeast side of An Lộc
where the airborne brigade was stationed. Facing these potential dangers
and the possibility of a larger and more dangerous conflict, General Hưng
became leery about launching a counterattack at that time. This difference
in strategic assessment increased the level of antagonism between the two
officers. The confrontation took place over a period of many days, even as
the second phase of enemy attack had ended (18–21 April).
The situation, which had become tense with every passing day, forced
me to step into General Hưng’s private quarters and discuss the matter with
him. He told me earlier that he regarded Colonel Miller as an experienced
soldier who did not know a lot about warfare in Vietnam. He explained that
he only needed Miller for the strategic air support and tactical resupply, but
not for his tactical point of view. Sometimes, Hưng responded nicely to
Miller; but on many occasions, he kept quiet and left the operational bunker.
Colonel Miller also told me, “Your ‘young’ general is good for keeping his
silence rather than for speaking and acting.” “Yes, Sir. His ‘silence’ means
that he would stand firm and fight; his soldiers would look to him to stand
firm and fight. He is young, but he is the best and a very experienced warrior
in our army,” I politely replied.16
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 127

Hưng had also told Miller that in case of another attack in the future,
COSVN would be able to mobilize more than 20,000 NVA troops as well as
other infantry, artillery, tank, and special units with a total force of more
than three divisions. Had the ARVN at the time of the discussion counterat-
tacked to take back the Đồng Long Airfield and part of the northern section
of the town as Miller had suggested, the losses would have been high. Even
in case of success, ARVN forces, whose numbers stood at 7,000 prior to the
first attack, would have to spread thin to take control of all the new positions,
thereby weakening the line of defense. Therefore, although a counterattack
at that time might temporarily be successful, ARVN forces would be anni-
hilated by a stronger NVA counterattack.
The argument about “tactics” increased the divide between these two
leaders. General Hưng naturally had reported all details to his superior, Gen-
eral Minh, and so did Colonel Miller with General Hollingsworth. Colonel
Miller’s animosity against General Hưng, although hidden by the western
way of reporting, could not be controlled at that time or later when he
returned to the U.S. He continued to discredit General Hưng with terms like
“almost paralyzed,”17 “indecisive and unable to handle the stress of high-
intensity combat,”18 and “he looses [sic] all his composure.”19 He also pro-
vided personal documents to 1st Lieutenant James H. Willbanks, who once
served as an adviser for the TF-52 of the ARVN 18th Infantry Division. Lieu-
tenant Willbanks, after returning to the U.S., used these documents20 to write
his master’s report, which was later expanded into a book entitled The Battle
of An Lộc, published by the Indiana University Press in 2005.
Looking at the events at the time, one could see that Colonel Miller’s
assessment of the battlefield was narrow. The 5th Div/NVA was keeping its
174th Regiment in the area of the rubber plantation and the Quản Lợi airfield
as a reserve unit in case the ARVN suddenly decided to retake this important
position five to six kilometers northeast of An Lộc. Facing this gathering of
NVA forces in the east and southeast of An Lộc in addition to other factors
mentioned above, General Hưng could not approve Colonel Miller’s plan to
retake the northern end of An Lộc and Đồng Long Airfield at that time. Basi-
cally, the ARVN did not have enough reserves left to throw into the battlefield
in case the counterattack failed.
Besides, as the battlefield situation in the southeast sector remained
unstable, pulling the airborne troops out of their crucial positions to spear-
head an attack on the Đồng Long Airfield and the northern end of the town
as suggested by Colonel Miller would not be a smart strategy. One wonders
why he kept on pushing for an counterattack on the northern sector of the
town until the end of April. Willbanks wrote, “Colonel Miller had once again
128 INSIDE AN LOC

become frustrated with General Hưng. After the jubilation of blunting the
attack on 19–20 April had faded, Miller urged Hưng to put his troops on the
offensive to retake the northern part of the city. However, no amount of
pleading was able to force Hưng to give such an order.”21
Was Willbanks aware that on 19–20 April the NVA had violently
attacked the 6th Airborne Battalion forcing it and its artillery company to
withdraw from Hill 169 to An Lộc’s military zone? Did he know that the air-
borne brigade had lost a third of its force in these two days and was therefore
unable to lead any new attack? If he did, why did he not mention it in his
book? Or did he just want to protect the tactical opinion of Colonel Miller
and forget about this important event?
Although General Hưng appreciated the work and support of Colonel
Miller and the other advisers, the final decision rested on him, the commander
of the battlefield from the ARVN side. Colonel Miller as an adviser and a
guest, by pressing and nagging the general constantly, came out not as a
friendly adviser, but as a bully. General Hưng had behaved more than cour-
teously toward Colonel Miller during these difficult times as Willbanks had
remarked when he wrote, “Hưng no doubt resented Miller’s pushing and
overbearing attitude, feeling that the American was overstepping his bounds
and meddling in South Vietnamese affairs.”22
As to the report that “the general sat in his bunker, with only limited
contact with his regimental commanders, and waited for U.S. airpower to
save the day,”23 this was another example of a one-sided statement professed
by Colonel Miller. If General Hưng did not have daily contact with his com-
manders, how could he oversee the ever-changing battlefield, give daily
reports to General Minh, and lead his troops to success?
When these communication problems occurred, the adviser could not
only talk to his counterpart, but also to his U.S. superior. The latter would
tell his Vietnamese counterpart who would relay the message to his subor-
dinate.24 Colonel Miller apparently had made multiple reports to his superior,
General Hollingsworth. Whether the latter had communicated them to Gen-
eral Minh was not known. It was probably this failure by Generals
Hollingsworth and Minh to act in response to Miller’s requests that increased
the latter’s bitterness toward General Hưng. Failure basically meant ignor-
ing/not acting on Miller’s claims.

The Adviser’s Role

Being an adviser, like being a teacher, is not an easy task to fulfill or
role to play. The task is further complicated by cultural, ethnic, and training
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 129

differences. It is not all about experience or professional competence;

strangely many experienced officers turn out to be not good advisers—
although these qualities do help. It is not about flooding the advisee with
data, suggestions, and advice to the point of drowning him and leaving him
feeling incapable of performing his duty. It is not about passively waiting
for the advisee to come to him as the last resort, because by then it may be
too late to change anything. It is above all an art: that of counseling, that of
teaching. It is about growing an individual, cultivating him, making him a
competent individual who would be able to handle adversity. If the adviser’s
role is similar to that of a teacher, the adviser is more than a teacher.
To accomplish his duty, the adviser not only has to understand his advisee,
know him and his needs, but he also wants to improve himself. He is teaching
an adult person, a grown-up man who has a position and a place in society,
which in this case is his unit and the army he serves. If the adviser is techno-
logically advanced and can call on B-52 bombers or any other type of air sup-
port, the advisee has years of war experience in his country. If the adviser knows
where to call for material supplies, the advisee knows which of his units he
can rely on to deal with a certain situation. If the adviser knows how to deal
with the U.S. Army, the advisee knows how to deal with the Vietnamese
public, the local people: in the end, it is a war for “the hearts of the people.”
Besides, the advisee has his “face” to protect: he does not want to appear
ignorant or weak in front of his unit to the point of being dependent on his
adviser for everything. If he does appear weak or incompetent, he would not
be able to lead his troops any longer; his men would not want to serve or
put their lives under his command. This is a battle for the advisee to shine
and to win and time for the adviser to fade away. The role of the adviser is
to prop his advisee up, to support him, to make him feel competent and com-
fortable to assume his position. This is where many advisers have made a
mistake: they want to shine instead of letting their advisee shine. The focus
should be on the advisee: this is his unit, his country, and his war, and he
should be able to shine. It requires a lot of maturity, control, and self-
confidence for the adviser to know when to back out and let his advisee take
the credit. But by backing out, both advisee and adviser will shine because
by giving credit to his advisee, the adviser has won the confidence and trust
of his advisee who will from then on turn to him for more advice. On the
other hand, berating the advisee, using the adviser’s position of strength and
influence to force him to do something, would only harden the man, convince
him to stay away from the adviser. This is why being an adviser is an art
that is based on true human relationship. As such, it requires time; a one-
year tenure is too short to produce connection and generate influence.
130 INSIDE AN LOC

Vietnamese officers in their evaluation of the American military effort

stress the tendency of U.S. advisers “to overtake and patronize” the South
Vietnamese, a practice that “seemed to edge ARVN commanders toward a
passive role, especially since modern warfare required so much skill in the
employment of U.S. controlled combat support assets.”25
Besides, to do a good job of advising or “coaching” a person, whether
in a public or military field, requires a good if not an intimate knowledge of
that person. Since each adviser would stay in ARVN combat units only six
months at most, the rapid manpower rotation forced each tactical commander
to deal with as many as 20 to 30 different advisers over the war years26; such
rapid turnover, sadly, was not conducive to steady progress and improvement
of the units.
Besides language and cultural differences, the advisers’ good life
did not make interaction between tactical commanders and U.S. advisers
easy.
It seemed that no American could survive without his PX, his compound, and
his daily bath. In time American compounds and PX’s became monumental
institutions of American culture in Vietnam. To the underprivileged Viet-
namese, these constituted a whole world apart, a world so distant that Viet-
namese seldom really felt close to Americans in a cultural sense…. An ARVN
officer, if criticized for not keeping pace with American drive, was usually
heard retorting, “If I lived that kind of life, I could do the same.27

Exposure to the “unattainable good life” of the Americans created in

ARVN soldiers a “complex of inferiority and sometimes bitterness, which
accounted for the distance they always tried to keep from American advisers
in order not to be hurt.”
In addition, U.S. advisers knew that their service would be limited to
one year, unless they renewed it; they knew that no matter how difficult the
hardship would be, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, they
either could behave aggressively like Rambo28 because that would be the
only time for them to shine on the battlefield or bide their time until their
service ended. On the other end, ARVN troops knew that once enrolled in
the ARVN, they would be in for the duration. They were trapped, for nothing
was more restrictive and emotionally depressing for their young minds, no
matter how enthusiastic they were in the beginning about performing their
duty, than to realize that they were stuck forever in an unending war unless
they were severely disabled or had reached retirement age.
In general, the South Vietnamese were grateful to U.S. advisers for sac-
rificing their lives and for helping them attain remarkable achievements in
terms of combat readiness and technical and managerial skills.
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 131

The majority of U.S. Army advisers came out of their tour of duty with a bet-
ter, more sober understanding of the problem the RVNAF had to face in the
war. More importantly, they invariably came away with profound compassion
and a heartfelt affection for their counterparts with whom they had shared the
hazards and spartan conditions of combat. Many such relationships had
developed into lasting personal friendships.29

One night toward the end of April 1972 around midnight while I was
sitting at the square operations table—that replaced the old short table—
Colonel Miller came and told me he needed to talk to General Hưng. The
latter had retired into his private quarters, which had been vacated by Colonel
Mạch Văn Trường who had been sent back to his unit. Colonel Miller told
me that he would call TRAC to “rescue” the divisional combat assistance
team out of An Lộc. He showed me his letter which was written on a yellow
operations form. I read the short sentence—although I do not remember the
exact wording—and asked him a simple question: “Colonel, do you have
any feeling toward the troops in this division?” “Yes, I do have respect for
them, but I have to leave,” he answered. I requested that he please sit down
and went to General Hưng’s private quarters to present the yellow memo.
The latter just laughed at it, but he could not hide his anger. “Let him go,”
he said. “This is not possible. You have to see him,” I answered.
I left the room and went to the refrigerator, cut a few pieces of chã lụa
(pork roll), and placed them on a plate before setting them along with a few
beer cans on the operations table. I told Colonel Miller that General Hưng
would be out in a minute and returned to my cot. A few minutes later, General
Hưng walked out properly dressed in his fatigues with a general star sewn
on his shirt collar. He smiled and shook Colonel Miller’s hand, and the two
sat down and talked normally like nothing important had happened. They
talked about things that no one dared to come close by to listen to, but they
did not argue like the days before.
After that night, from morning until the next day, the 2nd and 3rd
Bureaus of the Operations Command headquarters did not receive any order
from General Hưng to counterattack on the Đồng Long Airfield and the
northern section of the town. I only knew that in the area of responsibility
of the 81st Airborne Commando of Lieutenant Colonel Phan Văn Huấn with
his unusual working tactic, he was able to reoccupy each house, each row
of houses, and destroy each enemy group at a time. His control area, there-
fore, had been widening toward the north end of town. U.S. Spectres kept
coming every night over the town and the peripheral area to destroy enemy
tanks and army trucks.
One day in early May 1972, I don’t remember which one, one parachute
132 INSIDE AN LOC

that did not open in time sent a supply pallet crashing through the roof of a
brick building belonging to the 2nd Bureau operational office where more
than two dozen NCOs and officers were working. It created a four-meter-
deep hole in the basement, although the walls remained intact; only the roof
and floor of the house had disappeared out of our view. No one was hurt
because my two captains and I were in the bunker of the administrative
building working on the operations log, and the other officers and troops
were in their foxholes outside the building. That unavoidable hole was still
useful to us for it became our safe working place in the future.
About a week or 10 days later, after I finished lunch with colleagues in
that pallet-induced hole and was about to walk to my administrative bunker,
I saw a U.S. colonel standing by Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm, the operational
chief of staff, outside the door looking with a surprised look at the gaping
deep hole. I climbed out of it to greet him. He told me he was the new adviser
replacing Colonel Miller and would like to talk to me about enemy troops
and get a report on the prisoner who was caught a few days earlier. I met
with him in the operations room for about 10 minutes. That was the day we
were preparing for another round of enemy attack in May. His name was
Colonel Walter F. Ulmer. He was in his forties, not very tall but well pro-
portioned and good looking. He seemed to be quiet, reserved, although he
was very knowledgeable. He was definitely different from Colonel Miller
who wanted to talk all the time. It struck me that Colonel Miller had quietly
left town the night before, although his associates had remained in An Lộc
to work with Colonel Ulmer.
The new adviser and the division commander appeared to work in sync.
The support of the U.S. Air Force was fast and effective in the violent new
round of attack. As to Colonel Miller, I did not know where he was trans-
ferred. Even if he had sent his request for “evacuation” of the whole assis-
tance team out of An Lộc, his superiors would only rescue him because
Washington was not about to abandon An Lộc right in the middle of a fight.
Which U.S. commander in Vietnam would have the gall to remove the whole
team out of An Lộc? Naturally, only Colonel Miller suffered from the back-
lash. Before the battle of An Lộc, he was slated to become commander of a
U.S. brigade with the possibility of becoming general. But after returning
to the U.S. until his retirement, he remained a colonel although had the
chance of becoming a potential commander. This may have been the source
of his growing hate toward General Hưng. We have to be happy for him, for
one of his sons who graduated from a well-known U.S. military school later
fought bravely in Iraq and was promoted to lieutenant general. That was his
best consolation.
 VII. A Clash of Personalities 133

Colonel Ulmer was different than his predecessor. While Miller was
passionate and deeply involved in the details of his relationship with General
Hưng, Ulmer was detached and observant. While Miller was emotional and
moody, Ulmer was calm and coldly calculating.
But Ulmer was concerned about the overall situation when he saw the
chaos that greeted him when he first landed in An Lộc. The scene of dead
and dying lying around in the corridors of the forward command post and
the moans of men in agony struck him deeply and made him think about a
possible extraction. Ulmer later recounted how Hưng seemed “weary and
cautious, but he was clearly in command.” He was fatigued and nervous for
having carried alone the responsibility for the defense of An Lộc since early
April. Ulmer recalled, “Hưng never buckled, though he was clearly con-
cerned.”30
 VIII

The Siege

Once the first attack failed on 16 April 1972, the NVA/VC began tight-
ening their siege on the town using “strangulation and starvation tactics”
before attacking in force.1

All of Humanity Died in An Lộc

Even before the battle began, Colonel Miller, senior adviser to the 5th
ARVN Division, while driving around town observed, “The message was
written on all the faces of the civilians and the military. The civilians were
arriving from surrounding areas, yet An Lộc was still a ghost town.”2 Among
the evacuees was Pastor Diệu Huỳnh who led 500 Montagnards (minority
highlanders) from neighboring villages to seek shelter at the railroad station
on the east side of the city.3 For a town that barely topped 15,000 people, the
final tally showed that 36,179 people had been evacuated to Bình Dương and
7,723 to Chơn Thành.4 These numbers depicted the extent of the displacement
of people. Once they relocated to An Lộc and realized that the town was the
primary target of the attack, they moved to other towns further south.
The remaining people who did not have friends or relatives in other
towns or could not afford to move for any other reason just stayed where
they were until they could not stand it any longer and tried to escape one
way or another. Others remained in bomb shelters, no matter how flimsy
they were. Some of them consisted of just a few pieces of wood, a table, a
layer of sandbags placed on top of a shallow burrow. Villagers who were
not able to dig a tunnel joined the soldiers in their foxholes.
The communists did not spare civilians and targeted them, not only in
town, but also when they tried to escape from it. On 8 April even before the
main attack took place, hearing civilians’ voices over loudspeakers, Captain

134
 VIII. The Siege 135

Nguyễn Ngọc Khuê, assistant S3, climbed on the roof of the 3rd Ranger
Group forward center to observe the situation. He noticed a large number of
civilians waving white flags walking out of the town toward Highway 13 and
heading south. Led by two Buddhist monks, they used loudspeakers to warn
both warring sides to hold their fire to let civilians safely get out of town.
As they moved past the southern sector held by the provincial forces, Khuê
heard heavy artillery explosions in that area. He realized that the column
was fired on by enemy artillery round after round. Children’s cries were
heard all the way to where Khuê was standing. After the first few shots and
following guidance from forward observers, the enemy aimed their mortar
guns directly at the middle of the column of civilians, sending bodies flying
in the air. Arms and legs could be seen hanging from the trees alongside the
road. People sought shelter behind tree trunks, leaving injured and bloodied
bodies of relatives and friends on the highway pavement and the area nearby.
After the shelling stopped, realizing with horror the evil intention of the
communists, priests, bonzes and civilians returned to their homes or shelters
in town.
When Major Khuê was sent to a communist reeducation camp in the
North after the war ended in 1975, he mentioned this incident in a self-
criticism statement. The political officer then explained,
The revolution shelled this civilian crowd because this was a crowd of puppet
civilians, filled with reactionaries and counterrevolutionaries. We could not
exclude them and we had to teach them a lesson.5
Enemy guns aimed toward town proved to be accurate and deadly. They
destroyed everything of material value to the defenders. They shelled the
hospital, first-aid units, schools, administrative buildings, towers, artillery
guns, defensive units, trucks, and so on. They fired on any moving target,
causing people to hide further underground or behind any still standing walls.
They completely leveled the initial divisional forward command post early
in the battle as they definitely knew of its location. Had the divisional staff
not moved to the new bunker or had the new bunker not been available, they
would have been wiped out. When ARVN gun crews tried to confuse enemy
gunners by shifting their positions after firing, the new positions were soon
spotted and shelled. Hostile troops on rooftops in the northern part of town
relayed information to VC/NVA firing units. Within the defensive parameter,
six young women were found with radio transmitters concealed in their
brassieres. Accused of relaying information to enemy gun crews, they were
tied up and left in “an impact area where NVA artillery subsequently killed
them.”6
Along with the encirclement and isolation, the continuous shelling, and
136 INSIDE AN LOC

the repeated attacks with infantry and armor on An Lộc, the lack of food,
water, blood, medications and sanitation supplies gradually worsened the
suffering of the common people and the soldiers. One officer turned writer
described the situation:
the suffering was as long as Highway 13 from An Lộc to Chơn Thành….
Highway 13, a road of white bones on red earth the color of blood, a road
with anonymous graves scattered along Tàu Ô and Tân Khải, streams turned
red from the earth and human blood.7
War was brutal, and the communists were more inhumane than most:
they never wanted to make the distinction between civilians and soldiers.
This was not the first nor the last time that civilians were shelled or shot at.
The action was intentional and premeditated, for this inhumane behavior
had happened before, if not condoned by their leaders, during any armed
encounter involving communist soldiers. They either hid behind civilians
using them as shields or just gunned them down if they tried to escape.8 Far
from being the people’s defenders, they shot them point blank without pity.
During the first attack on An Lộc, an enemy T-54 tank rolled into town,
stopped in front of the Catholic Church and opened fire with its cannon and
guns on women and children attending a prayer service, killing 100 people.
Running out of ammunition, it then withdrew to the city square where the
tank crew put up a white flag.9
The North Vietnamese made no attempt to win the hearts and minds of
the South Vietnamese civilians. On the contrary, they just wanted to punish
them for not supporting the revolution. They showed a callous disregard for
the plight of civilians running away from them; their goal was to terrorize
the population and to force them back into the besieged cities where they
would become additional burden for ARVN defenders.10
In the face of violent and repeated shelling and in despair, townspeople
just dug deeper and buried themselves into tunnels deeper in the ground.
They had returned to a kind of prehistoric life living in tunnels and burrows,
scared, hungry, starving, and eating whatever they could put their hands on:
some rice, canned food, whatever soldiers would share with them. And the
town was no better than its citizens; it was smashed by bombs and mortars
and pulverized into pieces. It lay breathless and lifeless. Not even a cat or
dog dared running around. Even birds somehow avoided flying across town.
Did they instinctively know something? There was no noise, except for that
of bombs, artillery shells, and crew-served or individual guns.
No trace of human life was left on the face of earth. Like a giant termite that
lives under a layer of dirt, the town was buried in bunkers deep in the earth,
the deeper the better…. The shelling so filled the sky that death was every-
 VIII. The Siege 137

where, the dead bodies scattered like weeds. Death became something natu-
ral…. People died in An Lộc. All of humanity died in An Lộc.11

Aerial Resupply
With Highway 13 blocked by units of the NVA 7th Division south of
An Lộc and the loss of Quản Lợi airstrip, the town was cut off from the rest
of the country and left without a fixed-wing airstrip. Besides, the NVA, hav-
ing gained control of the high ground overlooking An Lộc, could deliver
with precision shells and mortars into the town or aim at incoming aircraft.
There would be no more supplies or reinforcements brought in by land until
Highway 13, the lifeblood of the province, was reopened and secured. With
a population of 15,000, the town would need 200 tons of supplies a day
including 140 tons of ammunition, 36 tons of rice and 20 tons of water. The
requirement would increase as the siege progressed and as nearby refugees
poured into An Lộc. The resupply mission became the critical element for
the defense and survival of the town.
Since the center of town was subjected to a rain of fire from the north
and west, the resupply zone was moved to the open field on the south side
of the town. Between 7 and 12 April, all supply missions were flown by Viet-
namese Air Force Chinook CH-47 helicopters, which were greeted by mor-
tars and crew-served machine guns. The helicopters hovered over the field
long enough to drop their cargo. The use of helicopters ended on 12 April
when one VNAF CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy anti-
aircraft fire. The aircraft was piloted by Major Nguyễn Hữu Nhân, deputy
squadron commander; all five crew members were killed. Overall, the VNAF
237th Helicopter squadron lost 10 Chinooks in a two-month period. From 12
to 19 April, supplies were dropped by fixed-wing cargo plane C-123s, which
to be accurate had to fly at low altitude. On the 40th of such sorties, a VNAF
C-123 was shot down, putting an end to the C-123 mission.12
The U.S. then tried to deliver supplies with C-130 planes using the com-
puterized aerial drop system (CARP) at low altitude. Pilots circling over the
town were given the go-ahead to descend toward the town by following
Highway 13 from the south. Near the soccer field, the computer took over
and released the supplies at a prearranged point. The first aircraft sustained
minimal damage as it climbed back into the sky. Fifteen minutes later, the
second aircraft began its dangerous descent run; by that time, the NVA gun-
ners were ready. As the plane approached its drop point, the gunners fired
into the sky in front of the plane, which shuddered under the impact of dozens
138 INSIDE AN LOC

of bullets. The flight engineer was killed, the navigator and co-pilot wounded.
Fire broke out in the cargo when incendiary rounds ignited some of the pal-
lets. While the crew were busy controlling the fire, the automatic release
devices failed, and the loadmaster had to step in to cut the ropes by hand.
The crates fell to earth, and the wind extinguished the flames. The C-130
climbed upward and returned safely home. After two more sorties, it was
realized that the cost of continuing this type of resupply was too high. The
Air Force had lost one C-130 and damaged four others. Although the bravery
of the pilots was exceptional, it was time to change the plan.13
As the resupply efforts failed, the defenders suffered from shortage of
food, water, and ammunition. The NVA used the occasion to call ARVN
troops to desert. But the Air Force continued their drops at low altitude with
a poor delivery rate. Of 845 tons delivered, only 45 tons fell inside the South
Vietnamese perimeter. The Air Force then tried to drop supplies at high alti-
tude using the HALO (high altitude, low opening) method that allowed a
precise delivery of goods with minimal losses. However, the chutes failed
to open in time, causing pallets to smash into the ground or to drift to the
enemy side. Malfunctions were traced to Vietnamese packers who did not
have the technical experience to handle the sophisticated packing technique.
The Air Force had to revert to low-altitude delivery on 23 April during day-
time, then nighttime on 26 April to avoid anti-aircraft artillery.
At night, delivery was difficult because the many signal lights and fires
confused the crews looking for a small drop zone under intense enemy fire.
Putting up huge signal lights could only invite enemy ground fire as well as
anti-aircraft fire. Besides, any type of signal light, no matter how short a period
it was used, attracted enemy ordnance. Also, during night drops, ARVN recov-
ery teams had difficulty locating the pallets once they landed on the ground.
If signal lights were attached to the pallets to allow for easy detection, they
attracted defenders as well as enemies, causing wild firefights in the middle
of the night.14 If defenders needed the supplies, so did their enemies. Besides,
the less-than-optimal resupply program caused some troops to fear for short-
age. The frightened individuals tended to believe that relief would never
come, and “personal survival became a dominant thought in a confused sit-
uation with deteriorating discipline.” Once they recovered the supply pallets,
some of them acting out of desperation and indiscipline refused to turn over
the supplies to the central authorities. The ground situation was resolved
only once the resupply problem was solved and discipline was reestablished.15
The resupply mission was not only difficult; it was risky and dangerous
despite the many brave efforts of the Air Force and the ground recovery
teams. Colonel Miller in his bunker wrote sarcastically in his daily journal,
 VIII. The Siege 139

“At the close of this writing, the Air force just dropped a C-130 load one
kilometer north of my location in the lap of Charlie.” General Hollingsworth
complained, “Less than thirty percent was recoverable by friendly forces….
The system seems to be going from bad to worse.”16 Frustration was every-
where—in the air and on the ground. As the resupply team intensified its
effort, it seemed to harm rather than help the defenders’ cause. This was
exemplified by the story of a VC officer who during the interrogation process
after being caught on the east side of the town requested a can of fruit cock-
tail. He explained that he had been dining on fruit cocktail since American
drops had been recovered from his unit. A U.S. adviser who was present
during the interrogation and was subsisting on brackish water, canned fish
and rice found the request extremely depressing.17
The savior of An Lộc defenders turned out to be the U.S. 347 Tactical
Airlift Wing, which used C-130 airplanes that flew over 10,000 feet to avoid
the dense and precise anti-aircraft artillery. They also developed and per-
fected the HALO system during which parachutes were partially deployed
in the beginning to slow the fall rate to 130 feet per second. A timing mech-
anism deployed the chutes fully at 10 or 20 meters above ground. The Army
sent 76 packers from the 549th Quartermasters Aerial Resupply Company
in Okinawa who corrected major problems and instigated new procedures,
which rapidly improved the quality of aerial resupply.
Results were not always pretty (rice bags and cans of fruit broke open),
but the hungry soldiers scooped them off the ground and ate them. On one
occasion, a one-ton pallet of fruit landed on top of one of the few operational
jeeps in town, crushing it completely. Luckily no one was hurt. General
Hưng’s troops later received 90 percent of all the airdrops (2,735 out of
2,984 tons of supplies) from 4 May until 25 June when aircraft could finally
land. With a normal airdrop, less than one-third of the pallets delivered
arrived at destination: the rest was either lost to the enemy or damaged. High
explosives and medical supplies could not adapt to this technique. The violent
impact with the ground could cause ammunition to explode and fragile med-
ical supplies to break apart.18
Besides, these airdrops were dangerous to the defenders. The force of
each pallet of ammunition or food reaching the ground could exceed two to
four tons. The drop, which began as a tiny dot in the sky, could reach the
ground in 30 seconds and crush a couple of defensive sites and bury defend-
ers in their own foxholes if the chutes failed to open in time before the pallet
hit the ground.
By 8 May, the resupply problem seemed to have been solved: of the 88
tons dropped, 68 were recovered, 19 tons lost to malfunctions, and only one
140 INSIDE AN LOC

ton fell into the enemy’s hands. The TRAC commander finally could turn his
attention to other matters.
In the beginning, each unit dispatched its own soldiers to collect its
share of food and ammunitions. Some troops came early, others late, resulting
in an uneven collection and distribution of food and supplies, which in turn
led to arguments and fights. Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm had to step in and super-
vise the distribution of supplies because he was the only high-ranking officer
available around the drop site. His rank of colonel gave him enough clout
to prevent fights between representatives of the different units. In spite of
his efforts and because the supply situation had become desperate during the
weeks of 16 April and 8 May, firefights had broken out between ARVN units
competing for the available pallets. In the end, Colonel Lưỡng from the Air-
borne Brigade was given the unenviable task of calming down the “hotheads”
and reinstituting discipline because his unit was the closest to the drop site
and no one would dare to argue or fight against a paratrooper. To supervise
the collection and distribution of supplies also meant being exposed and the
risk of being killed by incoming enemy shells or crushed by a fast-falling
pallet of food or ammunition.
People congratulated each other for one feat or another. One could con-
gratulate oneself, although at that battlefield, I had witnessed people who,
pretending to be mute and deaf, kept working in the midst of falling bombs
or whizzing shells, like Colonel Điềm or a certain communication corporal
named Lê Văn Sáu. One could see the latter, whether day or night, throughout
the duration of the An Lộc battle, and right after a bout of shelling had
ceased, climbing over this or that electricity pole to reattach a telephone line
severed by a shell or a blast. Without his admirable dedication, it would have
been impossible for the different units to communicate with and support
each other during the critical moments leading to enemy attacks.
It was regrettable that no person of authority had slipped into President
Thiệu’s hand a National Order Medal to hang on Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm’s
shoulders or a Medal of Valor for Corporal Lê Văn Sáu’s shoulders. These
unselfish men truly deserved these medals. This is not to say that the others
did not: they all deserved it for the simple fact of having hung on in their
foxholes and tunnels during the worst shelling and brutal attacks in Vietnam
War history.

The Second Attack

On 18 April, COSVN launched its second attack on An Lộc with tanks
and infantry, during which its troops, while suffering greatly from stubborn
 VIII. The Siege 141

ARVN ground resistance and air attacks, also caused some setback to the
ARVN airborne units. The arrival of ARVN elite troops having raised defend-
ers’ hope made them better fighters. The establishment of a safe LZ not only
allowed the evacuation of the wounded, but also brought in a stream of sup-
plies and reinforcement troops. The latter, whether large or small, changed
the prospect of the battlefield. There was nothing more stimulating and com-
forting than seeing fresh troops arriving, wounded friends being evacuated
and ammunition and food rolling in. Troops from all units felt reenergized
and stronger in their fighting positions.19
On 19 April, the second day of the second COSVN attack on An Lộc,
the NVA/VC massively shelled An Lộc and the positions occupied by the
3rd Airborne Artillery unit and the 6th ARVN Airborne Battalion on Windy
Hill, Hill 169, and Srok Ton Cui Hill. The brunt of the attacks came from
the 275th Regiment of the VC 5th Division and the 141st Regiment of the
NVA 7th Division.
Once the NVA artillery had stopped firing, infantry and enemy tanks
stormed Windy Hill from the north and northeast. They were determined to
destroy the last artillery guns on Windy Hill that had provided fire support
to the besieged town since all other artillery pieces in An Lộc and Quản Lợi
Airfield had been destroyed by NVA attacks. Second Lieutenant Trần Đại
Chiên opened fire when the tanks arrived within 50-meter range. Two tanks
were destroyed, and the enemy retreated in panic. The enemy resumed
artillery fire on the hill, then attacked again supported by the two remaining
tanks. The paratroopers destroyed these tanks but had to disperse under heavy
fire. That night, all six 105 mm howitzers belonging to the airborne unit on
Windy Hill were annihilated, and the artillery ammunition store—close to
1,000 shells—was hit and blew up, sending up flames and sparks that lit up
the night.
The NVA during this attack on Bình Long Province had progressively
neutralized all ARVN artillery guns. They first seized the firebase protecting
Lộc Ninh in early April, then destroyed the artillery unit at Hùng Tâm and
at Quản Lợi Airfield. The attack on An Lộc on 13–14 April caused the destruc-
tion of all the town’s artillery units. On 16 April, an ammunition storage area
at Lai Khê was indirectly hit, causing the destruction of 8,000 rounds of
ammunition for 105 mm and 155 mm howitzers as well as many artillery bat-
teries. The destruction of the last six artillery tubes on Windy Hill on 19
April left the defenders with no artillery unit for a potential counterattack.
This was about the time that Colonel Miller had an argument with General
Hung about launching a counteroffensive on the north end of the town.20
Attacks continued into the night with infantry and tanks after the 150-
142 INSIDE AN LOC

meter-high Windy Hill was almost flattened by multiple rounds of NVA

shelling. Although the troops of the 6th Airborne Battalion fought back
valiantly and repulsed many waves of infantry attacks, by early morning
their stronghold was overwhelmed. Lieutenant Chiên, heavily wounded,
remained behind to cover the retreat of his platoon. He threw his last grenade
toward them but died under a hail of enemy bullets. His brother, a battalion
commander, was also killed in Quảng Trị that same year.
Major Phạm Kim Bằng, deputy commander of the battalion, along with
his remaining troops pulled back and were able to reassemble at the forward
commanding post of Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Ngọc, deputy commander
of the airborne brigade on Hill 169. As enemy turned their artillery guns
toward Hill 169, Colonel Lưỡng ordered troops on Hill 169 to withdraw to
An Lộc.
The second wing of the 6th Airborne Battalion under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Đỉnh at Srok Ton Cui Hill fared even worse.
Attacked by overwhelming forces, it had to open a blood road to pull back
to the southeast on the left side of the Bé River. After suffering from multiple
ambushes and attacks on their withdrawal path, the remaining 106 men
including Lieutenant Colonel Đỉnh, the battalion commander, and 14 artillery
men were picked up and ferried to Lai Khê. Small groups of stragglers and
survivors were later able to stream back to friendly lines in An Lộc and fur-
ther south to Chơn Thành and Lai Khê.21 The 6th Airborne Battalion suffered
greatly as it lost half of its forces, more than 200 troops dead or lost in action
and hundreds wounded.
On the night of 20–21 April, under attack by two NVA regiments, the
wing under Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Ngọc on Hill 169 was also attacked
and with 150 troops remaining was ordered to pull back to An Lộc along the
same path the 8th Battalion took a few days earlier.
Thus all the high elevations southeast of An Lộc were again under com-
munist control. However, the NVA units were not strong enough to dislodge
the whole airborne brigade out of the highway south of town. Under the
bright and experienced command of Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng, and leaders
like Lieutenant Colonels Lê Văn Ngọc, Văn Bá Ninh, and Nguyễn Chí Hiếu,
the brigade was able to protect the highway-turned-runway for U.S. Chinooks
and VNAF helicopters to supply and evacuate the wounded until the end of
the battle, albeit with some interruptions.
The NVA 7th Division, although still holding on to the area around Tàu
Ô Falls, was ordered to send its 141st Regiment to the southeast of An Lộc
to put pressure on the airborne units in the area. What worried General Hưng
most was the news from the Technical Company of the 5th ARVN Division
 VIII. The Siege 143

advising him that the F-6 and 275th Regiments of the NVA 5th Division
after being reinforced in the highland area had returned to An Lộc; besides,
the NVA 469th Sapper and the 208th Artillery and 271st Anti-aircraft Reg-
iment/COSVN from the Quản Lợi Airfield had also moved down to Sóc Trào
and Hương Thanh Hamlets about five to six kilometers northeast of Windy
Hill.
As civilian casualties kept mounting and the devastation and misery of
the people in An Lộc were laid bare, the International Red Cross on 20 April
asked for a 24-hour cease-fire to evacuate the wounded. The communists,
true to their un-humanitarian and criminal behavior, refused. Not only had
they destroyed the town and killed civilians and soldiers indiscriminately,
but they also refused to allow the evacuation of the wounded and critically
ill civilians. Madame Nguyễn Thị Bình, chief VC negotiator at Paris, declared
that no truce was possible and that the attack would go on.
By nightfall of 20 April, the attacks had subsided. While the attack against
the airborne went well for the NVA, for three full days the 9th NVA/VC
Division had thrown everything they had against the besieged town and its
tired defenders—shells, mortars, tanks, and repeated infantry assaults—with-
out major success. The defenders held firm. Not only was it a brutal and
bloody physical battle, but it was also a deadly one: wounded soldiers and
civilians had nowhere to go, medications and hospital supplies were limited,
surgeons could only control the bleeding and perform amputations before
evacuating the sick ones to major military centers. But the hardened resist-
ance turned out to be a great moral victory for the defenders. By setting a
20 April deadline to conquer the town, the NVA forced the defenders to fight,
and they did. They gave everything they had; relentlessly and almost without
any break, they came back to their positions and repulsed one brutal attack
after another. When the deadline passed and the defenders still held the town,
the enemy seemed less invincible. Another prediction had failed to come
true. For the attackers, it was a true letdown. For the second time in a row,
they had failed in their job.22
On 21 April, the communists continued their daily deadly shelling, con-
centrating on the southern sector held by the 1st Airborne Brigade.
On 22 April, troops supported by two T-54 and two PT-76 tanks attacked
the 8th Airborne Battalion on the southwestern sector of An Lộc. ARVN
troops destroyed all four tanks. They also guided a C-130 Spectre to attack
a column of five tanks approaching from the south. All tanks were destroyed.
Another column of three tanks attacked the 5th Airborne Battalion in the
southwest sector with infantry support. ARVN troops again destroyed these
three tanks.
144 INSIDE AN LOC

After the 20 April deadline had passed, the communists declared they
would control the town by 1 May. They decided to launch another violent
attack on the night of 30 April in an effort to celebrate the 1 May International
Labor Day in town. They must have been desperate to wage a major attack
at night. After a powerful artillery preparation, enemy troops launched deadly
attacks against the northern and western sectors. Again the defenders bravely
fought back without giving away any inch of the terrain and finally forced
the attackers to withdraw by 11:00 hours on 1 May.23
Every day and night, enemy shells and mortars kept exploding without
a break at a rate of more than 1,000 units a day causing injuries to troops
and civilians and further damaging the town. Everyone knew that a relief
wing would be coming from the south and another attack would be coming
shortly, and that their lives were hanging on a thread, for anyone could be
hit by a fragment of mortars or shells or an errant bullet, or a pallet of supplies
coming down from the sky without a deployed parachute. But they were still
willing to die while defending An Lộc as their commander had asked them.
With a leader willing to die protecting the town, they too were willing to
sacrifice themselves. How could foreigners understand South Vietnamese
troops fighting in Vietnamese battlefields? It is sad to know that some unin-
formed foreigners had written falsehoods about the Vietnam War. Some of
them later retracted and apologized for their writings or sayings about Viet-
nam. These people at least still have a sense of right and wrong.
Another facet of the war had been exposed during this battle. Western
and local newspapers had reported NVA/VC soldiers being chained to their
weapons or inside their tanks. Even General Hollingsworth had personally
observed the remains of one NVA soldier whose “hands were tied to his .51
caliber machine gun.” The western world had reacted in horror to these sto-
ries.24 They realized that on one side ARVN soldiers freely fought for their
freedom while the NVA/VC were fighting for a war imposed and dictated
by the communists in Hanoi. Whether the individual NVA soldiers volun-
teered to be chained or whether NVA/VC officers found it necessary to chain
their men to force them to fight, they knew they would face a stubborn resist-
ance from ARVN soldiers.

Shell Shocked
During the three weeks from 18 April to 5 May—when the third attack
against An Lộc began—two events that eventually affected the aura and the
future of General Lê Văn Hưng’s military career occurred. They have been
brushed upon briefly above and are worth mentioning in detail here.
 VIII. The Siege 145

The first event related to the LZ, which had been established and secured
by the 8th Airborne Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh. It was
an effective way of transferring out wounded troops and receiving fresh
troops and thus had brought hope to many defenders.
While they were bracing for the next round of enemy attack, one day
toward the end of April 1972, one officer wearing the rank of colonel with
a mild injury that had already been treated and healed and an artillery major
showed up at the LZ to try to get onto one of the evacuation helicopters.
Security troops guarding the LZ seeing a colonel dared not intervene,
although they contacted Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh who then reported
to Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng. The latter drove right away to the LZ and
inquired about the officer’s rank and wound condition. The wounded officer
stated that he was Colonel Mạch Văn Trường, commander of the ARVN 8th
Regiment/5th Division. Then Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng gently asked the
officer, realizing the nature of the wound, “Do you really want to be evac-
uated for such a small wound?”
He immediately called General Hưng to inform him about the situation,
following which I was ordered to go to the LZ to receive the “wounded”
colonel and major and take them back to the divisional forward command
post. Of course, General Hưng gave them hell. It just happened that a day
earlier, he had ordered Colonel Trường back to work after he had convalesced
more than a week for a minor shoulder injury. Colonel Trường, who appar-
ently had developed “cold feet” after witnessing the barrage of enemy rockets
and mortars, after returning to his unit had decided to get out of the front.
But Trường turned out to be General Minh’s protégé. By doing his duty and
preventing him from flying out, General Hưng accidentally stepped on the
toes of General Minh. That first incident of “pretending to be sick to escape
from the front line” was well known to many people, especially Lieutenant
Colonel Văn Bá Ninh (later promoted to colonel).
A second incident linked to that same protégé would later land General
Hưng in the hot seat with General Minh. The latter would deal him many
blows later that ultimately affected his overall career.
 IX

The War Game

in Chơn Thành

Besides Lộc Ninh and An Lộc, a third battlefield took place at Chơn
Thành that summer of 1972; although not a lot of people had paid attention
to it, that battle was to some degree as crucial as the one in An Lộc. Chơn
Thành was located at equal distance (30 kilometers) between An Lộc in the
north and Lai Khê, the 5th ARVN Divisional Headquarters, in the south. All
these three provincial towns were connected by Highway 13.
The sideshow battle in Chơn Thành allowed General Minh to battle in
wits against VC General Trần Văn Trà for the purpose of decreasing the
enemy’s pressure on An Lộc. Not recognizing this is failing to understand
the dynamics of the An Lộc battle.

The Tàu Ô and Bàu Bàng Choke Points

In the three weeks between the first attack on An Lộc on 13 April 1972
and the replacement of Colonel Miller by Colonel Ulmer, the ARVN 21st
Infantry Division under Major General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi had moved from
the Mekong Delta to relieve the 1st Airborne Brigade of Colonel Lê Quang
Lưỡng, which had been sent to An Lộc. The 21st Division with its three reg-
iments, the 31st, 32nd and 33rd, along with the 9th Cavalry Battalion had
been assigned the job of removing the blockade on Highway 13 north of
Chơn Thành initiated by the NVA 7th Division. The blockade was made of
many smaller choke points from different units of this large division. The
choke point consisted of a system of foxholes and tunnels connected together
for better support and protection—troops called it a tripod—in this case a
system of three foxhole units and tunnels blocking the highway and both

146
 IX. The War Game in Chơn Thành 147

sides along the highway for over 10 to 20 kilometers in length. In principle,

an ARVN “entrenched fortification” or the NVA choke point, if protected by
a sturdy fortification, would require a three times larger force to uproot it.
General Minh was using the case of An Lộc as an example where attacking
forces were three times larger than defending forces.
The entire ARVN 21st Infantry Division arrived at the III Corps and
MR3 on 10 April 1972 before completing its move two days later. Major
General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi placed his forward command post at the Lai Khê
base along with the Forward Command Post of the III Corps. He moved his
31st Regiment to Suối Tre six kilometers northwest of Lai Khê and kept the
33rd Regiment at Lai Khê for reserve. He then moved his 32nd Regiment
to Chơn Thành on 11 April. The choke points on Highway 13 from Lai Khê
to Chơn Thành had been removed by the 1st Airborne Brigade dislodging
the 141st and 209th Regiments of the NVA 7th Division, which had been
augmented by the independent 101st Regiment and anti-tank and anti-aircraft
artillery units located at Bàu Bàng from 9 to 12 April. Later, General Nghi
was told to improve highway safety from Bình Dương to Bến Cát District
and from Lai Khê to base Vân Đồn, six kilometers north of Lai Khê within
10 days from 14 to 24 April, but to leave alone the section between Vân Đồn
and Chơn Thành. General Minh theorized that within 10 days, the COSVN
would set up a new system of choke points on that unchecked stretch of
Highway 13.
Sure enough, that stretch on Highway 13 was cut off on 24 April when
the VC shot a civilian bus with a B-40 rocket, killing and injuring many pas-
sengers, and established a choke point for the second time at Bàu Bàng, 10
kilometers north of Lai Khê and six kilometers north of Vân Đồn base, where
a battalion of the ARVN 33rd Regiment was located. The choke point was
strong and manned by the NVA 101st Regiment, air artillery and anti-tank
units, and two battalions of the NVA 209 and 165 Regiments. General Minh
knew that the ARVN 21st Division with its three regiments, even after dis-
lodging the choke point at Bàu Bàng, would not be strong enough to free
the whole Highway 13 from Chơn Thành to An Lộc. Being a cautious general,
he asked for reinforcement from the JGS/RVNAF, which latter gave him the
3rd Airborne Brigade. A new strategy was used by the airborne unit to dis-
lodge these choke points.
Size-wise, the airborne forces sent to free the check points were only
one-third of the size of the enemy forces. It was only later that one could
understand General Nguyễn Văn Minh’s strategy. His goal was to hold down
with a small elite force the bulk of enemy forces in order to annihilate them
with artillery while pretending to fight in order to assess enemy strength and
148 INSIDE AN LOC

to pull in more enemy forces to Chơn Thành to relieve the pressure on An

Lộc.
The new offensive, called “Toàn Thắng 72-D,” began on 24 April with
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the ARVN 3rd Airborne Brigade under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Trương Vĩnh Phước (shortly thereafter pro-
moted to colonel) and the support of the 31st Infantry Regiment, a recon-
naissance company of the ARVN 21st Division and the 5th Armored Cavalry.
This was the second attack on Tàu-Ô stream by an airborne brigade, but the
first to go to Tân Khai hamlet. In reality, in both cases, the first attack using
the 1st Airborne Brigade by Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng and the second using
the 3rd Airborne Brigade by Colonel Trương Vĩnh Phước, the goal was not
to uproot enemy forces at Tàu-Ô stream but to hold them in check. Or, to
put it in simpler terms, it was a reconnaissance operation into the lion’s den
at the brigade level. If this operation could dislodge the checkpoint, it would
be good; if not, General Minh could still figure out the strength of enemy
forces in the area.
It should be remembered that General Nguyễn Văn Minh upon gradu-
ating from the Dalat Military Academy—the Vietnamese equivalent of West
Point—went into the Airborne Group and remained there until he became
captain before being appointed head of the Operations Bureau in the Saigon-
Cholon Sub-Zone under Colonel Dương Văn Minh (who later became gen-
eral and caused the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam twice). The latter
had pacified the Bình Xuyên of Bảy Viễn in the Cho Lon and Rừng Sát area
(1954–1955). To leaders like Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng and Trương Vĩnh
Phước, General Nguyễn Văn Minh was their elder; and to sacrifice their
lives for their elder was no big deal. That was the noble tradition of airborne
officers.
With two brigades in action (1st Brigade in An Lộc and 3rd on Highway
13), the ARVN Airborne Division had to set up a forward command post for
Brigadier General Hồ Trung Hậu, deputy commander of the Airborne Divi-
sion, at the headquarters of the 32nd Regiment at Chơn Thành to direct and
support. In principle, General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi would be the commander
of the forces designed to uproot the blockade on Highway 13. But in the
Toàn Thắng 72-D offensive, the forward command post controlled and
directed the 3rd Airborne Brigade and the 5th Cavalry Battalion. The com-
mander of the cavalry battalion was Colonel Trương Hữu Đức, who died in
action during the uprooting of the first blockade with the 1st Airborne Brigade
and was promoted general on 13 April.1
On 24 April, the 31st Infantry Regiment, after being pulled out of a
highland battlefield, was airlifted from Suối Tre to three kilometers southeast
 IX. The War Game in Chơn Thành 149

of Tàu-Ô Creek on the side of Highway 13 to support the 3rd Airborne

Brigade in its attack. The following day, the 2nd Airborne Battalion was air-
lifted to the eastern side of Highway 13 between Tàu-Ô Creek and Tân Khai
hamlet to conduct an attack on these two targets. As soon as helicopters
landed, the battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Mạnh
was met by enemy mortars and anti-aircraft shells but proceeded in its attack.
On 26 April, the 1st Airborne Battalion under Major Lê Hồng was
dropped on the western side of Highway 13 to attack and occupy Đức Vinh
Hamlet, five kilometers north of Tân Khai. At that time, the NVA thought
that General Nghi’s forces would attack Tàu-Ô Creek instead of north of it
at Đức Vinh. Therefore, their blockade at Tàu-Ô Creek and Tân Khai was
sturdy and manned by the 209th and 165th Regiments of the NVA 7th Divi-
sion along with anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery units. They left Đức Vinh
Hamlet without defense. The encounter at Tàu-Ô Creek and Tân Khai was
strong, while it was only mild at Đức Vinh. The 2nd Airborne Battalion had
to set up a temporary base in the area of operation with a few 105 mm how-
itzers.
For many days, the 2nd Airborne Battalion conducted many attacks on
enemy positions but failed to displace them despite aggressive support from
VNAF and USAF airstrikes, including B-52 bombing. Although the NVA suf-
fered major losses, it held tight in its positions. At the Đức Vinh Hamlet, the
1st Airborne Battalion encountered minimal resistance until 2 May, when
the enemy launched a full attack with mortars first, followed by infantry
attack. According to intelligence reports, the 271st Regiment of the VC 9th
Division, which had been reinforced after its losses at An Lộc on 13 April,
had been sent to the northwest of Đức Vinh. The 141st Regiment of the NVA
7th Division after collaborating with the F6 and 275 Regiments of the VC
5th Division to attack the ARVN 6th Airborne Battalion at Windy Hill, Hill
169 and Srock Ton Cui from 18 to 21 April, had been returned to the NVA
7th Division and moved to assist the 271st Regiment to attack and destroy
the 1st Airborne Battalion. What General Minh had predicted turned out to
be true: attack south of An Lộc so that enemy troops were forced to shift its
troops south, thereby decreasing the pressure on An Lộc.
With danger looming at Đức Vinh, General Minh ordered Major General
Nghi to move his 31st Regiment from the northwest of Chơn Thành to Đức
Vinh and at the same time to airlift the 21st Reconnaissance Company to
Đức Vinh to support the 2nd Airborne Battalion.
One has to admit that the NVA 7th Division was an elite unit. Not only
did it benefit from the sturdiness of the defense system built by the U.S.
years ago on both sides of the highway at Tàu-Ô, but it also improved it so
150 INSIDE AN LOC

that it could withstand the severe bombing of South Vietnamese and U.S.
air forces. It also improvised its mobile defense: for example, it organized
counterattacks at the levels of companies and battalions and sent its recon-
naissance units to closely follow ARVN units, to order artillery bombing on
enemy positions, and to ambush and counterattack them. Therefore, the 2nd
Airborne Battalion had difficulty in getting close to the blockade area. These
events gave General Minh an idea of the strength of the enemy: he knew
that his forces were too few to dislodge the NVA, although he believed that
the elite airborne unit with the assistance of the air force would be able to
uproot enemy forces. However, having only one battalion to fight each target
might be too little and too risky. The Tàu-Ô area was held by the 209th Reg-
iment of the NVA 7th Division, plus an anti- aircraft artillery unit with
surface-to-air missiles with infrared homing device SA-7, and an anti-tank
unit with AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, while the ARVN had only two com-
panies of the 2nd Airborne Battalion with four 105 mm howitzers. At Tân
Khai hamlet, the 165th Regiment of the NVA 7th Division and the 271st Reg-
iment of the VC 9th Division faced the two companies of the 2nd Battalion.
In each area, NVA forces were three to four times larger than ARVN forces.

War Game
One could see the unconventional or unscripted way General Nguyễn
Văn Minh was shifting his troops, only to realize later that a chess game was
going on between Generals Minh and Trà along the 60-kilometer axis
between Lai Khê and An Lộc, with Chơn Thành being the crucial center.
Everyone knew that the destruction of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division of
the III Corps stationed at An Lộc required a cutting off of supplies and rein-
forcement to this division or, more exactly, of its lifeblood: Highway 13.
And the ideal place to set up a choke point would be at Tàu-Ô Creek up to
Tân Khai hamlet from 15 to 20 kilometers north of Chơn Thành. The town
of Chơn Thành controlling the crossroads of Highway 13 that led to An Lộc
and Highway 14 leading to the province of Phước Long and Quảng Đức was
considered to be the strategic point south of An Lộc.
Both Generals Minh and Trà knew that Chơn Thành was important to
the survival or loss of An Lộc. General Minh had always stationed a regiment
there to protect the springboard from which to send liberating forces to free
An Lộc and to act as a “magnet” for NVA forces to gather so that they could
be easily disposed of by artillery and airstrikes. The more they came, the
better it would be for the defending forces to neutralize them. But General
 IX. The War Game in Chơn Thành 151

Trà did not want to “roast” his troops there. General Minh knew it too; there-
fore he left the area between Lai Khê and Chơn Thành unguarded from 14
April 1972 onward after the 32nd Regiment of the ARVN 21st Division had
moved to Chơn Thành to replace the 1st Airborne Brigade. He only stationed
a battalion of the 33rd Regiment at Vân Đồn base six kilometers north of
Lai Khê and patiently waited for enemy troops to jump in. COSVN com-
mander General Trần Văn Trà had to act, for he could not leave that section
of Highway 13 open for the ARVN 21st Division to use to uproot his blockade
at Tàu-Ô Creek and to bring reinforcements to the besieged An Lộc.
When COSVN initiated its first attack on An Lộc from 13 to 16 April as
planned, it caught the ARVN off guard, leading to the loss at Lộc Ninh; but
soon the attack fizzled because of General Hưng’s decisive actions at the
Cần Lê Bridge. The second attack on An Lộc from 18 to 21 April was also
underwhelming because of General Minh’s decisive actions at Chơn Thành
as mentioned above. Although COSVN’s two consecutive attacks did not
secure any major victory, Radio Hanoi still proclaimed that An Lộc had been
taken on 18 April. The desire of Hanoi’s Military Central Committee was
therefore obvious: An Lộc was the main target of the Total Offensive in the
summer of 1972, not Kontum or Quảng Trị. And COSVN should not be under-
estimated.
COSVN was then forced to take over An Lộc at all cost in subsequent
attacks even if it had to use its last unit. Therefore, besides reinforcing their
units, perfecting their attacks and blocking ARVN reinforcement from Chơn
Thành to An Lộc, COSVN mobilized its sapper and artillery units with the
intent of destroying the forward command post of the ARVN 5th Division as
well as the support center of all the III Corps units at Lai Khê. It also sent
a regiment to attack the Tống Lê Chân and Minh Thạnh bases on the Saigon
River, held by ranger units about 18 to 25 kilometers southwest of An Lộc
so that they could send reinforcement and supplies between the secret zone
Dương Minh Châu in Tây Ninh and Zone D at the border of Biên Hòa and
Bình Dương Provinces. If in some areas COSVN had achieved some degree
of success, the overall plan was no longer well coordinated, causing COSVN
to lose the initiative in the Bình Long battlefield from An Lộc to Chơn Thành.
It no longer could execute the policies of the Politburo of the Communist
Party because of the unorthodox way General Minh shuffled his units.
General Minh, by leaving the section between Vân Đồn Base to Chơn
Thành open, forced COSVN to make a choice, and it made the wrong move.
Twice, it sent forces to block south of Chơn Thành; twice they had been
uprooted. The first time on 4 April, when the NVA launched its first attack
on An Lộc, due to strategic need, COSVN had no choice but to block Highway
152 INSIDE AN LOC

13 in order to prevent ARVN reinforcement from coming to the rescue from

the south. The blockade had been uprooted by the 1st Airborne Brigade from
9 to 11 April from two fronts, one from Lai Khê moving northward and the
other from Chơn Thành moving southward. Sandwiched between these two
attacks, the NVA 7th Division, the independent 101st Regiment and other
supporting units left 200 dead and moved away. On the second occasion, the
NVA was forced to settle at Bàu Bàng from 22 April onward. The ARVN 21st
Division uprooted them with two frontal attacks like the 1st Airborne Brigade
did two weeks earlier. The ARVN 33rd Regiment and the 9th Armored Cav-
alry attacked from Lai Khê northward, and the 32nd Regiment with a sub-
unit of the 9th Cavalry Battalion attacked from Chơn Thành southward with
air force assistance. The ARVN took five days to do the uprooting, causing
communist forces to take on major casualties. As a result, COSVN had no
more forces to set up another blockade.
The fast and decisive way General Minh maneuvered his troops caught
the COSVN by surprise, which resulted in attackers losing their initiative.
General Trà was unable to beat General Minh’s troop maneuverability, which
did not follow the usual ways an army would react when it was being
attacked. The first example was the case of the ARVN 21st Division. When
it moved from the Mekong Delta to Lai Khê and Chơn Thành on 12 April,
General Minh did not use that division to uproot the Tàu-Ô blockade north
of Chơn Thành. He instead used the 1st Airborne Brigade to uproot Bàu Bàng
(9–11 April) then the Tàu-Ô blockade on 12 April. While the NVA 7th Division
was fighting for survival, he pulled the airborne brigade out (13 April) to
reinforce An Lộc on 14–15 April. The sudden pullout of the airborne brigade
forced the COSVN to move the NVA 141st Regiment of the NVA 7th Division
from Tân Khai to An Lộc to join the VC 5th and 9th Divisions in the second
attack against An Lộc on 18 April.
In the second example, once the COSVN could not take over An Lộc
after two attacks despite controlling Windy Hill and Hill 169, General Minh
who was worried that An Lộc could remain endangered sent the 3rd Airborne
Brigade to Tàu-Ô and Tân Khai, more importantly to the Đức Vinh Hamlet,
south of An Lộc, forcing the COSVN to move the 271st Regiment of the VC
9th Division and the 141st Regiment of the NVA 7th Division, then encircling
An Lộc, to Đức Vinh to prevent the airborne brigade from advancing to An
Lộc. The pressure exerted by the NVA on An Lộc as a result lessened after
the second attack, although the town was still pounded by a thousand mortars
and missiles of all kinds each day.
These two examples illustrate General Minh’s expert strategy and skill
in moving troops. On the An Lộc battlefield, General Trần Văn Trà had been
 IX. The War Game in Chơn Thành 153

sidestepped by General Nguyễn Văn Minh. Although the battle had been
going on for three weeks from 22 April to 11 May, General Minh had not
thrown his reserve forces into the battlefield. Why? First, because he trusted
General Lê Văn Hưng’s and Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng’s skill and ability to
hold An Lộc with the air support of U.S. and Vietnamese Air Forces. Second,
after sending the 3rd Airborne Brigade into the enemy’s den at Tàu-Ô stream
then to Tân Khai hamlet to have an idea of the overall strength of enemy
forces, he was ready to commit the 21st ARVN Division to relieve the pressure
on and to free An Lộc. He might wait for a few days to receive additional
elite troops to reinforce the 21st Division before making the final move
toward An Lộc.
Up to now, one has been able to visualize the Bình Long battlefield as
seen by two combat veterans, the III Corps and MR3 and COSVN command-
ers. General Trần Văn Trà, having by then come to know his main opponent
on this battlefield, General Nguyễn Văn Minh, had become more circumspect
and calculative and did not launch any rush attack like the first two times,
except for using the NVA 7th Division to block the 3rd Airborne Brigade
from Tàu-Ô stream to Tân Khai and Đức Vinh.
In An Lộc, there were small firefights as defenders slowly pushed back
attackers who, unable to withdraw, had hung on closely to defendants’ posi-
tions in order to avoid air attacks. Enemy tanks that had not been destroyed
in the previous attack had melted into the occupied neighborhood, hiding by
being well camouflaged behind destroyed houses or large vacant units. They
knew well not to move around unless necessary; otherwise they would be
destroyed by AC-130 Spectre gunships.
It was understood that COSVN had used this lull time to reinforce its
troops, stabilize its positions, and move ammunition to get ready for the final
stage of taking down An Lộc.
 X

Breaking the Siege

The battles were brutal and deadly in all three fronts in the Fiery Red
Summer of 1972: Quảng Trị, Kontum, and An Lộc. General Abrams said,
What you’ve got here, in my opinion, is a go-for-broke thing by the North
Vietnamese. And they’ve thrown everything they’ve got in it…. It’s just an
all-out onslaught, and the losses on both sides—I mean, he’s [the NVA] los-
ing tanks like he didn’t care about having any more, and people, and artillery,
and equipment. The level of violence, and the level of brutality, in this whole
thing right now is [sic] on a scale not before achieved in the war in Vietnam.1

The LAW Rocket Launcher

In An Lộc, General Hưng and Colonel Ulmer who had come to the
same conclusion had requested the U.S. Air Force to strike some Arc Light
boxes on secret locations and relay stations along previously known com-
munist infiltration routes from the Cambodian border. They also included
bridges built by truckers to haul tree trunks from the forests between north
of Bình Long and Kratie. Spectre gunships were requested every night, while
during the daytime, Vietnamese aircraft continuously patrolled the area.
The makeshift helicopter landing path on Highway 13 south of town
had been well protected by the 8th Airborne Battalion. Vietnamese and U.S.
helicopters continued to evacuate wounded troops—usually from shrapnel
fragments—or deliver needed supplies. Aircraft hit by missiles or shells,
although not significant in numbers, could occur with each arrival or depar-
ture from An Lộc. Yet, supplies came in everyday, and wounded soldiers
were evacuated almost daily.
Of course, one should congratulate Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng and his
troops, but also the brave pilots, Vietnamese and American, who, unselfishly
forgetting their own lives, came in and out of hell like taking their daily

154
 X. Breaking the Siege 155

meals. They were brave—very brave. How about the rest of the troops—
main and special forces, rangers, PF and RF? Everyone was waiting for an
attack to come from the south although the timing was not known. Each per-
sonal foxhole was dug deeper and became better protected by the addition
of newer sandbags. There was nothing sophisticated about the defensive
front: no steel, no concrete—just these old, cheap sandbags to defend against
the million-ruble artillery pieces, tanks, and sophisticated shells and mortars.
They each carried a jug of water and a few bags of rice, although dry U.S.
rations, whenever available, would be much better because each of these
rations contained four cigarettes. Each puff of cigarette they inhaled would
inflate their lungs, brighten up their faces, and render them more alert, ener-
gized; they then clutched their guns ready to stand guard, day and night, or
take a swipe at their enemies. That alone would not be enough until they
were able to secure an M-72 rocket launcher, which was widely provided to
An Lộc defenders at that time. Then, once a tank was detected coming toward
them and pushed by an irresistible force, they sprung out of their foxholes
to take a shot at it: hit or miss, alive or dead, they did not care. If they could
just shoot at a tank, death would be soothing. That was the spirit of the An
Lộc defenders.
The warhead of the LAW (light anti-tank weapon) contained an explo-
sive charge shaped to direct a jet of high-velocity molten copper capable of
burning through inches of steel plate. It had become a fairy tale or a rare
truth in the history of the battle against tanks by the people and troops of
An Lộc. One is talking about the people and troops because the military sec-
tor—under the order of Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt—during that period of time
had set up a recruitment center for popular and regional forces. People within
drafting age could sign up for recruitment while youths were also willing to
bear arms against the enemy. That was the golden point for Colonel Trần
Văn Nhựt. As for the tale of the M-72 launcher, not only had troops used
this weapon to destroy tanks, but popular forces and even laypeople had also
run behind troops to shoot tanks.
General Hưng, after the first attack, had ordered the creation and training
of “tank-destroying teams,” which roamed every corner, dead end, and back
alley within the town and chose the most propitious ambush sites to destroy
enemy tanks.2 Even I was addicted to the M-72 launcher. On 18 April during
the second attack wave, one tank just happened to drive right in front of the
divisional forward command center. As the latter was unmarked, the enemy
was not aware of it. And when it tried to turn around, General Hưng took a
grenade and threw it at the tank, barely denting it. Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ
who was running behind took his M-72 launcher, aimed, and shot it, half
156 INSIDE AN LOC

destroying it; as it limped forward for a few more yards, a ranger shot it the
second time causing it to burn.
As I ran behind and lost the chance to take a shot, I picked up the
launcher Colonel Vỹ had just used—whatever metal it was made of, I did
not know, but it was white—brought it home and, like the troops, whenever
I was idle, sawed the launcher into nice, thin bracelet-shaped rings that were
smoothed and inscribed with words to be used for a souvenir. Hundreds of
soldiers wore these bracelets and later gave them to their girlfriends as war
bracelets. As for me, I kept them for myself. They are priceless because they
were fashioned out of the M-72 launcher Colonel Vỹ used to shoot the above
tank; I carried them with me for the last four decades through thick and thin.
What I have written above depicts the indomitable spirit of the troops
of all units of the army, policemen, local people and regional forces who
were willing to defend An Lộc against the communists. That spirit soared
to the highest level due to two main reasons: General Hưng’s declaration to
defend An Lộc to death and the efficacy of the M-72 rocket launcher that
had been introduced to An Lộc. ARVN troops refused to run away from the
battlefield because if their general stood there to defend the town, they too
had to spring out of their foxholes to shoot tanks. It should be remembered
that if the fanciest armaments fell into the hands of feeble or weak officers
or soldiers, they would become useless tools, whereas in the hand of willing
and dedicated men, they could be deadly weapons. Whether U.S. authorities
and the press were aware of these factors or not is not known.
As mentioned earlier, the M-72 launcher had not been found to be effec-
tive in Lang Vei, Bến Hét, during Lâm Sơn 719, and in Lộc Ninh. But when
used at short-range, and if aimed at the sides or rear of the tanks where the
armor was thinner and not sloped, the launcher was extremely effective,
especially in An Lộc. Even in the case of the tank shot by Colonel Vỹ as
described above, it required two shots fired from the rear to destroy a T-54
tank. This means that the M-72 launcher was not 100 percent effective and
that troops needed to remain composed and persistent in order to destroy a
tank.
The morale of ARVN troops combined with the use of U.S. guns and
bombs had brought victory to An Lộc, a small town without good and modern
fortifications where less than 8,000 defenders had won the battle against a
three-times-bigger elite army. This victory had even surprised top world
strategists like Sir Thomas Thompson of England and General Moshe Dayan
of Israel. And naturally, General Trần Văn Trà could not even predict that
the third communist attack on An Lộc—that he had planned and was the
commanding officer of—would eventually fail.
 X. Breaking the Siege 157

The Third Attack

The decisive battle was so brutal and vicious that no defenders of any
city anywhere in the world from World War I to World War II had ever suf-
fered like the troops and people of An Lộc during this third wave of attack
that began on 11 May 1972. This includes the city of Guernica of Spain3 that
was bombed by German and Italian air forces during World War II and
became Picasso’s immortal painting in the previous century. The exception
may be Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
On 9 May, just a few days after the 3rd Airborne Brigade pulled out of
Đức Vinh, Tân Khai and Tàu-Ô, although enemy troops were still holding
the blockade points in these areas and reinforced the artillery and anti-aircraft
guns at the An Lộc battlefield, a Chinook transporting reinforcement troops
to 2/8 Battalion was shot down during landing. Reinforcement was thus
interrupted. All day long, the airfield was shelled continuously preventing
any aircraft from landing. The emergency crisis worsened because the town
was also shelled twice as usual.
On 10 May, General Cao Văn Viên, general chief of staff of the JGS/
RVNAF (general chief of staff of the Joint General Staff of the Republic of
Vietnam Armed Forces) flew to Lai Khê—the main base of the ARVN 5th
Infantry Division and the forward command post of the III Corps and MR3—
to meet with General Nguyễn Văn Minh and U.S. adviser General James G.
Hollingsworth of the Third Regional Assistance Command or TRAC. Reasons
for this meeting included the situation noted above and news extracted from
an important POW who was an officer of the reconnaissance battalion of the
VC 5th Division and was caught by the 3rd Ranger Brigade of Lieutenant
Colonel Nguyễn Văn Biệt at Quản Lợi, east of An Lộc on 6 May. This POW
revealed that on 20 and 21 April, the COSVN held several meetings to criticize
the various units previously attacking An Lộc and to set up a new attack
plan. In the past, because the NVA 9th Division had done poorly and without
coordination with the NVA 202nd and 203rd Tank Regiments, the COSVN
had lost during these attacks. Therefore, a new attack plan had been drawn
up to conquer An Lộc and destroy the ARVN 5th Infantry Division of General
Hưng at all costs. The brunt of the attack would be carried by the VC 5th
Division with tank units, the 469th Sapper Regiment as well as artillery and
anti-aircraft units of the 70th Artillery Division from the north and northeast
sides of town. The VC 9th Division along with tanks and artillery units would
attack from the west and southwest sides of town. The forces would be posi-
tioned as follows:
158 INSIDE AN LOC

Main forces:
• 174th Regiment/5th VC Division with one tank unit and a unit of the
429th Sapper Regiment would attack from the north.
• E6th Regiment/5th VC Division with one tank unit and a unit of the
429th Sapper Regiment would attack from the northeast.
• 275th Regiment/5th VC Division would be the reserve troops for this
group.
Secondary forces:
• 271st Regiment/9th VC Division with one tank unit from the south at
Cổng Xã Cam.
• 272nd Regiment/9th VC Division with one tank unit from the west
at Cổng Phú Lố.
• 95C Regiment/9th VC Division as reserve troops.
One should not forget the sophisticated AAA the NVA had brought to
the An Lộc battlefield. It began appearing in strength on 16–17 April, and by
nightfall on 17 April, the town was ringed on three sides. There were .51 cal-
iber, 23 mm and 37 mm weapons in evidence. On 9 May, the first SA-7 was
observed, and several were fired against An Lộc on 11–15 May. At the height
of the battle, there were about a dozen weapons in use around the town.
All this AAA significantly affected air support available to the defenders
by:
• reducing forward air controllers’ (FAC) effectiveness; FAC had to
move to higher altitude, causing visual reconnaissance to be less
effective;
• reducing close air support effectiveness;
• complicating aerial support resupply; and
• complicating airspace coordination.4
Although these hurdles were eliminated on time, resupply to and rein-
forcement of the troops and evacuation of the wounded decreased in volume
for a period of time.
At the 10 May meeting as mentioned above, although ARVN generals
did not know the exact time and date of the attack, they had decided to fight
against time to bring reinforcement troops to An Lộc. But how? The ARVN
had approximately 4,000 troops left to fight against almost two enemy divi-
sions. An attempt to fly in reinforcements by Major Nguyễn Tấn Trọng turned
into a disaster as his Chinook plane was hit by dense anti-aircraft fire. The
plane burst into flames killing three crew members. The pilot Nguyễn Tấn
Trọng and co-pilot were captured by the enemy and released after the 1973
Paris Agreements were signed.5
 X. Breaking the Siege 159

Many Arc Light boxes were planned and aimed at the periphery of the
town at the time the attack began. Other boxes would be dropped on the
enemy’s secret zones and on their transportation routes in the surrounding
province. The elite 15th Regiment of the ARVN 9th Infantry Division under
the command of one of the five best fighters in the southwest Mekong Delta—
Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn—with a tank battalion and a 105 mm
artillery unit was ordered to move to An Lộc to reinforce it on 11 May 1972.
Although 11 May was recorded as the critical time either to save or
destroy An Lộc between the III Corps and MR3 and the COSVN, the final
decision about the fate of the town rested in the hands of General Lê Văn
Hưng and Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng, for the simple reason that the arrival
of reinforcement troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Cẩn and
the taking of other measures to relieve the pressure on An Lộc were made
two days after the beginning of the attack. On the other hand, General Trà’s
decision to take An Lộc at all costs and to destroy the ARVN 5th Infantry
Division was laid in ruins two days after the communist assault began.
On the night of 10 to 11 May, although it was late and I was not on duty,
I did not understand why I could not sleep. I just thrashed and rolled from
one side to another in my cot; part of it may be due to the loneliness I had
perceived in the night and partly due to the cool air that made me feel afraid.
Strangely, I could not hear any rocket or mortar falling down on the perimeter
like any previous night. Everything became unusually quiet. The quietness
before the doom.
Suddenly I woke up because I knew it. I rushed to the communication
center of the division and requested the on-duty soldier to give me a hotline
to the private residence of Colonel Hoàng Ngọc Lung in Saigon, the chief
of staff for intelligence of the JGS/RVNAF (J-2/JGS/RVNAF). From 1958 to
1963, Colonel Lung, then a captain, was the deputy commander of the Intel-
ligence School Cây Mai where I was a 1st lieutenant trainer. Our commanders
were consecutively Major Phạm Văn Sơn and Major Hồ Văn Lời. Mr. Hoàng
Ngọc Lung presently lives in Virginia, USA. To wake Colonel Lung up at
this untimely hour must be an important matter. When I heard his voice over
the phone, I immediately said, “Colonel, tonight is the crucial night for An
Lộc,” and proceeded to give him details of the event, statements of the POW,
as well as personal vibes about the frightening silence from midnight until
then, exactly 02:35.
He immediately registered the report, agreed with my assessment and
told me, “I’ll immediately report to the general chief of staff of JGS, Dưỡng.
Take it easy, everything will be all right. I wish you a lot of luck.”
I felt relieved because Saigon had been advised. I walked up to the
160 INSIDE AN LOC

opening of our underground bunker and saw a soldier from the 5th Recon-
naissance Company and two squads of soldiers protecting the division’s
commander standing on guard while other soldiers lay on the floor of an iso-
lated house or in the operation room with their guns close by, under their
heads or by their sides. The sky was clear with a few rare stars; the moon
was barely visible. The ground, which looked dim with flickering lights from
a faraway fire, appeared like a desolate and ghostly area. A dark and chilly
feeling ran down my spine.
I came back to the mouth of the underground bunker and asked the sen-
tinel, “Anything new, soldier?” “No,” he answered, “although I feel that a
big battle is looming.” “You are correct,” I answered. “Be brave.”
I just finished my sentence when I heard the whoosh sound of a rocket
getting out of the mouth of the gun. An explosion in the north and northeast
side of town was followed right after by a series of explosions all over the
city; it sounded terrible. The earth shook and shook. I walked down to the
underground bunker and noticed that everyone had been awakened by the
sound of explosions that was one hundred times worse than the worst explo-
sion in the past. Some officers sat on their cots while others lay down on the
ground. I sat on the ground leaning against my cot following my natural fear
because the explosions sounded so terrible that one wondered whether it
was the end of world.
One has to imagine that the sound of explosions was similar to that of
50 or 70 large drums beating in unison by a band of crazy drummers without
interruption for almost three hours from 02:45 until early in the morning. It
was estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 rounds must have fallen on An Lộc that
morning. The earth shook and shook and the operations room was thought
to have crumbled but did not. It was like a miracle. Although hundreds of
shells fell all around us, none fell on the opening of the bunker of the divi-
sional headquarters, which was not very thick. Only one shell was needed
to obliterate the whole bunker and kill the operational staff, including General
Hưng and Colonel Ulmer, and the battle of An Lộc would have ended right
there. It took less than five minutes of shelling before the two leaders picked
up their phones to call their units. Stunned, I did not know what to do. All
around, the other officers acted the same way. Apparently they could not
think of anything else but wait for something. Someone probably prayed.
Major Ingram said the barrage was so heavy that to leave your bunker
was “certain death.” Captain Moffett said “the noise was going up to a
crescendo…. It sounded like somebody was popping popcorn—shaking it
all over the city.”6
The terrible sound of explosions continued without interruption. Suddenly,
 X. Breaking the Siege 161

I saw Colonel Vỹ who was sitting on his cot stand up and go to the commu-
nication table; Colonel Điềm put his helmet on and got out of the bunker to
check the perimeter. Lieutenant Colonel Đăng, chief of staff S-3 for Oper-
ations, and I immediately went to the communication table, put on our head-
phones to register reports from individual units, and forgot all the rest. I was
stunned and almost paralyzed because of the fear—one that I had never expe-
rienced before. I felt ashamed. Hưng, the general, an old classmate, during
the terrible pounding of shells and missiles just took it easy and called each
unit to ask for information and give orders as if nothing had happened. In
retrospect, I was way behind him. He had more than 50 Medals of Valor, of
which 26 were palm leaves—the highest type of medal for soldiers who had
brilliantly and bravely won victories on the battlefield—which were given
in front of the Armed Forces of Vietnam. I had counted them on his jacket
after a military ceremony. That means that he had been commended for his
valor 26 times before the Armed Forces. As for me, I had no more than two
of them. Nothing was more humbling than being an officer with the lowest
combat citations.
Hours later, although the sound of explosions had ceased and the sky
was not clear yet, it was about 05:30 hours when the perimeter forces reported
attacks by enemy tanks and infantry. Early reports revealed that in all direc-
tions, defenders had destroyed tanks suggesting a major battle was being
fought. However, Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân, commander of the ARVN
7th Regiment, reported that he had lost contact with the battalion chief of
the 3/7 Battalion, except for the two company commanders of the battalion;
that the western defense perimeter at Phú Lô gate had been trounced; and
that enemy forces controlled the provincial jail and the Public Works Office.
From there, they began attacking the 5th Reconnaissance Company of 1st
Lieutenant Lê Văn Chánh who was protecting the western side of the divi-
sional headquarters; it was then realized that enemy forces were just one
street away from the headquarters.
On the northeastern front, the 52nd Ranger Battalion, which was heavily
attacked, was trounced in the middle and split into two separate wings. In
the northwest, enemy troops, after taking over the area around the provincial
“Open Arms” Branch Office and the nearby high school, attacked the 5th
Reconnaissance Company, one street away from the headquarters. Therefore,
the divisional operational headquarters was being attacked from the north-
west at about 150 meters and from the northeast at about 100 meters from
General Hưng’s bunker. Without hesitation, General Hưng immediately got
out of his bunker with the communication group, 2nd Lieutenant Tùng, his
aide, followed behind with Colonel Ulmer. The protection squad that was
162 INSIDE AN LOC

stationed in the nearby villa rapidly gathered around General Hưng and Col-
onel Ulmer who were standing close to the flag pole yard communicating
with leaders of different units.
At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Vỹ and all the officers and personnel
in the bunker went to the front of the defensive line of the headquarters,
which was facing Nguyễn Huệ Street. The line was serviced by two recon-
naissance squads protecting the operation staff and personnel of the 1st, 2nd,
3rd, and 4th Bureaus of the division totaling almost 40 guns including
Colonels Bùi Đức Điềm and Lê Nguyên Vỹ. Staying in the bunker were
Captain Cường, Triệu from the 2nd Bureau, communication officers and per-
sonnel. Of course, all the unit leaders were in direct contact with General
Hưng, although their staff continuously reported to the Tactical Operations
Center (TOC) which was then transcribed by the two captains and commu-
nication personnel.
As mentioned above, General Hưng had the ability to remember the
coordinates of specific locations; to direct the bombing of fighter planes on
specific targets, sometimes as close as one street away; and to remember
names and communication frequencies of all the company leaders of all units
under his direction. Not every commander had this ability, which was not
simple memorizing but having the ability to devise a way to memorize all
these numbers. I was standing on the inside of the protection line surrounding
the headquarters and listening to the noises of gunfire. I then realized that I
was not staying there to shoot at someone, but to be around my commander
to make him aware of what he needed to know about the enemy. Not seeing
Lieutenant Colonel Đăng, chief of the S-3 Operations, anywhere, I returned
to the flag pole yard where General Hưng stood and approached his aide,
2nd Lieutenant Tùng. It was then that I realized that General Hưng was talk-
ing to 1st Lieutenant Chánh; Lieutenant Colonel Quân, commander of the
7th Regiment; and Lieutenant Colonel Biết, commander of the 3rd Ranger
Battle Group while at the same time directing VNAF pilots to strike specific
targets for these officers. Occasionally he read coordinates for Lieutenant
Tùng to give to Colonel Ulmer, who stood about 40 feet away and was also
directing armed Cobra helicopters to strike at targets requested by General
Hưng. Later as the south and southeast areas requested air support, he let
Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng and Trần Văn Nhựt coordinate air support with
their U.S. advisers. The eastern side was coordinated by Lieutenant Colonel
Nguyễn Văn Biết, commander of the 3rd Ranger Battle Group, and the north-
ern side by Lieutenant Colonel Phan Văn Huấn, commander of the 81st Air-
borne Commando Group. General Hưng coordinated air attacks on the
northwest side for the 8th Regiment.
 X. Breaking the Siege 163

The northern and northwestern fronts of the 81st Airborne Commando

Group and the 8th Regiment, although having destroyed many tanks, had
been weakened because their lines had been trounced and pulled back a little
bit. Each time General Hưng communicated to the 8th Regiment, he either
talked to the deputy commander, Major Huỳnh Văn Tâm, or called directly
the battalion chiefs instead of the “absent” regiment commander Mạch Văn
Trường.
From early morning until 09:30, 180 aircraft missions by VNAF and
USAF had been flown and more than 10 B-52 boxes dropped around the
perimeters of the defensive lines, although the situation got worse with time.
For the whole day, there would be more than 90 B-52 sorties supporting An
Lộc alone. One commando detailed the effects of the B-52 strikes:
The earth vibrated violently, the compressed air caused me to have difficulty
breathing. I didn’t know if the two sorties were finished because I had not
recovered my consciousness. The city darkened as the cloud of dust had risen
and covered the sun light … many children still had bleeding in their ears and
noses.7
For this attack, the enemy had installed and used new AAA batteries.
A U.S. captain on the ground stated that he “had never heard so much 37
mm and 23 mm firing” in his life.8 For the first time in An Lộc, the use by
the NVA of the SA-7 heat-seeking surface-to-air missile—known as Strela—
had been confirmed. Any aircraft flying above 10,000 feet would be safe;
otherwise, pilots had to carefully dodge any missile that left a telltale trail
of white smoke as it moved toward its intended victim.9
In the midst of the battle, a distress call from General Hưng’s command
bunker was received by TACAIR. An enemy tank was aiming directly at the
bunker ready to fire its gun. Lieutenant Colonel Gordo Weed answered the
call with his A-37. On the first pass, his 250-pound bomb scored a hit at the
tank, but the bomb was a dud. Although the tank stopped firing at the bunker,
it continued to move forward. On the second pass, the bomb destroyed the
tank and routed its supporting infantry troops.10
The 5th Reconnaissance Company besides the two squads assigned to
the divisional staff, one close to him and the other along the Nguyễn Huệ
Street, had 40 remaining troops; half of them were either wounded or killed.
This was a critical and dangerous moment for General Hưng, for these troops,
despite their courage and valiance, would not be able by themselves to protect
the forward command post against the attacks of enemy forces. In the end
realizing that the south and southeast sections had been under the control of
the airborne units, he asked Colonel Lưỡng to send the 63rd Company to
reinforce the 8th Airborne Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh that
164 INSIDE AN LOC

was occupying the northern end of the temporary runway all the way down
to Xã Cam Gate where six enemy tanks had been shot early in the morning.

The 5th Airborne Battalion

The most important decision was to move the 5th Airborne Battalion
of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Chí Hiếu from the southeast to the northern
end of An Lộc in order to recover positions taken by the enemy in the morn-
ing and to move the Reconnaissance Company of the 1st Airborne Brigade
to protect the ARVN 5th Infantry Division’s forward command post that had
been covered by the 5th Reconnaissance Company for more than four hours.
That was an important decision; although it lightened the defense in the
south and southeast of An Lộc, it would protect the survival of An Lộc by
shielding the 5th Division’s headquarters. General Hưng and Colonel Lưỡng
had made a fateful decision for An Lộc above the other decisions taken by
the III Corps and MR3, the TRAC Headquarters, the JGS/RVNAF, the MACV,
Saigon or Washington. That was clear.
The half-strength 5th Airborne Battalion moved into An Lộc in two
wings. The men were filthy from living in the ground, and they were hungry
and anemic from skimpy rations. One in every three or four soldiers was
bandaged. As they moved into town or what remained of the town, the degree
of devastation became apparent. One U.S. soldier embedded in the airborne
battalion wrote,
[An Lộc] had been wrecked, knocked apart, and abandoned. Roofs were torn
off buildings, walls were blasted apart, and tumbled, burned out cars and
trucks lay in scorched spots on the streets…. Dead soldiers, civilians, cows,
pigs, chickens, and things I couldn’t identify were lying in the street or par-
tially buried in the rubble. The thick cloying green stink of the decaying dead
permeated everything…. One destroyed T-54 tank was burned out and a bro-
ken track had run off into the street…. The crew was still aboard and the rot-
ting bodies, the burned vehicle, and the oil and grease on the shattered
pavement combined to produce a gagging stink…. A wrecked jeep had been
blown onto the roof of a partially destroyed two-story building. It was upside
down and embedded in the shattered rafters.11
The first wing in a counterattack recovered the provincial high school
and the Open Arms Branch’s area and connected the two wings of the 52nd
Ranger Battalion. The second wing recovered the Public Works Office on
the west side of the division’s headquarters while an airborne company
arrived to strengthen the defensive line of the headquarters. The enemy was
not prepared to face the ferocity of the 5th Airborne Battalion.
 X. Breaking the Siege 165

By 14:00, the outcome of the battlefield of that day had been settled.
The 5th Airborne Battalion, the Reconnaissance Company of the 1st Airborne
Brigade, had become the saviors of the 5th Infantry Division’s forward com-
mand post, and the 5th Reconnaissance Company was the elite unit that pro-
tected its commander. With only 40 troops left, it had repulsed wave after
wave of communist attacks from 06:00 to 10:00 hours before the airborne
unit came to the rescue. Within one year after the battle of An Lộc, 1st Lieu-
tenant Chánh of the 5th Reconnaissance Company was promoted to major
and district chief of Định Quán District, province of Tuyên Đức.
Thanks to the airborne units and the bombing of enemy positions by
Cobra helicopters, although the presence of SA-7 Strela missiles and 23 mm,
37 mm, and 57 mm anti-aircraft guns made air attacks dangerous at the
northern end of the town, the ARVN 8th Regiment was able to recover its
lost positions, and the 81st Airborne Commando Group also counterattacked
and recovered the police station and the new market, which were lost early
in the morning along with the early-morning defensive lines. From the after-
noon until evening, strategic air force called by Generals Hưng and Hol-
lingsworth, TRAC commander, dropped 10 more Arc Light boxes outside of
An Lộc, especially on the northern, eastern and western sides, giving support
to the 81st Airborne, the 3rd Ranger Battle Groups and the 7th Regiment in
their reconquest of lost positions; many of these boxes fell 800 meters from
the defensive line. All the positions had been recovered although the lines
of the 52nd Ranger Battalion still had a hole in its mid-part as enemy troops
tried to stay close to the ARVN rangers in order to avoid the bombing. On
the western side, they still occupied the jailhouse.
One of the airborne command posts was a house that fronted directly
onto the street on the northeastern corner of An Lộc. The enemy was hiding
in the buildings across the street less than 30 meters away. As gunfire
exchanges were frequent, they moved to a concrete cellar with a low ceiling
and crumbling walls. The place was dark, odorous and divided into two
rooms, which they shared with civilians. A few elderly, a dozen children and
a pregnant woman occupied one of the rooms and the paratroopers the other.
Early in the morning, a seriously wounded soldier was brought to the
command post. Although he had been hit in the lower arm, he had decided
to stay back and fight until he was too sick to do anything. His arm was
swollen with redness streaking upward. Pus was oozing from the wound.
Although his friends knew that the battalion’s physician had passed away a
few days earlier from shrapnel wounds, they brought him to the command
post to see if Colonel Hiếu could do anything for him. It was obvious to
everyone that an amputation was needed soon; otherwise he would die. As
166 INSIDE AN LOC

no one was medically qualified, without training, anesthesia or sterilization,

they took off his left arm at the elbow level with a heavy-bladed Ka-Bar
knife after placing a tourniquet on the upper arm. The patient screamed and
kicked, but his buddies held him down and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
The stump was wrapped in a wad of cotton and a length of bandage, and the
soldier was taken to first aid for further care.12
The shelling of the town continued day and night. One morning, a loud
explosion rocked the house. The basement was filled with dust, and no one
could hear anything. After a few minutes of shock, it was realized that a
shell had penetrated into the house and exploded in the upper level killing
a few soldiers. The concrete floor was sturdy enough to protect the people
living in the basement. Except for the concussion, they were all fine, although
the civilians were screaming and moaning.
The explosion had a marked effect on the pregnant woman and her
baby. The latter decided to come out, causing the mother-to-be to scream
and yell. As the yelling and screaming intensified, the paratrooper decided
to see whether he could do anything to help. The lady was on her back with
her knees up while holding her belly. The elderly women around her appeared
confused, not knowing how to react. The slicked-black hairs were visible
followed by the face of the child. The paratrooper held the head and pulled
gently, causing the whole baby to slide out easily. There was a gush of blood
and water that filled the basement. The baby, who was crying, was given to
the mother, who by then had stopped crying.13
The experience with the Airborne Brigade was certainly unique, even
for a veteran U.S. paratrooper.
An Lộc was an unhealthy place in every respect and the psychological
stresses served to underscore the physical dangers and discomforts. Consider-
ing the length of time the men were engaged in that do-or-die fight, I mar-
veled at how well they held up.
Vietnamese paratroopers were aggressive beyond belief at every level from
squad to brigade. Assaults were ordered with little or no fire support, albeit
often by necessity, and soldiers and officers routinely attacked with very little
consideration for the personal costs involved…. They attacked upright with
single-minded focus; they simply concentrated on killing the enemy while
ignoring danger…. They understood about dying and were not afraid of it.14

Resist Until Death

Communist units suffered major losses including personnel, and the
number of tanks that were destroyed rose to 40 on 11 May. The rest of their
 X. Breaking the Siege 167

troops hung on to the outer edge of the defensive lines because VNAF and
USAF had been bombing their attacking lines heavily. However, almost all
the tanks used in May were PT-76 light amphibious models suggesting that
all the T-54 tanks had been destroyed in previous attacks.15 On that day, more
than 300 air sorties had been registered, and strategic air force had dropped
30 B-52 boxes on enemy concentration points and communication axes,
including 20 Arc Light boxes on the periphery of the defensive lines. Because
of their “hanging” on defensive parameters, the shelling of An Lộc was not
heavy: only about 1,000 shells. Besides, gunships from Utapao Air Base had
been destroying many cannons and tanks around An Lộc.
At night when General Hưng called me to his special room to evaluate
the battle events, we realized that the POWs’ statements differed somewhat
from the day’s events. The VC 5th Division—the main force in this third
attack—only used the following:
• The 174th Regiment to attack from the north the positions of the ARVN
8th Regiment and the 81st Airborne Commando Group.
• The NVA E-6 Regiment to attack the 3rd Ranger Battle Group from
the northeast and east.
• The NVA 275th Regiment overpowered the Windy Hill and Hill 169.
It was also known that the headquarters of this regiment was at
Srok Ton Cui as reported by electronic monitoring by the Technical
Company of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division.
• In the meantime, the NVA 95C Regiment of the NVA 9th Division
attacked the northwest.
• The 272 Regiment attacked the ARVN 7th Regiment of the 5th Divi-
sion from the west.
• As to the south, the 271st Regiment/NVA 9th Division divided into
two wings attacked a unit of the provincial PF and moved to Huỳnh
Thúc Kháng Street along the western side of the Bình Long Military
Sector headquarters while the second wing attacked the Xa Cam
Gate manned by the 1/48 Battalion of the 52 TF—then under the
command of the 1st Airborne Brigade—about two kilometers from
the positions of the 8th Airborne Battalion south of the temporary
landing zone.
From early morning, Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng ordered the 8th Airborne
Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Văn Bá Ninh to counterattack; it destroyed
six tanks and recovered the western section of town. Therefore, there had
been five points of attack, not four, and at each of these points at the regi-
mental level, eight to 10 tanks from the NVA 202nd and 203rd Tank Regiments
168 INSIDE AN LOC

participated in the attack. As this coordination was loose, tanks arrived to

the defensive lines first but did not know where to go and therefore were
easily destroyed by defenders. The infantry would show up only after most
of the tanks had been disabled.
What was surprising was that the southeast where the headquarters of
the 1st Airborne Brigade, the Reconnaissance Company, and the 5th Airborne
Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Chí Hiếu were stationed had never
been attacked, while the VC 5th Division and the accompanying 209th Reg-
iment along with other specialized units were stationed on hills in the south-
east region about three to four kilometers from the 1st Airborne Brigade.
Why? It had been speculated that the COSVN did not want to fight against
this elite unit and waste forces unnecessarily, except for an incursion into
the southern end of the landing zone. Had they attacked the 7th and 8th Reg-
iments/ARVN of the 5th Division and overwhelmed their headquarters, the
battlefield would have been leveled because the airborne units located in the
south and southeast would have been isolated and easily defeated. This third
offensive on An Lộc had failed because of the mishandling of this situation.
Since the NVA did not want to attack the southeast positions, General Hưng
and Colonel Lưỡng felt confident enough to move the 5th Airborne Battalion
and the 1st Airborne Recon Company to counterattack on the western and
northwestern sides allowing the defensive forces to regain their lost posi-
tions.
Later, I saw documents stating that the 275th Regiment of the VC 5th
Division, not the 271st Regiment/VC 9th Division, had attacked Xa Cam
Gate—position held by the 1st/48th Battalion of the 52nd TF.16 This must
have been a misstatement or printing error because the 275th Regiment
belonged to the VC 5th Division. The VC 5th Division had, therefore, spent
all its forces and had nothing left to fight against the 1st Airborne Brigade.
This statement may be correct. Despite being correct, it was also a strategic
error in this third phase of the attack. As for Willbanks, he did not list any
force in this attack. He must have followed the JGS/RVNAF Military History
Branch’s document in writing that the 274th Regiment/VC 5th Division
attacked the positions of the 81st Airborne Commando Group. This unit did
not participate in the offensive because it belonged to none of the above
divisions. The VC 5th Division was comprised of the 174th, E-6, and 275th
Regiments; the VC 9th Division had the 271st, 272nd and 95C Regiments.
Because northern communists failed to disclose information about their units,
misstatements are bound to occur.
Back to the night of 11 May, General Hưng had inquired about how
enemy forces got all those artillery rounds. I told him they not only used the
 X. Breaking the Siege 169

guns the COSVN 69th Artillery Division had, although they had received
lots of guns and ammunition from their bases on Chhlong River in Kratié,
but also the 105 mm and 155 mm howitzers and the 60 mm and 81 mm mortars
the ARVN 74th Ranger Battalion left at base Alpha; the artillery units at Lộc
Tấn from the ARVN 1st Cavalry TF; those from the 53rd Artillery Battalion
at Lộc Ninh; and those from the ARVN 52nd TF at Hùng Tâm bases. Overall,
they had collected more than 40 howitzers and 8,000 rounds of ammunition,
which they moved to An Lộc along with their own guns.
In sum, units of the COSVN 69th or 70th Artillery Division had used
all available guns from large to small, 60 mm, 61 mm, 81 mm, and 82 mm
mortars; 120 mm and 160 mm Soviet guns; 122 mm, 105 mm, and 155 mm
howitzers; the mobile 8 to 10 tubes of 75 mm guns, without recoil, placed
on trucks; and finally the 130 mm guns with delayed firing, which perforated
the target before exploding. A few documents denied the NVA had used these
guns. The particular characteristics of the 130 mm gun were as follows: it
emitted a sound when it emerged out of the mouth of the gun and when it
hit the target. Once the latter was penetrated, the explosion was followed by
an 8 to 10 meter smoke plume. Only one such missile would destroy a large
bunker. The sequence, thud, thud, boom, followed by a plume of smoke is
characteristic of the 130 mm gun the Soviets had given to the NVA. The gun
was first used during Lam Son 719 and the following summer as they shelled
and overran FSB Fuller. The NVA had used it in Corps I at the onset of the
offensive and for the first time in III Corps at An Lộc, although two units
were available at that time. The NVA therefore had used the largest arsenal
of guns possible at An Lộc in order to destroy the defending forces and cap-
ture it even if it had been turned into a no man’s land. It was estimated that
each person, civilian or soldier, had received five or six artillery rounds at
the frequency of 9,000 to 11,000 rounds being shelled into An Lộc. No one
knew the correct number, probably not even the gunners, although they failed
to take the town.
On 12 May 1972, to solve some supply issues, the NVA firing on the
defensive perimeters lessened to about 2,000 rounds. Tanks, however, kept
coming. Rangers attached to the 5th ARVN Division saw several T-54 tanks
moving from the east through Route 303. As the latter crossed a stream by
way of a narrow concrete bridge to get to An Lộc, the rangers positioned
themselves on both sides of the road about 30 meters from the bridge with
the goal of knocking off the lead tank right on the bridge, thereby blocking
it off. As the lead tank reached the middle of the bridge, six M-72s hit it.
The vehicle was destroyed at the right spot.
At noon on 15 May, Sergeant 1st Class Cao Tấn Tài was credited for
170 INSIDE AN LOC

destroying two T-54s. Perched on the roof of a building, he hit his first target
from a distance of 10 meters. The M-72 round hit the front part of the turret
and ignited ammunition inside the tank. He immobilized the second tank by
targeting its front road wheel then proceeded to fire two more shots at the
turret from a range of 20 to 30 meters. One round detonated the tank ammu-
nition.17
On 12 May at sunset, the NVA troops began attacking … at nighttime.
• On the western side, the 272nd Regiment/VC 9th Division augmented
by tanks attacked the ARVN 7th Regiment.
• In the northeast, the 174th Regiment/VC 5th Division attacked the
52nd Ranger Battalion.
• the E-6 Regiment/VC 5th Division moved against the 36th Ranger
Battalion in the east.
On all defensive lines, tanks were destroyed and attacking forces were
pushed back with heavy enemy losses. Twenty-eight NVA tanks had been
destroyed in town including six others at Xa Cam Gate by the 8th Airborne
Battalion, bringing the total to 34 kills; they were of all kinds: T-54, PT-76,
BTR-50 and ZSU.
On the morning of 13 May, the NVA had no units left to launch any
attack. From that date onward, sporadic gunshots occurred in all areas where
the NVA still had some strongholds: west, north, and northeast. They still
rained mortars and missiles indiscriminately on the town and its perimeters,
although they did not have enough strength to launch any major attack until
General Hưng launched his counterattack in June.
Probably because of major losses or a change in tactics, General Trần
Văn Trà ordered the VC 5th Division to pull out of the battlefield the fol-
lowing week to open new battlefields that General Nguyễn Văn Minh had
predicted and spared units to deal with.
The VC 9th Division hung around the defensive parameters or just
encircled the town. The artillery units of the COSVN 69th Artillery Division
were still firing on the town while their anti-aircraft guns aimed at VNAF
and USAF aircraft. The number of shells/mortars had decreased from the
thousands to a few hundred, then a dozen a day. An Lộc could be considered
safe and the defending units victorious in this wild red earth battlefield. How-
ever, the generals were still cautious and reserved like General Nguyễn Văn
Minh who would not declare victory until his troops had arrived in An Lộc.
He had new plans for An Lộc while General Trà had other plans elsewhere
in the B-2 battlefield, which comprised RVNAF MR3 and MR4.
For the defenders, the fatigue, the lack of sleep, the uninterrupted fighting,
 X. Breaking the Siege 171

the hunger, the unbearable stench of unburied dead, the confinement into a
narrow location, the fear, the constant barrage of shelling, and the mounting
number of unevacuated casualties began to sink in; the morale of the troops
by that time had almost reached the breaking point.18 By mid–May, they had
held on for almost a month and a half, subsisting on whatever food and drink
they could get their hands on, taking a nap here and there, fighting the enemy,
their own fear, and demons, and trying to survive another day.
Of course Washington, the Pentagon, TRAC and especially the RVN
and the ARVN had shared responsibilities for and worries about the survival
and loss of An Lộc. As for the worries, they could only send in more rein-
forcements or increase the bombing, but the fighting on the ground had to
be done by the defenders in An Lộc. The latter would either win or lose; this
did not mean having in hands the best armaments, but also a courageous
fighting spirit besides receiving the support of the U.S. and Saigon.
How could one fully explain the loneliness of the fighters on the bat-
tlefield as they waited for incoming enemies on the perimeter? It was while
they waited that they would feel lonely the most. They only had their resolve
and a gun when the enemy launched their attacks. They had to be at the
perimeter to fight back or wait for the metallic birds to come from Guam or
Utapao to save them. One moment of loneliness was enough to decide a vic-
tory or defeat. Wait and shoot. Live or die. Only they could understand their
loneliness. No one could understand them. If they were coward, they would
have run away, and then who would save Washington or Saigon?
Not many people understood the loneliness and sacrifice of the An Lộc
defenders. Nixon or Kissinger, Colonel Miller, Dr. Willbanks, who would
save them? We, the troops defending An Lộc? I am talking in place of my
fellow soldiers who had fought at An Lộc. Of course, we will never forget
the U.S. pilots who courageously flew dangerous missions to bomb enemy
positions or to supply us with ammunition and food as well as the U.S. advis-
ers who worked in other units close by to protect An Lộc.
But each country has its own pride. Yes, we only asked for the means
and support so that we could fight; but do not tell us how to fight. At An
Lộc, not a few advisers made comments that we had lost our fighting spirit.
I told them, then and now, that they were wrong, and the result of the bat-
tlefield had more than proven it.
 XI

Releasing the Pressure

on An Lộc

The Counterattack
It was probably early in the morning of 11 May when General Hưng
told General Minh that the NVA had massively shelled the town and would
attack it once the shelling had stopped. General Minh and his staff immedi-
ately made plans to save An Lộc the next day. According to my own assess-
ment, the plan had two parts separated by a few days.
First, attack strongly to uproot the blockade at Tàu-Ô stream, although
in reality to hold the NVA 7th Division in place and prevent it from sending
any reinforcement northward either to An Lộc or to take down the 3rd Air-
borne Brigade.
Second, during the third attack on An Lộc in the two hamlets of Đức
Vinh and Tân Khai about 10 kilometers south of An Lộc, the NVA 7th Divi-
sion had two regiments, the 165th and 141st, along with the 271st of the VC
9th Division. Of course it had to return this latter regiment which would par-
ticipate in the An Lộc attack. The two remaining regiments which had been
battling against the ARVN 3rd Airborne Brigade must have suffered major
damage under air attacks from VNAF and USAF. Then General Minh would
send in a fresh unit, not only to decrease the pressure on the Airborne 3rd
Brigade, but also to reinforce General Hưng’s forces in An Lộc.
The first part of the strategy began early on 11 May 1972.
The 32nd Regiment/ARVN 21st Infantry Division augmented by two
tank units, the 1/5 and the 1/2 Cavalry Companies divided into wings and
originating from Chơn Thành, moved along Highway 13 to attack the three-
kilometer-long blockade area at Tàu-Ô stream. The district of Chơn Thanh
was protected by the 9th Regiment/ARVN 5th Division—newly formed from

172
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 173

the combination of two battalions temporarily under the operative command

of the ARVN 21st Division, which was covering Highway 13 from Lai Khê
to Chơn Thanh. At the Tàu-Ô battlefield, a violent confrontation ensued.
When the 32nd Regiment moved in, enemy forces included the 209th Reg-
iment of the NVA 7th Division augmented by the 101st Regiment, the C-41
Anti-tank Company, a reconnaissance company/NVA 7th Division, and an
anti-aircraft artillery company—roughly about 1,200 troops. The units that
holed up in fortified shelters built by U.S. forces on both sides of the highway
and connected together by a thick maze of fortified tunnels had been bombed
by Vietnamese and U.S. planes for some time and probably suffered no small
losses. They probably received small reinforcements and supplies at night,
although the blockade persisted. They naturally could not move anywhere
in order to reinforce other units. Therefore, General Minh was able to accom-
plish part of his strategy, although he had to reinforce the 32nd Regiment
with three ranger battalions, the 65th, 73rd, and 84th.
The second part of his strategy was activated on 14 May 1972. On 11 May
when the 15th Regiment/ARVN 9th Infantry Division arrived at Lai Khê, Gen-
eral Minh thought about airlifting it directly to An Lộc as reinforcement. How-
ever, because of the massive shelling of the town in the early hours of the day
and knowing that the NVA would subsequently attack with tanks and infantry,
he changed his strategy by moving the unit on land. After many days of prep-
aration, although the intensity of attacks against An Lộc was decreasing and
the defensive forces were holding on their own, the strategy proceeded as
planned. Two wings had been designed to introduce the unit to the battlefield.
The first wing, consisting of the 15-TF, which included the 1st, 2nd, and
3rd Battalions and the 15th Reconnaissance Company; the 9th Armored Cav-
alry; and the 93rd Artillery Company under the command of Lieutenant Col-
onel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn, moved into Tân Khai in three phases. From there, they
headed toward An Lộc.
In the first phase the 9th Armored Cavalry, the 1/15 Battalion, and the
93rd Artillery Company originating from Chơn Thành moved north to the
Ngọc Lầu intersection about two kilometers north of Chơn Thành, then
swung around the west side of Highway 13 and by 15 May would arrive at
the Tân Khai hamlet and establish the Long Phi Firebase.
In the second phase, the 2/15 Battalion was airlifted to about one kilo-
meter west of the hamlet and moved into the hamlet on 16 May. Then the
headquarters of the 15-TF would be dropped into the firebase before moving
into the hamlet. In the third phase, the 3/15 Battalion and the 15th Recon-
naissance Company would be airlifted west of Tân Khai. All the units moved
to the hamlet without problem.
174 INSIDE AN LOC

The second wing, comprising the 33rd Regiment/21st Infantry Division

with its infantry battalions under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Viết Cần, would also head to Tân Khai, from where it moved to An Lộc in
a parallel fashion to the first wing.
On 17 May, one battalion of the 33rd Regiment would be airlifted to
the Long Phi firebase to protect the artillery unit and replace the 2/15 Bat-
talion, which would move out to follow the 3/15.
On 18 May, the 33rd Regiment (-) originating from a firebase three kilo-
meters north of Chơn Thành would move east of Highway 13 along the path
of the 9th Armored Cavalry and the 1/15 Battalion a few days earlier to move
to Tân Khai that day. Therefore by 18 May, the two wings to be used to lib-
erate An Lộc had arrived at the assembly area and attack position, which
was about 10 kilometers south of An Lộc.
But these 10 kilometers were the “life and death” course, especially
dangerous for both wings if there had not been another friendly wing that
would join in and change the complexion of the course and the An Lộc bat-
tlefield.
On 18 May when the 33rd Regiment (-)/21st Division arrived at Tân
Khai, the 15-TF of Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn began its move to An
Lộc with three battalions, a reconnaissance company, and the 9th Armored
Cavalry; it left the TF-15 deputy commander to direct the Long Phi firebase
along with four 105 mm howitzers and two 155 mm howitzers and a battalion
of the 33rd Regiment to support and protect the base the day before. There-
fore, when moving to An Lộc from Tân Khai, the 33rd Regiment (-) of Lieu-
tenant Colonel Nguyễn Viết Cần had only two battalions, a reconnaissance
company and no cavalry unit. It should be remembered that the two wings
were moving to free and shake hands with the defending units at An Lộc,
although they did not have a unified higher-rank commanding officer—e.g.,
a full colonel—to coordinate the work of the leaders of the two different
wings moving toward the same goal.
Naturally, General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi who was the commander of the
ARVN 21st Infantry Division oversaw all these units; but, being at Lai Khê,
he was also directing other units and therefore needed to designate a leader
whose staff would coordinate the advance of the TF-15 and 33rd Regiment.
The other question related to the imbalance of forces: a TF with a lot of
troops and a regiment that was missing a battalion while the two units were
moving toward the same goal, the TF on the west and the regiment on the
east side? First, there was a lack of unified command as well as an imbalance
of forces; second, the operational strategy was loose without close coordi-
nation and support. The on-site decision of a unified command would greatly
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 175

facilitate the operational activity of two different units. Based on logic, the
above assessment may be correct, although a close look at the battlefield
may explain the configuration of the two units as designed by either General
Minh or Nghi. In fact, the western wing of Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn
encountered a twice-stronger force than that of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Viết Cần.
On the night of 18 May, enemy forces began shelling the Long Phi fire-
base, forcing Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn to leave behind the 1/15 Bat-
talion to coordinate with the battalion of the 33rd Regiment in order to
expand the range of control around the firebase and decrease enemy firing.
The TF-15 from the time it got out of Tân Khai sustained many attacks
and was harassed continuously with mortar shells on 19, 20, and 21 May like
the airborne units in the past. The heaviest fight occurred at Đức Vinh hamlet,
which was the battlefield area of the 141st Regiment/NVA 7th Division. In
spite of this on the morning of 22 May, that wing had moved to about one
kilometer south of Thanh Bình Hamlet, which lay outside the defensive
perimeters about two kilometers southwest of An Lộc. It was, therefore, very
close to the town, although the NVA 141st Regiment prevented it from reach-
ing the town. The 2/15 and 3/15 Battalions and the 15th Reconnaissance Com-
pany were heavily shelled and attacked by infantry supported by tanks, which
were all repulsed. But it could not move forward or backward and was sur-
rounded from 23 May onward. Troops that were killed were buried in place
while wounded ones could not be evacuated. For many days, supplies and
ammunition were dropped by parachutes. Helicopters could not drop in, and
only a few dozen air missions had been successful. The 9th Armored Cavalry
moved on Highway 13 unimpeded from Tân Khai to Đức Vinh following the
path of the TF. On the evening of 23 May, Lieutenant Colonel Cẩn decided
to open a blood road with his armored unit to evacuate about 100 wounded
to Tân Khai. It was successful. The following day, when they tried to return
to the TF base, they were ambushed by a battalion and an anti-tank unit;
losses were high, many dozens of troops were killed, dozens were lost in
action, close to 80 were wounded, and 22 M-113 armored cars were shot with
B-40 and B-41 shells and AT-3 Sagger missiles. The TF had to send a unit
to support and protect the cavalry to return to firebase Long Phi at Tân Khai.
After that event, the remaining troops gathered in an area outside Thanh
Bình hamlet to reorganize the unit. Only 350 troops were able to fight. On
25 May, the TF tried to push toward An Lộc but was unsuccessful. Air support
was vital as ever.
The second wing, the 33rd Regiment (-) of Lieutenant Colonel Cần
connected with the 31st Regiment/21st Division, which was brought in as
176 INSIDE AN LOC

reinforcement for the 1st Airborne Battalion in the Đức Vinh hamlet. When
the airborne moved, the 31st remained in the Đức Vinh area. The following
day, the 33rd Regiment moved north, but the 31st was ordered to remain put.
Once out of Đức Vinh, the 33rd Regiment was attacked by the 165th Regi-
ment/NVA 7th Division. On 31 May, it tried to move north but was checked
in place again. Enemy losses were high because of air strikes. Losses on the
33rd Regiment were due to injuries from 61 mm and 82 mm mortars and 122
mm rockets. There were more than 200 wounded.
In the next four to five days, the two wings were assaulted on various
occasions by the NVA 141st and 165th Regiments. Losses mounted although
wounded could not be evacuated; helicopters could not land because of effec-
tive and deadly anti-air defense.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Đỉnh

In these difficult times, as the two “liberating wings” were pinned down
a few miles from An Lộc, a savior came out in the form of the 6th Airborne
Battalion/1st Brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn
Đỉnh.
“Try to help me with this,” said General Minh. “You’re the only one
who can do it. How old are you? Are you an acting or permanent lieutenant
colonel?”
“General, I’m thirty three,” said Lieutenant Colonel Đỉnh. “I’ve been
an acting lieutenant colonel for a year. I assumed command of the battalion
after the operation in Laos.”
“I’ll ask General Đống to make you deputy commander of an infantry
division. Lưỡng (chief of staff for Military Region III), take Đỉnh’s name,
rank, serial number and immediately make him a permanent lieutenant col-
onel.”
“Thank you, General. I’ll try hard.”
With that, General Nguyễn Văn Minh, III Corps commander, sent Lieu-
tenant Colonel Đỉnh to try to link up with the forces in An Lộc. If successful,
the NVA encirclement of An Lộc would be broken up after a two-month-
long siege, thus freeing the town and closing a chapter in the brutal Bình
Long attack; if not, the battle would rage on, no one knows for how long.
There was no other option. Wounded troops needed to be evacuated, rein-
forcements brought in to replace the dazed and tired soldiers, and food and
medications supplied to citizens and soldiers. Especially, dead bodies needed
to be buried to prevent potential health hazards from spreading.
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 177

He then congratulated Đỉnh for being able to make it back from Windy
Hill. General Minh stood and saluted Đỉnh, a person five ranks below him
and very inferior to him in position. Đỉnh saluted the general back. This
event, which occurred quickly at the Lai Khê’s III Corps forward command
center, contradicted all the rules related to command procedures, rank, and
military regulations.1
The 6th Airborne Battalion was thus sent back into action at An Lộc
with a huge and important mission: to link up with the 1st Airborne Brigade.
It also had to liberate the ARVN 15th and 33rd Regiments, which had been
bogged down by enemy forces while trying to connect with An Lộc defend-
ers. In addition, it would bring with it 300 reinforcement troops for the belea-
guered 15th Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn.
Two months earlier on 17 April 1972, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn
Đỉnh, commander of the 6th Airborne Battalion, was flown in with his troops
to reinforce An Lộc. He rapidly recovered Windy Hill and Hill 169 after a
well-conducted attack. While stationing at Srok Ton Cui, his unit was mauled
by the 141st and 165th Regiments/NVA 7th Division and the 209th Regi-
ment/VC 5th Division in the early hours of 21 April. He had to open a blood
road to get to the Bé River before being picked up by helicopters with the
remaining 125 troops. The attacking force was six times stronger than his
(2,400 vs. 400). Phạm Kim Bằng, the battalion executive officer, was seri-
ously wounded. Cao Hoàng Tuấn, the most outstanding company com-
mander, was dead, and every soldier was worn out.
That was the lowest point of Đỉnh’s military career. This was the first
time since it was formed 18 years earlier that the 6th Airborne Battalion had
been torn apart. In Lai Khê where the remnant of the battalion recovered
and picked up new recruits—excesses from other airborne units, wounded
troops who had recovered, including many seasoned officers—as well as
eager new personnel, Đỉnh and his company commanders tried and tried
again with all their hearts. “Try hard” was the Airborne’s motto. For one
month, they drilled and drilled the freshly minted crew whose other duty
was to guard the highway and the base in “maneuvers under fire.”
Of the 412 men, three-fourths were new troops. For one month Đỉnh
had the new recruits drilled daily, although everything had been about theory.
None of them had fired live ammunition, but the combat spirit was high. The
battalion was finally ready with its 61st, 62nd, 63rd, and 64th Companies.
On 3 June, as it rained, recruits were taught the fundamentals of grenade
throwing and basic hand signals.
Đỉnh convened his company commanders for a final meeting. On the
map, he showed them the plan,
178 INSIDE AN LOC

On the left of the highway is the 15th Regiment; on the right, the 33rd Regi-
ment. They have been pinned down for one month and cannot evacuate their
wounded; they don’t have enough food. And up there in the north is the 8th
Regiment close to An Lộc that has been waiting for one month for the link-
up. Our job is to make the link-up happen.
The new recruits were enthralled; they were ready and could smell the
smoke of the fire and the thrill of the action. At 10:00 on 4 June, the 61st
Company was lifted by helicopter to Đồng Lô, eight kilometers west of
Highway 13. They were met by anti-aircraft fire on arrival. The rest of the
battalion landed one kilometer away. At 12:30, the battalion reassembled and
moved northward to Đức Vinh 1 to receive the three companies of the 15th
Regiment. They then moved to Đức Vinh 2 where they camped for the night.
On 5 June, they continued northward passing Xa Cát stream close to Highway
13. On the road lay nylon bags of dried rice, clothes, and head scarves belong-
ing to civilians who tried to escape from An Lộc a few weeks earlier. The
black and rigid bodies were lying here and there. The stench was overpow-
ering. The battalion soldiers vomited all night.
On 6 June, Đỉnh talked to his commanders:
Today is 6/6. A day of destiny. At Normandy this was the longest day. Our
battalion is the 6th battalion. Three times six equals 18. Add the two digits of
18 and you get a 9, a lucky number. Within a 6 lies the potential to be a 9.
Potential is better than full development, which always precedes decline. So
this is a lucky day for us. I hope we’ll meet the enemy and we’ll defang
them.2

Traveling north, they suddenly hit the flank of the 165th Regiment/NVA
7th Division that was engaging with the 33rd Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel
Nguyễn Viết Cần. Charging and firing at the same time, they overwhelmed
the enemy, forcing them to move northward toward Windy Hill and Hill 169.
Being under no pressure, Lieutenant Colonel Cần’s units set up a landing
zone to evacuate about 200 wounded, and the units then crossed the rubber
plantation Xa Trạch to reach Đồng Phát hamlet about four kilometers south
of An Lộc.
That same day, the 6th Airborne unit crossed to the west side of the
highway, hit the 141st Regiment/NVA 7th Division broadside, freed and con-
nected with TF-15 and gave 300 fresh troops to Lieutenant Colonel Hồ Ngọc
Cẩn. The latter unit also established an LZ to evacuate 150 wounded. The
6th Airborne Battalion became the savior of two wings from the southwest
on the battlefield south of An Lộc. The hero, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Đỉnh, commander of the 6th Airborne Battalion, had established a record
by beating badly both the 141st and the 165th Regiments/NVA 7th Division
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 179

in critical battles, taking revenge on the same units that had mauled his troops
two months earlier at Srok Ton Cui and Windy Hill.
By evening, the 6th Battalion positioned itself east of Highway 13, with
the 15th Regiment on its left and the 33rd behind them. About one kilometer
ahead was the ARVN 8th Battalion, and beyond the 8th laid An Lộc with its
red-tile roofed administrative building. The solution of the Bình Long Battle
rested in that one kilometer. On 7 June, there was one last objective, an
enemy position on the right side of the road between the 6th and 8th Battal-
ions. The 6th Battalion halted momentarily to evacuate wounded and receive
supplies.
On 8 June, as the battalion got ready for the final fight, they realized
that during the night the enemy had dug out new communication trenches
500 meters from their positions. At 08:45 they began their assault: they ran
and fired at the enemy. In two hours, they had decimated two enemy com-
panies with the exception of a POW who was so paralyzed by fear that he
could not talk. They then continued their march northward to the Xa Cam
plantation. Following another attack, the enemy scattered to the west.
At 17:45, Ngô Xuân Vĩnh, nicknamed “Vĩnh the Kid”—he was only
23, the youngest 62nd Company commander of the 6th Airborne Battalion—
shook hands with Nguyễn Trọng Ni of the 81st Company/8th Battalion at a
spot 100 meters north of the Xa Cam Plantation sign. Both company com-
manders belonged to the same company at the Thủ Đức Infantry School. As
tears of pride and happiness flowed freely on their cheeks, an American
adviser took the picture as they clasped their hands. The linkup had been
accomplished. The siege of An Lộc had been broken. An Lộc was free again.
In front of them, smoke was rising from the cooking fires in An Lộc as people
prepared for the evening meal.3
The ARVN 33rd Regiment moved through Đồng Phát 1 hamlet without
problem until it exchanged heavy fire with enemy troops midway between
Đồng Phát 1 and 2. Regretfully, after pushing back enemy forces and settling
at Đồng Phát 2 hamlet, on 9 June the regiment commander, Lieutenant Col-
onel Nguyễn Viết Cần, died from an incoming gun shell. He was posthu-
mously promoted to full colonel.
If in the southeast there were two sons who sacrificed for the country,
General Đỗ Cao Trí, commander of III Corps and MR3, and his brother Lieu-
tenant Colonel Đổ Cao Luận, in the southwest, the Nguyễn Viết family also
had two brothers sacrificing for the country, General Nguyễn Viết Thanh,
commander of the IV Corps and MR4, and his brother Colonel Nguyễn Viết
Cần. How many other families have two or three sons who had sacrificed
their lives for a free Vietnam? Loving sorrows to them.
180 INSIDE AN LOC

From 8 June onward, the complexion of the battlefield had changed

completely. In the city, General Hưng ordered all units to counterattack and
recover all positions taken by enemy forces in the past.
On the west side, the 7th Regiment/ARVN 5th Division recovered the
area around the jailhouse all the way to Phú Lố Gate and the Hoàng Hoa
Thám Street that went around the west side of town.
In the north, the 81st Airborne Commando Group recovered the business
area north of town and the Đồng Long Airfield. Pursuing their operation,
they discovered a deep bunker in a neighboring forest. Hearing noises, they
called the suspected NVA soldiers to surrender, only to find two little girls,
very emaciated, dazed, and too weak to climb out of the bunker, with their
clothing in tatters. They took the girls to the headquarters and realized they
were Hà Thị Loan and Hà Thị Lộ, age eight and nine respectively. Their
father was an RF soldier defending Đồng Long. When the airfield was over-
run, their mother tried to take them and a brother to town but was killed by
a mortar. Their brother was also killed. The two girls survived for two months
in the bunker with vegetables and water from rain. They were later reunited
with their father.4
During mopping operations, ARVN soldiers found the hulks of burned-
out tanks scattered all over the battlefield, including a dozen tanks abandoned
inside B-52–fashioned craters. Obviously the latter constituted unexpected
obstacles to the movement of armored vehicles. They found one enemy head-
quarters that had been destroyed by C-130 gunships; inside the command
post were destroyed communication equipment and many skeletons.
In the east, the 3rd Ranger Battle Group recovered its former position
on Nguyễn Du Boulevard all the way to the railroad track to the Quản Lợi
Gate. By midday 12 June, the remaining enemy troops that could not get
away on time were killed.
South of town where the 1st Airborne Brigade had control all the time,
the temporary LZ at the end of the highway reopened in early June when
the units from Tân Khai moved in. Since the 6th Airborne Battalion and the
ARVN TF-15/9th Infantry Division had arrived at An Lộc perimeters and
connected with the 8th Airborne Battalion, many types of helicopters flew
in troops, evacuating wounded on a regular basis, although occasionally a
few rockets sill fell on the LZ.
On 13 June, General Nguyễn Văn Minh ordered the 18th Infantry Divi-
sion to ship the 48th Regiment to An Lộc, replace the battered troops of the
5th Division, and take back Windy Hill and Hill 169. The replaced soldiers
out appeared to be “in very rough shape”; malnourished with their uniforms
in tatters. Some were “barefoot, some were dazed and some were too exhausted
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 181

to do more than shuffle.”5 The constant fighting, the pounding of the bombs
and mortars, the exhaustion, and the fatigue had stressed these fighters
beyond their limits and sapped their physical reserves.

An Lộc Liberated
From 13 June onward, the town of An Lộc and the province of Bình
Long were considered to be liberated, and Saigon and Washington felt much
better. Hanoi could not control An Lộc as it had claimed earlier. The political
and military strategies of the communists had failed.
On 14 June, President Nguyễn văn Thiệu sent congratulations to the
commanders of the III Corps and MR3, the 5th Division, the 21st Division,
and all units and soldiers of all ranks who had fought at An Lộc or helped
open Highway 13.
In reality, the section between Chơn Thành and Tân Khai had not been
reopened. The ARVN 32nd Regiment/21st Infantry Division which suffered
major casualties in the blockaded area at Tàu-Ô stream had been returned
to the ARVN 21th Infantry Division for reinforcement and replaced by the
46th Regiment. The 141st and 165th/NVA 7th Division, after facing many
battles against the TF-15, 33rd Regiment, and 6th Airborne Battalion the
week before, although having suffered huge losses, gathered on 17 June out-
side Tân Khai and set up dozens of anti-aircraft guns and mortars with the
goal of erasing the Phi Long firebase of the TF15. General Nghi, commander
of the ARVN 21st Infantry Division, had to send in the 31st Regiment from
outside Đức Vinh hamlet along with two infantry battalions and the 9th
Armored Cavalry TF (-) to protect the firebase.
On 18 June, the 1st Airborne Brigade of Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng had
been ordered to separate from the ARVN 5th Infantry Division, move to Tân
Khai and engage the above two NVA regiments. They killed close to 600
troops and confiscated more than 70 guns including anti-aircraft batteries.
That was the last major battle that this savior unit achieved on the Bình Long
battlefield. After that, all airborne units were ferried to Chơn Thành and
returned to Saigon to reinforce the I Corps and MR1. Remnants of the two
NVA regiments pulled back to Tàu-Ô Stream. Apparently the NVA 7th Divi-
sion had lost three-quarters of its troops and half of its guns south of An Lộc
and on Highway 13, although they still controlled the blockade at Tàu-Ô
while their COSVN leaders had lost one of the biggest battles of this period.
The Bình Long victory had been affirmed by the generals, unit com-
manders and defensive and supportive troops of An Lộc. But above all, it
182 INSIDE AN LOC

was the spirit of “holding on till death” from the general to the unnamed
troops like an RF soldier, a PF soldier, a policeman, a civilian villager, a
teenager named Đoàn Văn Bình who once asked Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt for
a gun to take down a tank, or a secretary that saved An Lộc.
That secretary who fled the war zone sought refuge in an area protected
by the 81st Airborne Commando Group; by writing a couplet to congratulate
troops of this elite unit, she had in her own way contributed to the protection
of An Lộc.
An Lộc địa sử ghi chiến tích
Biệt cách dù vì quốc vong thân
An Lộc history records this feat:
Airborne commandos sacrificing their lives for the country.

After the war, the appreciative An Lộc people erected a stele on which
were inscribed the above words to honor the fallen soldiers of the 81st Air-
borne Commando Group. The stele was taken down by the communists after
their takeover of South Vietnam in 1975. Besides the commando cemetery,
which was the largest military cemetery in An Lộc, the paratroopers being
spread to different sectors had two smaller cemeteries, one near the An Lộc
hospital and the other one close to the vicinity of the helicopter pad.
One former resident of An Lộc who had returned to her native city after
the war wrote,
The old cemetery, that served as the symbol of loyalty and heroism, had
become an urban center. Those vengeful “atheists” had dug out the remains of
our brothers and dumped them outside Xa Cam gate. With a heavy heart, I
found my way to Xa Cam gate, but in front of me, there was a sad and quiet
rubber tree forest and the dusty red soil routes on which I used to play with
my friends, kicking up the red dust, those same roads on which the frightened
residents of An Lộc had fled away, those roads that were soaked up with the
blood of my brothers and of the enemy; I whispered a prayer for your spirit—
our national heroes—for the spirit of all Vietnamese who had died during this
atrocious war, for the early liberation of the Fatherland from this incarcerated
life.6

All the towns and villages of the southwest, southeast, and even Saigon
rejoiced at the news of victory. Merchants at the central Bến Thành market
and other Saigon markets knew that “General Hưng had defended An Lộc
to death and won.” Apparently few people knew that holding An Lộc and
defeating General Trần Văn Trà were the major feat of the smart-thinking
General Nguyễn Văn Minh, Commander of the III Corps and MR3. And it
was the widespread aura of General Hưng and another factor to be told later
that would adversely affect his future military career. In reality, it is hard to
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 183

have won a major battle and to remain in the army under the same com-
mander.
First, the leaders of the COSVN were pretty upset, especially General
Trần Văn Trà, who knew he would lose at An Lộc; however, since the Fiery
Summer Offensive was drafted and directed by the Politburo and the Central
Committee had not concluded defeat yet in the I and II Corps, they, like
high-class boxers who even hit in the face, would not fall and lie down with-
out reacting. Therefore from the end of May to mid–June, they opened new
battlefields in Phước Long, Xuyên Mộc, Đất Đỏ District of Phước Tuy, Đức
Huệ District of Hậu Nghĩa, Cái Bè, Cay Lậy District of Định Tường, and
Mộc Hóa District of Kiến Tường, Provinces of IV Corps. In III Corps regions,
General Minh knew about it and had defensive forces set up. The reason
why General Trà reached down into the IV Corps was because according to
communist designation, the NVA B-2 Front (or the communist 2nd Military
Region) comprised not only the ARVN III, but also the IV Corps.
Although General Trà tried to enlarge the battlefield, that summer was
not easy for him for the simple reason that the COSVN had only a few prin-
cipal divisions like the 5th, 7th, 9th and the newly formed C30B along with
a few local units at the regimental or battalion levels. The local units were
not good, and that summer, only the NVA 7th Division and the 69th Artillery
Division were units that hung around for a long time. The battlefields could
be considered like huge ovens ready to “roast or burn” their new recruits.
The huge ovens moved everywhere, north, south, east, west, where genera-
tions after generations of those “born in the north and died in the south”
were fed into them without break. If they died, new ones would replace
them. The more they were fed with new recruits, the more people died. That
was why the Communist Party of Vietnam advised northerners to be patriotic
to “fight against Americans and save the country” and “liberate the people
of South Vietnam.”
Next, one has to talk about the struggle of the ARVN soldiers in An Lộc
who gave so much hope to people of all ranks not only in South Vietnam,
but also in the world. Major John Howard wrote in his paper,
The circumstances of desperation forced the ARVN to stand up to the enemy’s
impressive war machine and neutralize its effectiveness. In doing so, the Viet-
namese soldier vindicated the less than resolute actions of former comrades
in other campaigns. Often maligned by the world press prior to the offensive,
he renewed his faith in himself, his leaders, and in the human frailties of the
enemy.7
Well-known strategists like Moshe Dayan of Israel came to South Viet-
nam to try to understand how defenders of a small town could vanquish the
184 INSIDE AN LOC

elite troops of General Võ Nguyên Giáp, and Sir Robert Thompson, the
British strategist—then special adviser to President Nixon—had been given
a special tour of An Lộc by General Hollingsworth on 15 June 1972 and
shown by General Hưng the almost complete devastation of the town as well
as remnants of communist tanks strewn all over the defensive lines. Sir
Thompson had been surprised by the fighting spirit, courage and resilience
of the defenders of An Lộc. He mentioned that the defenders’ feat at An Lộc
was much bigger than that at Điện Biên Phủ and admired the generals, com-
manding officers and troops. There probably was no battlefield where officers
and troops ran after tanks to take a shot at them. General Paul Vanuxem, a
French veteran of the Indochina War, called An Lộc “the Verdun of Viet-
nam,”8 and Sir Robert Thompson mentioned it as “the greatest military vic-
tory of the Free World against Communism in the post World War II era.”9
The repercussion of the An Lộc victory spread to South Korea, Formosa,
and the Philippines, forcing the chairman of the GCOS/JGS/RVNAF to form
a delegation comprised of fighters to visit and talk about “the Battle of An
Lộc” in Taipei and South Korea.
On 16 June, General Nguyễn Văn Minh came to visit and congratulate
the defending troops. He was wildly cheered, especially by troops of the 8th
Regiment of Colonel Mạch Văn Trường, one of Minh’s protégés. That night,
whoever listened to the Voice of the Army could hear Mạch Văn Trường
relate that General Minh flew over the An Lộc sky to direct, encourage, and
congratulate soldiers in order to raise troops’ spirit and to drop down bar-
becued pork and bánh hỏi10 to defending soldiers.
On 18 June 1972, General Minh declared that An Lộc was liberated.
On that same day, General Hưng was hit with an additional misfortune,
this one worse than anything before: General Minh sent a message to General
Hưng to return Colonel Mạch Văn Trường to the Operational Headquarters
III Corps and MR3 so that he could prepare all documents related to the
battle of An Lộc. He had also been chosen and designated by the III Corps
and MR3 to the GCOS/JGS/RVNAF as the delegation leader of all “heroes
of An Lộc” to spread the good news to other countries. Probably without
thinking, General Hưng refused. The next day, General Minh himself called
General Hưng who then suggested to him to designate another person
because Colonel Mạch Văn Trường was unfit. This was the first time General
Hưng disobeyed his superior’s order. For many days, Major General Đào
Duy Ân, deputy commander, and Colonel Phan Huy Lương, operational
chief of staff of III Corps and MR3, called General Hưng to listen to General
Minh’s order but the latter refused. The following night, General Ân also
called me because he trusted me when I worked at J-2/III Corps and MR3
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 185

and knew I was friendly with General Hưng. He advised me to tell him to
listen to the corps and region’s commander. I saw General Hưng and told
him about General Ân’s advice.
“That is not possible. Why not designate Colonel Vỹ, Colonel Lưỡng
or Colonel Nhựt? To designate Colonel Nhựt would be most appropriate
because he is a local to this region,” General Hưng answered with this sen-
tence and turned to another subject.
“Do you think they still have troops, Dưỡng?” he asked
“No. They only have artillery left,” I responded.
In truth, after defending forces counterattacked and recovered all posi-
tions lost and once the 81st Airborne Commando Group raised the national
flag on the hill over the Đồng Long Airfield the afternoon of 12 June, COSVN
infantry units had pulled out of An Lộc after suffering major losses twice or
three times those of the defending forces. According to my own account,
their losses could amount to 8,000, most of them related to bombing by
VNAF or USAF. That number does not include the number of wounded, which
could be twice or thrice as high. Their total losses at the Bình Long battlefield
could be as high as 20,000, along with hundreds of tanks and armored cars,
hundreds of artillery guns, and a few thousand crew-served and personal
guns.
The 1st Airborne Brigade left An Lộc on 16 and 17 June for Tân Khai
where it fought its last battle at Bình Long before returning to Saigon. They
took a few days of rest before being shipped to the Quảng Trị battlefield. On
24 June, the 81st Airborne Commando Group was returned to the JGS/
RVNAF. They had performed magnificently in An Lộc but also paid a heavy
price: 68 KIA and close to 300 WIA. These numbers luckily were lower than
those predicted by Colonel Huấn, their commander. He told them before the
maneuver he intended to take 550 men and predicted that about 300 of them
would not return. He then asked for volunteers; all 1,000 men or so raised
their hands.11
The defensive lines that were turned over to the ARVN 5th Infantry
Division and the PF units of the military area were much thinner. But enemy
units had no more troops to wage a new battle; they had moved to Cambodia
to be reinforced before opening new battlefields as mentioned above. But
they still shelled the town for many more days: a dozen or two a day. These
were mobile artillery units pulled by trucks that were difficult to eradicate.
There were still some deaths, although rare; those who died once the raging
battle was over really had bad karma. Therefore, those who had cold feet
could feel worse than before. Those like Mr. Mạch Văn Trường who “feasted”
on “barbecued pork and bánh hỏi” during the battle had managed to get out
186 INSIDE AN LOC

of An Lộc early and play the role of heroes. The straight talkers like General
Hưng who refused to speak of absurdities or comply with their superiors’
requests were classified as insubordinate. The fact that this event was known
to many other people made the commander madder. Although he could not
retaliate then, he would do it later. There was no rush.

Phú Đức Village

The price of war was borne by everyone, from troops to civilians and
the town itself. In a poor country that was fighting to defend itself against
an invading army, having survived the battle was by itself a blessing com-
pared to the thousands of others who had died or were dying around them.
For the people of An Lộc, whatever they had—a thatched hut, a small house
or a garden plot—no longer existed. Almost everything they had built up
and saved for years or decades had been destroyed, turned into ruins by those
who brought in the war in order to take over the place to form the seat of
the revolutionary government.
Almost everyone had left An Lộc as soon as they could: they were not
used to that type of shelling and not prepared to deal with the deadly pro-
jectiles. In early July, the town that once was the home to 15,000 civilians
or more had only 1,000 left. The month before, more than a thousand civilians
had died from the abominable shelling. Many thousands of them had taken
refuge in the nearby Phú Đức village, on the southeast side of the town that
had been spared because of its lack of strategic value. Most of the wounded
had been taken to the Phú Đức pagoda, which had a yard large enough to
serve as a reception area after the provincial hospital had been blown apart.
The pagoda itself was small with minimal facilities. They then lay on the
dirt floor in the pagoda courtyard with almost no medical care. At least they
were safe from the shelling. One army physician wrote about the village,
Two flamboyant flower trees laden with bright red blossoms stood at the
entrance. One might blame Nature for being so insensitive. In the courtyard,
lay at random refugees deep in their pain and sadness while up above, the
flamboyant flowers displayed their radiant beauty. Maybe I was the only per-
son to have noticed the gorgeous blooms. No one else cared to look up at the
top of the trees. Despite the contrast between the misery of the refugees and
the splendor of the flowers, at least in this hell on earth, something sparkling
fresh existed like a ray of hope to make life less depressing.12

After evacuating the last patient from the destroyed An Lộc hospital to
Phú Đức, Corporal Nguyễn Văn Tiến did not return to the provincial hospital.
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 187

Convinced by two friends who lived in Phú Đức, he decided to remain there.
The place was definitely safer than An Lộc, and he could spend all his time
looking after the patients who needed any help they could find. He started
caring for those who had infected wounds that had not been treated and cared
for in a long time, using the bandages and antiseptic solutions that were in
his possession. By word of mouth, people kept coming, transforming the
pagoda yard into an outdoor first-aid station.
Then from spitefulness at their inability to capture An Lộc or because
of a change in strategy, the enemy began raining down bombs and mortars
on Phú Đức, disrupting the peace and tranquility and killing hundreds of
innocent and unprotected people. War had followed these poor civilians to
this peaceful abode. And the vicious cycle began churning. The ephemeral
peace became a hell on earth in Phú Đức also. The home of Buddha was not
even spared.

An Lộc in Ruins
The place called An Lộc was still there, although the town itself had
almost disappeared from the map. Any careful observer could only count
five or six still standing houses, although none of them had a complete roof.
How could a town survive a barrage of a thousand rounds or more a day for
more than two months in a row? Although the shelling continued for one
more month, it was not as intense as before; but people continued to be
scared of getting out into the open and refused to show their faces and look
at the blue sky. They, however, could not look at the sky without looking
down and seeing all the miserable devastations inflicted on their beloved
town. Some, therefore, decided not to look at all. The reality was far worse
than the ignorance of reality.
In the beginning people huddled in the school hoping its sturdy walls
would protect them at least from the shells. When the enemy did not even
spare the school, the survivors scurried to the nearby bunkers to live close
to the soldiers. They cooked and slept in the soldiers’ bunkers or in base-
ments, makeshift bunkers, or wherever they could find a safe place; many
who were too scared to go outside relieved themselves in tins which they
threw out of the bunkers. They all had gone underground, the deeper the bet-
ter, hoping to survive through the battle. They ate whatever they could put
their hands on or whatever troops would share with them.
Many did not even have a family left. Children had become orphans,
women became widows, and parents lost their sons and daughters. One civilian
188 INSIDE AN LOC

all of a sudden had to face the death of his wife and five children after a
mortar fell on their dwelling. The reinforcement he had put up was not strong
enough to withstand the blow of the projectile. Glad to be alive, he helped
people put together the mangled pieces of flesh and bones for the final burial,
trying to make sure they fit together. How could he be sure? All these pieces
looked alike. But in his agony, he did his best to try to send them away as
a whole instead of in pieces. That was his final gift to his loved ones. He did
not even cry; he was stunned and had no tears left to shed. Around him, peo-
ple were more or less in the same situation.
When they finally emerged on the ground, emaciated, weak, and wobbly,
with barely skin on bones and with dirty rags on them—they did not have a
shower for many weeks, if not months—they faced a devastated town that
bore ill resemblance to the one they had lived in three months earlier. Theirs
was a poor country town that once had houses standing, lights, cars, trucks,
trees, and colors.
Now there was nothing left, just a uniform grayish black monotony
among crumbled houses and buildings. Even the red soil had turned into a
greyish color that resulted from the more than 78,000 rounds that fell on the
town. The ground was pockmarked by innumerable craters large and small.
Streets were littered with immobile, charred masses of steel, which repre-
sented former tanks. The few military vehicles were also covered with a
greyish layer of dust over flat tires and broken windshields. The stench of
garbage and death permeated the air. Bodies of enemy soldiers that had
turned into skeletons lay here and there. Then there were the mass graves.
From a lively town, An Lộc had become a ghost city and in certain places
a cemetery where dead and living co-existed and shared two square kilome-
ters of land. There were no cats, dogs, or animals running around; the birds
had even deserted the area. There was no running water or electricity. Nights
were dark as caves. It was surprising that no epidemics had broken out in
this situation. The town was quiet except for occasional rounds that fell
here and there. There were no cars on the streets except for occasional
wrecks that still managed to run in the middle of a desolated war zone. The
sky, however, was still blue and the sun bright. There was still hope in the
air.
There was no official death toll, and numbers are variable. One does
not know the exact number of civilian deaths because so many people had
come in and left town in between. ARVN defenders sustained 5,400 casualties
and 2,300 KIA or MIA. One battalion of the 5th ARVN had 26 troops left
from a strength of 300. The NVA had never released their numbers, although
they were estimated at 10,000 KIA and 20,000 WIA. The three NVA divisions
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 189

were decimated. There were more than 80 burned-out enemy tanks and other
vehicles in and around the town.

President Thiệu’s Visit to An Lộc

On 7 July 1972, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, accompanied by a few
ministers, Generals Cao Văn Viên, GCOS/JGS/RVNAF, and Nguyễn Văn
Minh, came to An Lộc to congratulate defenders. General Hưng ordered
troops to expand their range of control because he feared short- and long-
range shelling. The president and the delegation which dropped by on the
LZ south of An Lôc were received by General Lê Văn Hưng and Colonel
Trần Văn Nhựt and escorted to a villa located above the bunker of the head-
quarters of the 5th Division. Neither the villa nor the bunker was hit by any
of the 70,000 shells that fell over the town during the previous three months.
Inside the villa were piles of maps to be presented to the president
should he ask, but he said he came not to ask questions but to reward the
meritorious officers of the courageous Bình Long Province, to proclaim that
the victory of An Lộc was that of the free world and to elevate the troops to
one rank higher. President Thiệu declared,
An Lộc held—and held. Where Điện Biên Phủ lasted 56 days before collapse,
An Lộc held on for 70 days before driving the communists out leaving the
town strewn with the wreckage of field guns and derelict Soviet T54s….
[The] An Lộc victory was not only that of the Republic of Vietnam Armed
Forces over three enemy divisions, but also the victory of the Free World’s
democracy over communist totalitarianism.
Since officers of the airborne and ranger units had left An Lộc, they
would be elevated later: Colonel Lê Quang Lưỡng was made brigadier gen-
eral and commander of the ARVN Airborne Division. Then, the president
hung some promotional ranks and medals symbolically on a few officers.
President Thiệu read the commendation promoting General Hưng to
the rank of full brigadier general officially and awarded him the National
Order, Third Class—the highest medal of the nation—with Gallantry Cross
and Palm for his glorious victory. Colonel Trần Văn Nhựt was officially pro-
moted to full colonel officially and awarded a National Order Medal, Third
Class, with Gallantry Cross and Palm, and Colonel Mạch Văn Trường was
officially promoted to full colonel. As he finished reading, President Thiệu
proceeded to go to the next person, Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân, com-
mander of the 7th Regiment, when suddenly General Minh walked to him
and explained, while thrusting into his hands a National Order Medal, Third
190 INSIDE AN LOC

Class, that the National Order Medals, First and Second Class, were usually
reserved for foreign dignitaries and chiefs of state.
“Mr. President, please pin on Colonel Trường the…”
“Does Colonel Trường have a Fourth Class National Order Medal yet?”
the president interrupted.
“Yes…. I have already suggested … in an official proposition to the
JGS … pretty soon,” General Minh responded.
The president hesitated but walked to Colonel Trường and pinned on
him a National Order Medal, Third Class, with Gallantry Cross and Palm.
Beautiful scheme. Well choreographed. After that, the president pinned
the colonel insignia to Lieutenant Colonel Lý Đức Quân and Lieutenant Col-
onel Trịnh Đình Đăng, 3rd Bureau chief of the division. Next he pinned the
Lieutenant Colonel insignia on me and Major Huỳnh Văn Tâm, deputy com-
mander of the 8th Regiment, the person who truly commanded the 8th Reg-
iment throughout the An Lộc battlefield. A few sub-officers and troops were
given new insignia.
After the ceremony, the president and his delegation were given a visit
to all the fighting sites of the An Lộc battlefield. President Thiệu stopped at
the charred hulls of five T-54s that were lying around the command post of
the 8th Regiment and had pictures taken with soldiers. He stopped and knelt
in prayer before the Savior’s Statue that had remained intact despite two
months of continuous shelling. He visited the 81st Airborne Commando
Group cemetery and knelt in front of its memorial monument to commem-
orate the fallen commandos as well as the residents who had lost their lives
during the battle.
General Hưng presented to President Thiệu the helmet he wore during
the siege in appreciation for his visit. The president tapped Hưng’s shoulder,
shook his hands, and then boarded the departing plane. He must have treas-
ured the gift because he kept the helmet on his desk at the Independence
Palace.13
The delegation stayed in An Lộc for two hours during which no shell
fell on the city. The president indeed was very lucky. A lot of happiness, but
also a lot of misfortune. Later, after he immigrated to the U.S., he did not
speak or write a word for many years. Silence is golden.
During this ceremony, obvious injustice was visible. Colonel Lê Nguyên
Vỹ was not present at this ceremony and was not promoted to brigadier gen-
eral; he did not receive any commendation. It was only two years later when
General Phạm Quốc Thuần became commander of the III Corps and MR3
that he was promoted to commander of the 5th Division in place of Brigadier
General Trần Quốc Lịch. Another person who had performed the most deeds
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 191

in An Lộc under the most difficult circumstances was Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm;
as mentioned earlier, he was old oak left somewhere in the forest of Bình
Long; he did not receive any promotion or commendation until South Viet-
nam was lost.
One sad note is worth mentioning. Just a few days after President Thiệu
visited An Lộc, on 7 July 1972, Brigadier General Richard J. Tallman, deputy
commander of TRAC, along with a few staff officers flew in to visit An Lộc.
As his helicopter landed on the provincial runway, it was shelled; the first
shell missed him, although the second one fell in the middle of the delegation
as they ran for cover. Three officers were immediately killed. General Tall-
man was evacuated to 3rd Field Hospital and operated on. Due to the severity
of his injuries, he died on the operating table. During the Bình Long battle,
from Lộc Ninh to An Lộc and the blockade of Tàu-Ô stream, many U.S.
advisers had either died or were lost in action. I do not know how many. We,
the fighters of An Lộc, pay tribute to you and share our grief with your fam-
ilies. We thank troops from the USAF and other units for having participated
in this battle and saved us.

Reassignment
On 11 July 1972, the 18th ARVN Infantry Division under the command
of Colonel Lê Minh Đảo moved in to replace the 5th Infantry Division,
which was transferred back to its base in Lai Khê. The 25th Infantry Division
moved to Chơn Thành replacing the 21st Infantry Division to continue the
job of uprooting the blockade at Tàu-Ô stream. Overall, the losses by the
21st Infantry Division were worse than those of the 5th Infantry Division,
but the division was able to pin down the NVA 7th Division—with a total
loss of probably 7,000 troops—preventing it from reinforcing any friendly
unit. Major General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi, after returning to the southwest,
was pinned a third star and promoted to commander of the IV Corps and
MR4.
I returned to Lai Khê with a lot of sadness. I was promoted to lieutenant
colonel on the battlefield on 7 July 1972, five years after wearing the major
rank—three years on temporary basis, two as a full grade—that was the last
reward of my military career. I felt a sadness I did not find any cause for.
Maybe because I had seen the heat in a battle—this time it was a real bat-
tle—life and death, blood and flesh all over as well as common graves for
innocent people. I had seen the suffering of troops with pictures of sublime
sacrifice, as well as the sordidness in the military system.
192 INSIDE AN LOC

Yes, the indomitable ARVN—I love that corps like my own life, more
than anything in life. And because of it, after my immigration to the U.S., I
left everything to go back to school and do what I once called “lật đất,” or
unearthing documents to learn more about the truth and to defend our colors.
I have achieved my goal by writing the story of that war in English—a few-
hundred-page-long book that I felt was as complete as it could be—to answer
our critics. But the truth that needs to be unearthed cannot be kept hidden
forever; therefore, I need to expand somewhat to bring justice to those who
had passed away.
Apparently General Hưng had also done some thinking on his return
from An Lộc. Maybe he had been more aware of and thought more about
the sentence “a successful general, thousands of dead troops.” He did not
want it that way. For a general who has directed a battle, life and death, vic-
tory or failure, are just normal events. No leader would want to sacrifice too
many of his troops. I know that losing troops at the Lộc Ninh battle has
made him think a lot. Maybe he felt guilty for having let down his teacher.
In truth, he has not. General Minh had supported him from 1st lieutenant to
general, as he told me. General Hưng wanted to use his life to thank his
teacher. But he also had brought honor to himself and General Minh over a
long period. As to his judgments in An Lộc, although they did not coincide
with those of General Minh, he had saved An Lộc in its moment of distress.
Once dining together sometime after the An Lộc battle in a nice and
quiet restaurant in Saigon, General Hưng asked me, “Do you like to read
philosophy books, Dưỡng? Are you a practicing any religion or following
any doctrine?” “No,” I answered. “I hate philosophy and do not like any
doctrine or anyone who wants to tell me about morals. I am not knowledge-
able in these fields.” “So do I,” he said. “But there are a lot of things that
make us think about religion in life, and life and death.”
I think and know that General Hưng was not only an officer who knew
how to wage battles on the battlefield, but he also has thought more than
those who have just enjoyed perks in life or have not valued the lives of
their troops. He has followed what was right and acted by it. He was a pro-
gressive and bright mind with many solid and concrete thoughts, a love for
soldiers, national colors, and the country. Only people like him could think
about shooting themselves in the heart and brain to destroy what was precious
in them before others could do it to him. I knew that in An Lộc, he was
mum, and willing to accept the injustice of those whom he had considered
as his benefactors and owed respect. Why did people want to destroy the
prestige of these noble and truthful spirits? Until today, more than four
decades after his self-sacrifice, the plan to denigrate him still affects some
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 193

people living abroad, including fellows who had worked with him in the
past. I understand and know him more than anyone who has loved him. I
am sorry for having written those words.
I thought that because of having made a correct and just decision to
deny letting Colonel Mạch Văn Trường return to Lai Khê to lead the dele-
gation “Brave Bình Long,” General Hưng had been called “disloyal to his
master.” Was it just because this was the additional drop that caused the
water to overflow or because the prestige of General Hưng has spread far
and near around the country? The word “disloyal,” which has been used in
front of me, has been witnessed by Colonel Mạch Văn Trường who is
presently living in California. The two generals (Minh and Hưng) hav-
ing passed away a long time ago, I, as a person who has the responsibility
to “overturn the soil,” want to relate the truth because the living are still
here.
Just about a week after my return to Lai Khê from An Lộc, General
Minh through an intermediary invited me to have lunch with him at his Biên
Hoà headquarters. Although the invitation surprised me, I accepted it; I do
not remember the exact date, but just that afternoon after I arrived at General
Minh’s residence overlooking a river, I was led to the commander’s trailer.
There I found him in company with Colonel Mạch Văn Trường. I saluted
him and was led to the dining room. Throughout lunch, he was pleasant to
Trường and me. When he finished his meal and while sipping coffee and
smoking, he gravely explained to me why he had invited me to have lunch
with him:
Dưỡng has been working with me and knows me. I hate those who are dis-
loyal to me. Go back and tell Hưng not to be disloyal to his master. I have
saved his neck on many occasions not only at An Lộc but also on many occa-
sions at the 21st Division. I have supported Hưng from the time he was a cap-
tain to general. Why did he turn his back on me?
These words so surprised me that I remained quiet, not daring to breathe
for a few minutes. Even Colonel Trường did not say anything. I flew back
to Lai Khê in a very pensive mood. Thus General Minh had used me as an
intermediary to transmit his feelings and words to my friend and immediate
superior. After thinking for a few days, I met General Hưng in his office and
repeated General Minh’s words. General Hưng smiled softly—a forced and
sad smile—but like his usual self, he did not say anything. He did not show
any anger or emotion. From that time on, he looked at me in a friendlier
manner. He understood the reason why I refused to return to Lai Khê to stay
with him in An Lộc to fight against the enemy. He did not give me any favor,
only a truthful heart feeling from one man to another.
194 INSIDE AN LOC

Not long after that, General Hưng was ordered to transfer his position
of commander of the 5th ARVN Division to airborne Colonel Trần Quốc
Lịch and to return to Biên Hoà to become head of operations to General
Minh. And not long after, I heard people joking about General Hưng’s blink-
ing eyes and rampant rumor that since he had never left his bunker at An
Lộc, he was afraid of sunlight and blinked his eyes all the time. I had men-
tioned earlier that General Hưng used to blink his eyes a long time ago since
his years as a cadet. More than that, using that tic as proof, people surrep-
titiously reported to the highest level of the government and the ARVN and
blamed his incompetency for the huge losses at Lộc Ninh. When he returned
to Biên Hoà, I knew he would stop at that rank.
Before Colonel Trần Quốc Lịch was assigned to replace General Hưng,
Colonel Trường was made province chief and head of the military section
of Long Khánh. As for Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ and Colonel Bùi Đức Điềm,
I had lost track of them. Assistant operation chief III Corps and MR3 was
the post Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ held when he destroyed a tank at An Lộc,
and each night, he, Trịnh Đình Đăng and I slept in cots in the bunker close
together for almost three months.
On another occasion after the Biên Hòa episode, I met an army news
officer from the RVNAF Political Warfare Directorate in Lai Khê. He had
asked Colonel Trịnh Đình Đăng for a copy of operations log of the 5th
Infantry Division at An Lộc in order to write a personal biography of General
Minh. Colonel Đăng referred him to me because when the six officers of the
3rd Bureau of the headquarters were killed by a 122 mm rocket while they
were lunching, no one had kept the operations log, except Colonel Đăng,
me and two captains, Dương Tấn Triệu and Nguyễn Chí Cường of my 2nd
Bureau (they both were promoted to major and still worked for me after An
Lộc). Therefore, that document had been retyped and kept by me during that
period. The drawbacks of the report included the lack of documentation of
the positions of friendly units in An Lộc and the air missions of VNAF and
USAF because the latter two captains were intelligence, not logistics officers.
After the visitor explained the reason for his request, I turned him down and
told him in a sentence that I still remember today, “If you ask these docu-
ments for the Press Section of the Political Warfare Directorate, I’ll give
them to you right away; but for writing a personal biography for General
Minh, I refuse.”
The visitor simply left without saying anything. I knew that my career
path would be shut down also and stop there.
A few days later, I brought a copy of the records to the History
Branch/JGS/RVNAF to turn it over to Colonel Phạm Văn Sơn for documen-
 XI. Releasing the Pressure on An Lộc 195

tation, but he was away. I gave it to a major in this division. Later, I was
told that the history of the An Lộc Bình Long battle was written by Lieutenant
Colonel Lê Văn Dương, the new chief of History Branch/5th Bureau/RVNAF,
with the assistance of Major Lê Văn Ban and Captain Tạ Chí Đại Trường.
Occasionally they had made reference to the operations log of the 5th Divi-
sion written by Captains Triệu and Cường during their stay in An Lộc.
Later, he and I settled in Honolulu and met each other occasionally.
 XII

Besieged Towns

Although there were many sieges of towns and encampments through-

out the whole Vietnam War, three of them stood out because of their impact
on the outcome of the war. These were the sieges of Điện Biên Phủ, Khe
Sanh, and An Lộc. In this chapter, we will look at how these sieges were
won or lost and how they were waged as well as their impact on the war.

Điện Biên Phủ (13 March–7 May 1954)

General Henri Navarre, commander of the French Forces in Indochina
in 1953, decided to set up a fortified airhead in the village of Điện Biên Phủ
to prevent the communists from reinforcing and supplying their troops in
neighboring Laos. He thought that without further reinforcements, the com-
munist forces would withdraw from Laos. Điện Biên Phủ was a 6-by-18-
kilometer-wide valley surrounded by hills in northwest North Vietnam close
to the Laotian border. It was the seat of a village that was displaced by the
war and lay about 300 kilometers from the Chinese border where the North
Vietnamese communists received their Chinese armaments and supplies and
about the same distance from Hanoi, the headquarters of French troops in
North Vietnam.
Stuck in a mountainous jungle area, it therefore could not be easily sup-
plied or reinforced by roads, which were primitive at best, or by air because
it was at the extreme operating range of transport aircraft or fighters of the
time. It was considered safe from artillery fire from the surrounding hills,
which were about 12 kilometers from the local airstrip on maps. In reality,
the latter airstrip was only five kilometers from the closest hill line. Navarre’s
experts also estimated that the operation at Điện Biên Phủ would carry little
or no risk.1 The overly optimistic intelligence estimates, which turned out

196
 XII. Besieged Towns 197

not to be correct, eventually led to the downfall of the French forces. While
reviewing the report, Navarre then thought it was a “mediocre solution,” but
the only one available.
General Giáp had never revealed the strength of his troops nor the cal-
ibers of his artillery guns, although it was estimated at between 30,000 to
50,000 men and 20 to 24 105 mm howitzers, 15 to 20 75 mm howitzers, 20
120 mm mortars, 40 82 mm mortars, 80 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, 100 anti-
aircraft guns, and 12 Katyusha six-tube rocket launchers.2 The communists
held the high ground three to four kilometers from the airstrip and two kilo-
meters from the French entrenchments.
The French had 10,800 men holding eight strongpoints scattered through-
out the valley and named alphabetically with female names: Anne-Marie,
Beatrice, Claudine, Dominique, Eliane, Gabrielle, Huguette, and Isabelle.
They had 24 105 mm howitzers, four 122 mm mortars, four 155 mm howitzers,
10 light tanks, six fighter aircraft and six observation planes. The quality of
their forces, which were multi-national, varied. The paratroopers, legion-
naires, and some African units were good while the local T’ai units were
definitely inadequate. Many of the latter soon deserted the battlefield, leaving
3,000 to 4,000 troops out of a garrison of 10,000. The fortifications were
frail due to lack of building materials: due to distance and road inadequacy,
the French failed to move enough materials for the defense. The artillery
support was inadequate; the lack of camouflage and concealment and the
poor planning and organization of counterattacks rounded up the deficiencies
of execution. Colonel Christian de Castries, the French commander at Điện
Biên Phủ, was a talented and aggressive commander of light armor, but
unsuitable for the trench warfare that soon unfolded at this battlefield. He
had no appetite for the defense and no experience or skill in its tactics and
techniques.3
Since the French positions were spread out over a large area (Isabelle
was seven kilometers south of the village, Gabrielle three kilometers north),
the communists used trench warfare to knock down one outpost after another
before concentrating on the airstrip and attacking the four main ones:
Dominique, Eliane, Claudine, and Huguette. Outnumbered and with scattered
and weak defensive positions, the French units failed to assist one another
during the three-month-long attack.
Phase I: 13–30 March. The first attack began on 13 March 1954 at 17:00
hours with Việt Minh bombardment of Gabrielle and Beatrice outposts, both
exposed but defended by an Algerian battalion and a Legionnaire battalion
respectively. That night’s attack was focused on Beatrice, which was poorly
fortified. The Việt Minh’s artillery struck the airfield where planes, fuel,
198 INSIDE AN LOC

ammunition burned and exploded. A round hit the command post killing the
Legionnaire commander and his staff. Another artillery shell killed the com-
mander’s immediate superior, leaving the three companies without central
coordination. At 00:15 on 14 March, Beatrice was overrun and the French
lost 400 out of 500 defenders. The Việt Minh lost 600 KIA and 1,200 seriously
wounded. A counterattack was ordered but put on hold to accommodate for
a four-hour truce.
The defenders reorganized their defenses and received the 5th Viet-
namese Parachute Battalion (BPVN), which dug in on Eliane at 18:00 hours.
At 17:00 on 14 March, Gabrielle was shelled then attacked, but the French
held. At 03:30 on 15 March, the Việt Minh shelled and attacked again. At
04:00, Gabrielle lost its command leadership following a shell burst. Colonel
Castries ordered Colonel Langlais to mount a tank-led counterattack; but of
all the available forces, he chose for the attack the 5th BPVN, which had just
parachuted into the camp the night before. They were exhausted and unfa-
miliar with the barbed-wire entanglements of Điện Biên Phủ. Located at the
southeast side of the central camp, they had to traverse the whole encamp-
ment to get into position. They also did not have the energy and experience
of the other available units.
The counterattack began at 05:30 hours. Halfway toward Beatrice, they
were hit with heavy mortars and shells. Part of the battalion escaped harm
by moving forward while the rest froze and lay there taking heavy casualties.
The counterattack having stalled, the remaining Algerian defenders of Beat-
rice left the compound with the rescuing unit and returned to the main camp
by 09:00. Losses were heavy on both sides: 1,000 KIA for the French and
somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 KIA for the Việt Minh with double that
number wounded.
The fall of Gabrielle and Beatrice left only the Anne Marie fortification
held by the 3rd T’ai Battalion standing on the northern semicircle of outposts.
Demoralized by the fall of the other outposts and undermined by communist
propaganda that warned them that this was not their war but that of foreign-
ers, the bulk of the T’ais slipped away on the night of 15–16 March. The
remaining T’ais and French pulled back to Huguette strongpoint. The rest
of the month marked a lull period during which the two sides prepared for
new battles. On 28 March, the French mounted a surprise counterattack
destroying 17 anti-aircraft guns and killing 350 Việt Minh troops.4
Phase II: 30 March–30 April. The Việt Minh attacked the five eastern
hills Eliane 1 and 2, Dominique 1 and 2 and a small hill between Dominique
1 and 2; and the three western hills Huguette 1, 6 and 7. The attacks were
brutal and intense and were followed by counterattacks that were no less
 XII. Besieged Towns 199

intense. Positions changed hands many times with heavy losses on both
sides. By 12 April, the morale of the Việt Minh soldiers broke. Giap’s losses
amounted to 16,000 to 19,000: 6,000 KIA, 8,000 to 10,000 seriously wounded
and 2,500 captured. The Việt Minh and the French lived in the mud and filth
of the trenches, which were flooded by monsoon rains. The medical condi-
tions were terrible: the Việt Minh 50,000-man army had only one surgeon
and six “assistant doctors,” who in essence were simple medics. Injured sol-
diers usually died from infections and gangrene.5
The French were in no better shape because they had received only
minimal supplies and reinforcements due to active Việt Minh artillery guns.
The strong southern position Isabelle was completely isolated and ripe to
fall.
Phase III: 1–7 May. By 2 May, Eliane 1 and Dominique 3 had fallen;
Eliane 3 and Huguette 5 were under attack. Both sides fought in water, often
waist deep, and the battlefield was then an epic of agony and courage. On 6
May, the Việt Minh 102nd Regiment went on the attack on Eliane 2. It was
met with a TOT (time-on-target) firing in which various artillery units fired
at different times so that the rounds arrived on target at the same time. When
the smoke disappeared, the French had won the first round. General Giáp
then employed a rarely used stratagem: he had a mine shaft burrowed under
Eliane 2, loaded it with 3,000 pounds of TNT, and blew up Eliane 2. By
05:00 on 7 May, the position was overrun. A final assault on the center of
the camp began at 15:00 hours, and the garrison surrendered at 17:30 hours
on 7 May 1954.6
The intensity and violence of the enemy artillery attack on the tiny town
of An Lộc had never been witnessed before even at the 1954 Điên Biên Phủ
or the 1968 Khe Sanh battlefields. At Điện Biên Phủ, General Võ Nguyên
Giáp’s troops had to systematically take over each French outpost and com-
munication trench day by day in order to reach the headquarters of De Cas-
tries on Hill A-1. There, the communists later built a museum to the feat of
arms that divided Vietnam into two states courtesy of communist troops.
Phạm Tiến Duật wrote a beautiful poem about the museum on the hill. That
poem could be considered as “reactionary” although the communists did not
realize it or just disregarded it. Giáp’s artillery positions on the adjoining
hills dropped bombs on perimeter troops, although the intensity, accuracy,
and power of destruction was neither fierce nor strong.
In the prisoner exchange, only 3,290 were alive out of the 10,863 taken
prisoner at Điên Biên Phủ. At camps like Dachau or Buchenwald, 80 percent
had died; among the Điện Biên Phủ prisoners, 70 percent had perished.7
The French commission of inquiry, which convened in 1955 to find out
200 INSIDE AN LOC

what went wrong at the battlefield, found a plethora of mistakes. General

Navarre had underestimated the strength of the Việt Minh who were armed
and advised by the Chinese army. Điện Biên Phủ could not be defended
because it was accessible only by air and should have been evacuated back
in December. General Cogny shared the blame for failing to advise Castries
about changing his passive defense tactics and about the Viet Minh tactics
of hiding their artillery. General Castries did not improve the defensive dis-
positions of the base. Being a tank commander, he was found to be unsuited
for the defense of a base supplied by air.8

Khe Sanh (21 January–8 April 1968)

Khe Sanh was a well-fortified U.S. Marine position (III Marine
Amphibious Force IIIMAF) located at the Vietnamese-Laotian border west
of Cam Lộ, province of Quảng Trị, on Route 9 leading to the strategic town
of Tchepone—an important provincial Laotian transportation hub for com-
munist troops dispatched from Hanoi to infiltrate into South Vietnam. The
town was the focus of the 719 Lam Sơn offensive in 1971 by the ARVN. Khe
Sanh, which was protected by 5,500 U.S. Marine troops and reinforced by
1,100 ARVN Rangers, was under the command of Colonel Davis Lounds.
Although road communication was interrupted between Khe Sanh and
the eastern U.S. artillery base of Calu about 35 kilometers from Cam Lộ and
Khe Sanh was surrounded by large units of the NVA Route 9 Front’s forces,
which consisted of three infantry divisions—325 C, 304th, and 320th—and
a regiment of the 324th, one artillery division and other special units, Khe
Sanh was protected by an advanced electronic barrier and surrounded by
heavy fortifications. Few people had heard about the electronic barrier, which
was invisible, ran over many kilometers in length and surrounded the perime-
ter defenses. It was an anti-infiltration barrier complete with new technologic
anti-personnel and anti-tank sensors. The latter were as small as a grenade
or as large as an anti-tank mine, while others were tubes a few meters long.
All these devices were dropped from U.S. aircraft and landed on the ground
undetected among grass, trees, or rocks. Infiltrating troops or tanks were
detected by these sensors, which triggered signals to the central command.
The latter then ordered the suspicious area bombed.
According to various sources at that time, General Westmoreland had
also devised the so-called Niagara Operation, which used B-52 bombers to
protect the base and to eliminate as many enemy troops as possible. However,
many U.S. strategists thought that such a trap could backfire into another
 XII. Besieged Towns 201

Điên Biên Phủ, which meant losing the war. Therefore, the Khe Sanh bat-
tlefield became the talk of every politician, military personnel, and especially
newspapers, which eventually raised fears in every U.S. family and institu-
tion. President Johnson had even uttered these famous words, showing his
dislike for the area: “I don’t want any damn Dinbinphoo.”9
The NVA Route 9 Front’s troops, having surrounded Khe Sanh for
months, attacked surrounding hills controlled by U.S. troops and shelled the
base with a few hundred mortars daily. However, these mortars were
launched from afar and over a long period of time; the lone infantry assault
that was aimed at the southern perimeter location held by the ARVN Rangers
was quickly repulsed. Each time enemy troops tried to infiltrate other areas,
like the north, northwest and east, which were flooded with sensors, they
were destroyed by either the 175 mm howitzers located at Calu base or by
B-52 boxes. Besides, every day, U.S. Air Force SAC (Strategic Air Com-
mand) would send B-52 bombers to drop bombs on enemy positions causing
thousands of them to die before they even set out to attack Khe Sanh. Overall,
U.S. Air Force bombers delivered 14,223 tons of bombs and rockets while
the U.S. Marine Air Wing dropped 17,015 tons of ordnance.10
The decision to take a stand at Khe Sanh was Westmoreland’s11: Khe
Sanh was a useful observation post, a platform for launching special oper-
ation forays into Laos and controlling the traffic on the nearby Ho Chi Minh
Trail. However, the North Vietnamese had other ideas. General Trần Công
Mẫn, editor of the newspaper Nhân Dân Quân Đội (People’s Army) once
told an American journalist,
Westmoreland thought Khe Sanh was Điện Biên Phủ. But Điện Biên Phủ was
the strategic battle for us. We mobilized everything for it. At last we had a
chance to have a favorable balance of forces…. We never had that at Khe
Sanh; the situation would not allow it. Our true aim was to lure your forces
away from the cities, to decoy them to the frontiers, to prepare for our great
Tết Offensive.12
The above comment could be self-serving because the NVA would not
mass three divisions, or a total of 22,000 troops according to the CIA,13
around Khe Sanh just to try to divert attention away from the cities. They
themselves badly needed these three divisions to prepare an attack some-
where else. Second, if they did not intend to attack Khe Sanh, why would
they launch that many attacks against the nearby hills and overpower the
village of Lang Vei on 7 February? Why would they dig that many trenches
toward the Khe Sanh base? Why would they build two new roads parallel
to Route 9 to the north and south and extend them to Laos if there was no
purpose to them?14 As mentioned above, one of the reasons they could not
202 INSIDE AN LOC

muster enough manpower to overrun the base was simply because too many
troops had been killed by the B-52 bombing.
The high number of U.S. losses was estimated at 1,000 KIA, 4,500
WIA.15 How large were the communist losses (estimated at 10,000–12,000),
only northern leaders would know the exact number, although they were as
mute as the old forests of the region or robots that did not have any feeling
or fear. No one dared to reveal the truth. However, on the political side, the
potential attack on Khe Sanh had caused fear among U.S. political and mil-
itary authorities and news agencies to the point that they forgot the terrible
murders caused by the communists in Huế during the Tết Offensive.
The decision was made to eventually abandon Khe Sanh. Once aban-
doned, the marine positions were bulldozed flat, the airstrip was removed,
and the bunkers were destroyed. No physical presence remained for fear the
communists would use it for propaganda purpose. Both sides claimed victory,
although Khe Sanh provided neither a clear victory nor a definite defeat for
either adversary.16

An Lộc (7 April–7 July)

An Lộc was attacked by the COSVN 5th, 7th, and 9th Divisions (pre-
viously VC, but gradually replaced by NVA troops) which had been hiding
respectively in base areas (BA) BA 712, BA 714, and BA 711 in Cambodia.
The VC 5th Division attacked Lộc Ninh first on 4 and 5 April with artillery
and tanks and overwhelmed the village on 6 April. Things could have gone
better for a while had the age-old commander of Lộc Ninh been replaced by
one of his younger and more aggressive assistants; the end result, however,
would not have been different because of the presence of overwhelming
enemy forces.
A forward regiment of the VC 5th Division took over Quản Lợi airstrip
northeast of An Lộc on 7 April while the NVA 7th Division blocked Highway
13 south of An Lộc. The NVA attacked the town from 13 to 15 April with
artillery and tanks but were repulsed. They attacked again on 19 April but
made no further progress.
On 11 May came the third attack on An Lộc with heavy artillery and
tanks. Again no progress was made. The punch was gone as the NVA was
pounded by B-52 strikes. The battle of An Lộc was won by the valor of the
ARVN troops and attacks by U.S. and VNAF fighter-bombers. Highway 13,
however, was only freed for civilian and army traffic in July.
 XII. Besieged Towns 203

Critique
Although the communists had used overwhelming troops to defeat the
French forces, the loss of the Điện Biên Phủ battle was General Navarre’s
own doing.
First, he chose the wrong place to fight: a remote mountainous jungle
area that was difficult to resupply and reinforce. Although Điện Biên Phủ
was, according to Navarre, a “marginally defendable place” because of its
inaccessibility by land or by air, he made up his mind to take a stand right
there. It was a brave tactic that, if successful, would not only prevent the
communists from spreading the war into Laos, but would localize them into
North Vietnam where they would be more easily controlled. But he then
failed to adjust his objectives to his means. The survival of the garrison
hinged on keeping the airfield intact and the airspace above Điện Biên Phủ
open so that airdrops could be made; otherwise the place was condemned.17
Second, the French’s selection of Castries as the commander of the gar-
rison turned out not to be the correct one: the latter was not aggressive
enough to prepare for the attack, to beef up the defensive sites, and to wage
a tough battle, although his troops fought courageously against overwhelming
forces. As a matter of fact, they revolted against him and downgraded him
as an emeritus commander while Lieutenant Colonel Langlais took over the
command and sharpened the later phase of the defense.18 Castries underes-
timated his enemy and failed to make forays to neutralize the enemy’s
artillery guns. He did order one single expedition, which although successful
came too late to reverse the tide. Had there been another leader since the
beginning of the battle, history could have been different.
Third, the failure of Navarre to bring in supplies and reinforcements
doomed the defense: while Giáp could bring in two fresh divisions, Castries
had to rely on his worn-out and decimated troops. Still the understrength
French forces were able to inflict on the communist forces a morale break-
down, although in the end, the French had to surrender.
General Giáp adapted well to the siege. He cornered Navarre into taking
a stand in a “mediocre” place from which the latter could not get out. He
had his artillery guns well positioned to disable the airstrip and prevent air-
craft from bringing in reinforcements. He rallied his troops when they broke
down and brought in enough reinforcements to drown out the French. There
were, however, a few occasions when the French could have overwhelmed
their attackers had they received reinforcements. Of course, Giáp paid dearly
for all these efforts as he lost more than two of his five divisions in this
battle and barely mentioned these astronomic losses in his book. He did not
204 INSIDE AN LOC

care to throw new troops after new troops into the battlefield and was obliv-
ious to the pain and suffering of these soldiers. The Vietnamese call this des-
perate act “roasting” the troops or unnecessarily wasting them until he
became victorious. About Giáp, Safer wrote,
Utterly brainwashed by ambition. Sending so many young men to die is never
a matter of moral hesitation. It is, and especially in Giáp’s case, only a ques-
tion of the strategy of the moment…. Brave men are the tools for carving
one’s initials in the pantheon.19
When the reporter Safer asked whether he had any regret about sending
so many people to a certain death, Giáp answered, “Never. Not a single
moment.”20
The veterans, however, were no dupe of the general’s intentions. One
of the crippled veterans at the Thuận Thanh Field Hospital north of the DMZ
said, “Please ask the heroic general [Giáp] if the General Offensive (Tet
Offensive) was worth it … tell him one of his soldiers, a lot of his soldiers
aren’t sure.”21
As for Khe Sanh, the way the NVA had waged the battle was incoherent
to American eyes. Giáp, or whoever was in charge, simply would not expose
three divisions just for show and tell or for the B-52 bombers to target them.
There must be another reason for it. The best one advanced by Davidson
was that General Giáp was in the vicinity—one of the caves—of Khe Sanh
directing the attack himself.
Giáp mobilized three divisions to the Khe Sanh area in December 1967
and January 1968. The 304th and 325C Divisions were supported by tanks
and artillery with the decision as of 20 January to overrun Khe Sanh.
From 21 January to 10 February, he made five battalion-size assaults
against the outposts including Lang Vei and Khe Sanh village to occupy the
high positions over the Khe Sanh garrison. From there, his forces could
easily fire on Khe Sanh.
Then, in mid–February, he changed his mind, probably on the account
of the resolute defense of the marines or on the possible use of atomic bombs
by the U.S. On 23 February, the NVA launched a record number of shells
and mortars at the camp—1,307. On 29 February, he launched a regiment
assault on the perimeter held by the ARVN 37th Ranger Battalion and used
the occasion to get out of the battle zone.22
Thus Westmoreland won a colossal gamble, not so much by his own
brilliance as by Giáp’s ineptitude and vacillation.23 General Westmoreland
had once asked Colonel Argo, a military historian to give a general assess-
ment of Khe Sanh against classic sieges. Argo found a total of thirty-nine
sieges going all the way back to the siege of Constantinople in 1453. Although
 XII. Besieged Towns 205

medieval fortresses held fairly well against sieges, the advent of gunpowder
changed the outcome of the sieges. Of the 15 sieges identified in the 20th
century, defenders were successful in only two instances: the Soviets at Len-
ingrad in 1941–1944 and the Americans at Bastogne in 1944. Success was often
due to the effective dispatch of relief forces and the withdrawal of attackers.24
During a meeting of the National Security Council on 27 March 1968,
General Earl Wheeler, chairman of the JCS, suggested that Hanoi had
achieved its goal, which was to pull away U.S. forces from Huế and Saigon,
their main objectives during the Tết Offensive. General Westmoreland, the
former MACV commander, on the other hand, contended that it was a U.S.
victory because the U.S. had inflicted a lot of casualties on the NVA.
But from a strategic point of view, the abandonment of Khe Sanh on
12 June 1968, the day after Westmoreland relinquished his MACV command
under pressure by President Johnson and his adviser General Maxwell Taylor,
defeated its original purposes. The latter were to: (1) protect the DMZ, (2)
cut off enemy infiltration to the South, and (3) support a potential invasion
of Laos.25 The abandonment of Khe Sanh laid bare the northeast corner of
South Vietnam allowing the NVA free access to this area and continuing
troop reinforcement in the I Corps and MR1.
The An Lộc defenders suffered from a massive shelling never experi-
enced before by defenders at any other battlefield, including Khe Sanh and
Điện Biên Phủ. Just in one day, they had received more than 10,000 rounds—
15 percent of the shelling fired by the NVA during the whole siege at Khe
Sanh. They were also attacked by tanks, not once but on multiple occa-
sions—one of the rare times the NVA used tanks in their attacks on South
Vietnamese soil. The combination artillery/tanks/infantry attack was deadly
as the NVA troops were able on two occasions to control half of the town.
They were within 100 meters—barely two blocks—from the divisional com-
mand post.
In spite of the deteriorating situation, General Hưng fought on even
when enemy forces were converging on his bunker. He was weary and cau-
tious, but still in command. “Hưng never buckled, though he was clearly
concerned.”26 Troops had confidence in him because he had mentioned to
them that he would resist until death and would not be taken alive should
he fail. He instilled in them the will and determination to hang in the battle
and fight on. He remained in the destroyed town suffering through all the
enemy’s shelling and mortaring like any infantry troop. He suffered from
the same deprivation of food, sleep, and rest like any other combatant at An
Lộc. For more than two long months, he shared the same pain, pressure, and
suffering as his soldiers.
206 INSIDE AN LOC

In a war as in law, possession is nine-tenths of ownership, and after the

smoke has cleared, An Lộc still remained in Saigon’s hands. As one anony-
mous American adviser observed, “The only way to approach the battle of
An Lộc is to remember that the ARVN are there and the North Vietnamese
aren’t. To view it in any other way is to do an injustice to the Vietnamese
people.”27 The An Lộc victory was a permanent one as Saigon still controlled
the town until the end of the war in 1975.
Although overwhelmed by NVA artillery and manpower, defenders ben-
efited from the effective airpower of the U.S. and VNAF. The NVA used the
same pattern of attack-lull, attack-lull, which the ARVN used to their advan-
tage to bring in fresh troops. The failure of the enemy to coordinate infantry
and tanks favored the defenders who hunted down and killed all the tanks.
Giáp strategically erred in trying to overrun a rubble-strewn town instead of
bypassing it and driving down Highway 13 to Saigon.28 At that stage, he was
still longing to possess a South Vietnamese town to prop up the National
Liberation Front.
If at each phase of the Vietnam War a major battle did have an important
political impact, Điện Biên Phủ and Khe Sanh carried an important strategic
and political message for solving the conflict, while the fiery summer of
1972 at An Lộc also had its own important political implication. The loss of
An Lộc would be much worse than that of Điện Biên Phủ or Khe Sanh. If
the loss of Điên Biên Phủ led to the loss of half of the nation’s territory to
the communists, that of Khe Sanh and the Tết Offensive could cause the
U.S. president to lose his self-confidence. On the other hand, the loss of An
Lộc would lead to an earlier loss of South Vietnam, a Republican candidate
overwhelming a Democratic opponent in the presidential election, or a loss
of prestige for the U.S. forces.
The potential differences and similarities between the three battlefields
are listed in the following table.
Table II. Characteristics of the Three Battlefields
Waged During the Vietnam War
An Lộc Khe Sanh Điện Biên Phủ
Year 1972 1968 1954
Location (Vietnam) South Center North
Topography Open, hills Valley, hills Valley
Perimeters (km) 1.5 × 1.5 16 × 9
Siege (length, days) 94 77 56
Defense
Forces 7,500 5,500 10,000
Civilians 10,000 0 0
 XII. Besieged Towns 207

An Lộc Khe Sanh Điện Biên Phủ

Year 1972 1968 1954
Artillery (def) None Yes 105 mm (24),
155 mm (4)
Tanks (def) None Yes Yes
Air support Yes Yes No
Losses 5,000 1,000 KIA 2,200 KIA
Offense
Forces 21,000 22,000 30,000
Tanks Yes Not used No
Losses 10,000 10,000 est. 8,000 KIA,
10,000 WIA
 XIII

Return to the Mekong Delta

In August or September 1974, I do not remember exactly when, Colonel

Lê Nguyên Vỹ was promoted to commander of the 5th Infantry Division replac-
ing Brigadier General Trần Quốc Lịch, who was transferred to the position of
chief inspector IV Corps and MR4. Colonel Vỹ earned the promotion thanks
to Lieutenant General Phạm Quốc Thuần who had replaced Lieutenant Gen-
eral Nguyễn Văn Minh as commander of III Corps and MR3. General Thuần
was commander of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division when Colonel Vỹ was
commander of the 8th Regiment. It was at that time that I decided to request
a transfer to the J-2/JGS/RVNAF (Joint Staff Intelligence of the Joint General
Staff of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces), which was luckily approved.
At the end of 1974, the J-2/JGS/RVNAF, realizing that the instability
had gotten worse following the signing of the Paris Accords in January 1973,
where all the clauses pointed to a surrender of Nixon-Kissinger to the com-
munists (all the political commentators had used similar terminology), the
RVNAF began waging a “poor man’s war,” solo this time, as mentioned by
President Thiệu. The situation got worse with time, and the RVNAF soldier
ended up fighting a war with old armaments and limited ammunitions. This
occurred in all units throughout the four military regions. The U.S. were not
withdrawing “with honor,” but by signing the above Accords, Kissinger
knew he had already lost to northern communist Lê Đức Thọ. Accordingly,
the U.S. had to withdraw within a time frame troops as well as all the advisory
groups to all RVNAF units with the exception of a few technical specialists
and embassy employees. MACV, the huge U.S. assistance command in South
Vietnam, became the Defense Attaché Office (DAO) under the direction of
a two-star general to communicate and support the RVNAF. In the military
regions, the huge MACV system like FRAC, SRAC, TRAC and DRAC (1st,
2nd, 3rd, and Delta Regional Assistance Command) was dissolved; all the
support reverted to the consulates of cities of the regions.

208
 XIII. Return to the Mekong Delta 209

The huge NVA forces that had been waging war inside South Vietnam
were allowed to remain in the regions they controlled as well as in Cambodia
and Laos. Although officially the U.S. had estimated there were 150,000
NVA troops in South Vietnam, the real number was more than 250,000
troops. NVA support units in Cambodia and Laos had been actively repairing
and upgrading the Hồ Chí Minh Trail in order to bring in additional troops
and ammunition to the South Vietnamese battlefield. The latter trail thus had
become the “Sullivan Boulevard,” a wide open highway to South Vietnam.1
In conformity with the Paris Accords, the USAF had ceased all support
activities on the trail such as reconnaissance, spying, and bombing with CBU
bombs or B-52 bombers. Therefore, the communists were not only free to
enlarge the Western Trường Sơn Route (aka, the Hồ Chí Minh Trail), but
also to build the duplicate Eastern Trường Sơn Route on the eastern border
of the Annamite Chain (or Trường Sơn in Vietnamese), from west of Cam
Lộ, Quảng Trị, in the North to Đôn Luân, province of Phước Long, in the
South after they took over this province in January 1974. While the new
highway allowed thousands of Molotova trucks to bring troops and ammu-
nition to the southwest region of South Vietnam to begin the biggest southern
offensive ever, it also brought war to the highlands, especially Ban Mê Thuột.
Forced to defend a new front with cut-off support from the U.S., Pres-
ident Thiệu decided to abandon the highlands. This resulted in a South Viet-
namese calamity earlier than the Communist Party had even expected. But
this catastrophe would not have happened had the U.S. not been willing to
leave Vietnam as the clauses in the Accords had suggested. The U.S., who
had to retrieve all the mines dropped to blockade the port of Hải Phòng at
the end of 1972 under President Nixon’s order, could refuse to do it. They
could also bomb North Vietnam anywhere—Hanoi, Hải Phòng, railroads
used to transport ammunitions, military supplies from China to North Viet-
nam—to retaliate for the NVA launching the 1972 Summer Offensive in vio-
lation of the Paris Accords.
On the other hand, the removal of all the mines around Hải Phòng meant
that Hanoi could receive thousands of tons of military supplies—tanks, can-
nons, the newest models of guns and ammunition from the Soviet Union
through two fleets of 150 huge transport ships coming from the two navy
seaports of Odysey and Vladivostok that berthed in Hải Phòng every day.
The failure for the U.S. to “attack North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia by
sea, air or land” meant that railroad trains could transport military gear from
China to North Vietnam without impediment. Total mobilization of youths
aged 16 and above along with the massive infusion of armaments and ammu-
nitions from China and Russia made North Vietnam the fourth-largest army
210 INSIDE AN LOC

in the world behind the U.S., Russia and China. However, South Vietnam
was only allowed to trade in “one for one,” which meant that the U.S. would
exchange one broken tank for another, one damaged canon for another one.
Therefore, the ARVN suffered from hundreds of inconveniences and losses.
Rockets could not be used like in the past in an unlimited fashion; in fact,
after the Accords, each unit could only fire three shells a day for each 105
mm or 155 mm howitzer, while the NVA continued to receive an unlimited
supply of ammunition provided by their Chinese and Russian comrades.
Additionally, the U.S. had cut off military aid to South Vietnam. As the
battles raged worse after the Accords, with dwindling supplies, South Viet-
nam could not fight against a well-armed opponent, resulting in huge human
losses especially on the battlefields and along the borders with Laos and
Cambodia.
In that critical situation, especially after the NVA took over the province
of Phước Long on 1 January 1974 in full violation of the Paris Accords, Wash-
ington, instead of helping, turned a blind eye to Saigon, although the Ford
administration did request Congress to give $300 million to South Vietnam.
The supplemental aid was voted down after a year of discussion. In December
1974, the NVA planned to cut off South Vietnam at the level south of Đà
Nẳng by taking over the provinces of Nông Sơn, Dục Đức and Thường Đức
and fighting all the way to Hội An when they were stopped at the district of
Đại Lộc. The Airborne Division of Brigadier General Lê Quang Lưỡng was
pulled out of Quảng Trị by Lieutenant General Ngô Quang Trưởng, I Corps
and MR1 commander, to fight against the NVA 304th and 308th Divisions
north of Thường Đức, especially on Hill 1062 from August until December
1974, although the U.S. continued to ignore the violation. President Nguyễn
Văn Thiệu and his cabinet knew the U.S. had abandoned South Vietnam.
The J-2/JGS/RVNAF had been informed of communist plans to launch
a total offensive during the spring of 1975. Two colonels had been assigned
by Colonel Hoàng Ngọc Lung, chief of J-2/JGS/RVNAF, to the 2nd Bureau
of the headquarters of I Corps and MRI and II Corps and MRII to serve as
liaison officers. As for me, I was assigned as liaison officer to the 2nd Bureau/
IV Corps and MR4. The role of these liaison officers was to follow up and
send news of battle fights and enemy positions from one region to another,
one locality to another, and vice versa.
At that time, Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng had been assigned by
Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam, commander of the IV Corps and MR4,
to serve as his deputy. Prior to that, General Hưng served as operations
deputy to Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Minh III Corps and MR3. Around
July or August 1972, Major General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi, who had been promoted
 XIII. Return to the Mekong Delta 211

to commander of IV Corps and MR4 (replacing Lieutenant General Ngô

Quang Trưởng who was sent to Danang as commander to replace Lieutenant
General Hoàng Xuân Lãm to open a counterattack to retake Quảng Trị after
the Fiery Summer Offensive), had suggested to name General Hưng as com-
mander of the 21st Division. When General Nguyễn Khoa Nam replaced
General Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi, he made General Hưng his deputy and the sec-
ond most important military figure of the Mekong Delta region. In reality,
Generals Nghi and Nam held high esteem of General Hưng, although the
smear campaign against him had reached the highest levels of the adminis-
tration a long time ago.
When I arrived at Cần Thơ after meeting the 2nd Bureau/IV Corps and
MR4, I came to meet the deputy commander, General Hưng. He shook my
hands and asked what I was doing in Cần Thơ. I told him of my new assign-
ment.
“Where do you stay?” he asked.
“Wherever, with your help,” I answered.
“Come and stay with me,” he said.
My only belonging was a green iron trunk from the time I was a cadet.
It contained a few sets of military garb, civilian clothes, books and a pair of
tennis racquets. From the end of 1974, I stayed at General Hưng’s residence
and had dinner with the couple every day. Work was not difficult: in the IV
Corps and MR4 2nd Bureau’s office, I called the hotline to the J-2/JGS/RVNAF
to get information about other military regions and to report intelligence and
battlefield news to General Hưng. Although the number of conflicts overall
rose in all regions of South Vietnam, my role was to report them to him. If
he needed important information at night, I just used the hotline in the oper-
ation room in General Hưng’s residence to call Saigon. The quiet southwest
allowed me to play tennis a few evenings a week and to play chess games
on Sunday with the provincial tribunal president, Judge Đỗ Nam Kỳ, whom
I met at the Ngọc Lợi tennis court. Although he was a northerner, his name
was Nam (south). The Hưngs had two children at that time: a six-year-old
son and a two-year-old daughter whose grandmother helped to care for them.
General Hưng allowed me to move freely and never asked about my
whereabouts. Whenever I had dinner with them at home and after we were
done, he and I sat on the front porch to look at the park across the street
where the arrow of a triangle pointed to the north of Cần Thơ. We then talked
about war and people in general during these evenings. Questions and
answers were simple and short like in a conversation. Each question, how-
ever, carried a special meaning, which forced us to think, although we did
not have a definite answer. For example,
212 INSIDE AN LOC

“Why did they attack Thường Đức, Đại Lộc? To cut the South in half
and isolate Danang?”
“No. Not exactly. Had they taken over Hội An, we would lose Danang,
Huế, Quảng Trị. And if the U.S. stayed quiet, they would attack Highway
19.”
“And then?”
“They would take the north of Nha Trang and bring in the Provisionary
Government of South Vietnam and set up a neutral government over the
controlled area.”
“But General Lưỡng had beaten them there.”
“They would fight another day. Without General Trưởng and Lưỡng,
we would have lost Central Vietnam, but it would be better for the rest of
South Vietnam.”
“Why?”
No answer.
“We do not lack talented men, heroes.”
When he said these words, General Hưng admitted the military talents
of General Ngô Quang Trưởng, commander of the I Corps and MR1, and
General Lê Quang Lưỡng, commander of the Airborne Division who had
saved and preserved An Lộc. But did he know and realize he was one of
these heroic men?
And it was at General Hưng’s residence that I met one night Colonel
Mạch Văn Trường, whom General Hưng had invited for dinner to celebrate
his appointment as the commander of the 21st Infantry Division. From the
time he arrived in Cần Thơ, I had the chance to know more about him because
if a good reputation spread far, a bad one spread further. Rumors suggested
that Colonel Mạch Văn Trường, when he was chief of Long Khánh Province,
was investigated by the inspector general for graft and abuse of power with
the final recommendation that he be removed from his post, not be assigned
any leadership position for five years, and demoted. While waiting for sen-
tencing by the Military Court, he was assigned to the position of chief inspec-
tor of the 21st Infantry Division. Suddenly, officers in the Mekong Delta
were surprised to hear that he was promoted to commander of the 21st
Infantry Division, bypassing many senior officers, including Colonel Nguyễn
Văn Kiểm, interim commander of the 21st Division, and Colonel Lâm Chánh
Ngôn, COS, who was Mạch Văn Trường’s superior. Rumors also had it that
Trường was at odds with his old master, General Nguyễn Văn Minh, who
was at the time the commander of the Military Region of Saigon replacing
Admiral Chung Tấn Cang who had returned to the post of commander of
the navy. Since Mr. Trường had a few new masters who controlled the fate
 XIII. Return to the Mekong Delta 213

of the country and the army, the recommendation of the inspector general
was trashed in the garbage can.
That night, at General Hưng’s residence and after he retired to his room,
Colonel Trường and I sat on the front porch looking at the park. I did not
even have time to talk when he began,
“I know you did well in school, but in the army if you are too earnest,
you would not move very far. You need advisers like I do. This is how I got
here.”
He then explained how he won over General Minh and other leaders at
the time. As a Chinese-Vietnamese, he strongly believed in astrology. His
horoscope showed that although he did not have any principal star, he had
three other stars that carried the word “No.” If that combination were suc-
cessful, he would be made general in no time. True enough, a few weeks
later, he was promoted general. I congratulated him and told him he was a
man of strong will and purpose, for while he was at the 5th Infantry Division,
he always carried with him a self-help book entitled How to Be a General—
I do not remember who the author was—whenever I saw him. I believe that
had South Vietnam survived, he would have been further promoted to two-
or three-star general and would hold a major position either in the army or
the government. As for Generals Hưng and Lưỡng, they were hidden behind
and taken down by huge stars like Greed and Destroyer of the Army. I did
not know whether General Hưng knew about it, but General Lưỡng did.
Decades later, after he immigrated to the States and while still alive, I had
the fortune to talk to him a couple of times. He told me once why he was
doubted and slighted at that time but still useful—because there was no one
to replace him. Young generals who were trusted at the time were Generals
Lân, Đảo, Nhựt, Vỹ and Trường.
After the communists took over Ban Mê Thuột, General Hưng and I
discussed the reason why they targeted that city and speculated that they
would attack along Route 19 from Ban Mê Thuột to Ninh Hoà to form a neu-
tral government north of Nha Trang to the DMZ. That turned out not to be
correct. Maybe they did not finish the Eastern Trường Sơn Route because
they were stuck at Đức Lập District, province of Quảng Đức, which pre-
vented them from bringing supplies from Khe Sanh to Phước Long and Lộc
Ninh and then directly to Saigon. Therefore, they had to attack Ban Mê Thuột
and control Quảng Đức like they had overpowered the province of Phước
Long in 1974, as suggested by Colonel Trịnh Tiếu, 2nd Bureau chief II Corps
and MR2.
Events then occurred very fast, surprising a lot of people, including the
NVA, because of fatal decisions made by President Thiệu. The communists
214 INSIDE AN LOC

had planned to control South Vietnam only in 1977. Kissinger thought that
South Vietnam would be lost following a decent interval, a term suggested
by Frank Snepp, a CIA officer in Saigon, in his book entitled Decent Interval,
so that the U.S. would not be called “traitors” for letting Saigon down.
From 20 April 1975, General Hưng wanted me to return to Saigon to
learn more about the political and military situation after General Nguyễn
Vĩnh Nghi, commander III Corps and MR3 Operational Advanced Com-
mand, and Brigadier General Phạm Ngọc Sang, commander of the VNAF
6th Division, got lost at the Ninh Thuận Airfield and Brigadier General Lê
Minh Đảo was fighting ferociously against and held back the NVA at Long
Khánh. But the land route was cut off at Tân Trụ, province of Long An, by
many NVA divisions belonging to the newly formed Tactical Unit 232 of Lê
Đức Anh, so I could not return to Saigon. The ARVN 7th Infantry Division
could not dislodge them. I was waiting all week long without success. Finally,
on 27 April, while General Hưng and I were sitting on the front porch after
our dinner, Saigon changed masters from President Thiệu to Vice President
Trần Văn Hương and soon to General Dương Văn Minh. General Hưng told
me that after he visited troops the next morning, he would let me use his
command helicopter to go back to Saigon. At that time, he asked his aide to
bring two automatic Czechoslovakian firearms that were given to him by a
unit commander at An Lộc. This type of gun when folded over was as small
as a handgun but fired 79 bullets singly or automatically. He pointed to the
gun and said, “You can have one, Dưỡng. If the communists show up at the
gate, fire until the last bullet. As for me, I will save four bullets.”
I understood immediately and told him, “No. You have the right to keep
only one bullet.” Silence. I did not know whether 1st Lieutenant Tùng heard
me.
The next morning, 28 April 1975, I took the helicopter to Saigon and
landed at the flag courtyard of Trần Hưng Đạo Camp. At that time, General
Dương Văn Minh had been bestowed the historic role of guiding the downfall
of South Vietnam.
Only a few days after, on 30 April, I heard that General Lê Văn Hưng
had killed himself. Probably not with the Czechoslovakian firearm, but what-
ever it was, he had become a god to his soldiers and many people in South
Vietnam.
 XIV

Hell in a Very
Insignificant Place

Insignificant Place
To a cerebral westerner like Andrade, An Lộc may look like “Hell in a
Very Insignificant Place.” He could not understand why both sides fought
for a few-square-kilometer area of red soil that did not hold any strategic or
military value: “a small insignificant patch of ground”?1 Bernard Fall had
written the same thing about Điện Biên Phủ decades earlier in his Hell in a
Very Small Place. This seems to echo the lack of interest on this topic by
the U.S. media and people at a time when Washington had disengaged itself
from the war in Vietnam.
However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not feel the same way because
it continued to give the green light or at least did not prevent General
Hollingsworth, the TRAC commander, from supporting the ARVN during the
An Lộc battle.
For the Vietnamese, An Lộc was a big event, a die-for battle. They had
to defend the last square meter of land from falling into the hands of the
communists; they had to protect the integrity of their territory. If they did
not, where would they live? Where would their descendants live? That was
their homeland, the sacred land that was bequeathed to them by their ances-
tors; the land they later would bequeath to their offspring.
The irony of the statement made by Andrade and Fall may reflect the
fact that they did not care about the “insignificant patch of ground” as long
as it was on Vietnamese soil, but would they care about it if it were on U.S.
soil? Would they fight for it if it involved their land, their houses?
And yes, it was hell out there; there was no question about it. To witness
the hundreds of people who died day after day under continuing rains of
mortars and rockets was a sad and tragic feeling. To see civilians, women

215
216 INSIDE AN LOC

and children, hiding in the few square meters of bunkers for more than two
months was really painful. To witness civilians being slaughtered as they
tried to escape from the battle zone was tragic in itself. To see the hundreds
of troops who died on the battlefield because they could not be evacuated
or treated adequately definitely hurt. War was definitely inhumane. We do
not write to condone the 21-year-long war, but we must accuse the aggressors
of this conflict. They were the ones who had destroyed the nation of Vietnam.
This is where many westerners had strayed. They had never asked them-
selves why the North Vietnamese were in Cambodia to begin with. This was
a true violation of Cambodian sovereignty. Why did they bring their tanks
and troops all the way down there to invade and attack the South Vietnamese
on South Vietnamese soil? An Lộc and Lộc Ninh were both South Vietnamese
towns. Why did the NVA infringe upon South Vietnamese soil? Why did
they violate the 1954 Geneva Agreements and the 1973 Paris Accords, which
they had signed and which stipulated that they should not use force against
the South Vietnamese? They were the real aggressors in this conflict. They
were the ones who sowed pain, terror, and killing on South Vietnamese soil.
The Vietnam War from the U.S. and South Vietnamese sides was thus a war
against communist aggression.
This is where the Hagels come into play. In 1968, 21-year-old Chuck Hagel
was riding shotgun on a U.S. armored carrier with his brother Tom when the
VC detonated a land mine under the carrier. Both were wounded, and Chuck
pulled his brother out of the burning turret before the carrier exploded. They
survived the incident and Chuck returned from Vietnam with two purple hearts
and Tom with three purple hearts and a bronze star. Tom became a liberal Demo-
crat and a law professor who called the war rotten and immoral. Chuck became
a Republican senator who is presently secretary of defense under President
Obama.2 These are two brothers who went to war and ended having two different
opinions about the war. Tom Hagel and many Americans like Jane Fonda, who
have embraced the lies and propaganda of the Hanoi communists, have failed
to understand that the communists were the real aggressors and the cause of
the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese only wanted to establish a commu-
nist regime in Vietnam by stealing the government from the southern nation-
alists. Forty years after the end of the war, they still want to hold on to power,
refusing to accept democracy and a multi-party system for Vietnam.

Self-Killing
When Saigon surrendered at 10:00 on 30 April 1975, in the Mekong
Delta the generals continued to debate the future of the IV Corps. They
 XIV. Hell in a Very Insignificant Place 217

finally gathered their staff and saluted the South Vietnamese flag one last
time in the headquarters’ court. They then bid farewell to the staff and to
each other. General Nguyễn Khoa Nam, the IV Corps commander, went to
the Phan Thanh Giản Military Hospital in downtown Cần Thơ to comfort
and bid farewell to the hospitalized soldiers there. General Hưng returned
to his office.
By 16:00 in the city of Cần Thơ, home of the IV Corps and MR4, Gen-
eral Lê Văn Hưng (1933–1975) was still proclaiming that he would not sur-
render to the communists. How could he? He had waged war against them
all his life and had heroically resisted them during the violent siege at An
Lộc. He had no other choice because he had dedicated his life to defending
the Republic of Vietnam. As a man of honor, he could not dishonor himself
by surrendering to them. He had made his choice when he was in An Lộc
three years earlier.
He met with a delegation of the Cần Thơ city councilmen who urged
him not resist lest the city be shelled by the VC with devastating results. He
told them he would bring the matter up to General Nam, although both were
committed to defend the lives of Cần Thơ’s citizens. He later met his wife
and son and advised her to be brave and to raise his son as a man. He then
gathered his soldiers and told them,

I will not abandon you in order to evacuate my family. I cannot surrender in

this shameful situation. If I have yelled at you on occasion, when mistakes
were made, please forgive me.

He shook their hands and drove them out of his office, after which he
locked himself in. A gunshot was later heard. His family and staff broke into
the office and found the general, his arms outstretched, still convulsing with
blood all over his uniform. He had shot himself in his heart at 20:45 on 30
April 1975.
General Nguyễn Khoa Nam (1927–1975), born in Đà Nẳng, central Viet-
nam, graduated from the Thủ Đức Military Academy in 1953 as an Airborne
officer. As a company commander of the 7th Airborne Battalion, he fought
the Bình Xuyên in Saigon in 1955. He fought the VC around Saigon during
the 1968 Tết Offensive. He was one of the few generals who earned their
ranks through hard work. During his career, he had molded the 7th Division
into one of the most efficient in the ARVN. His last assignment was that of
a three-star general and commander of the ARVN IV Military Region (MR4)
which comprised the whole Mekong Delta. Well liked by his soldiers, he
used to drop by to see them during their military operations. A vegetarian,
he led a simple life and followed Buddhist rules closely. As a bachelor, he
218 INSIDE AN LOC

was not susceptible to bribery which in Vietnam was usually channeled

through officers’ wives.
With the imminent fall of Xuân Lộc, the last bastion of resistance before
Saigon, he had discussed plans with his deputy, General Hưng, about with-
drawing their troops to a secret place in the delta in order to continue the
fight. Until the end, he requested every officer and soldier to remain at their
post. When he became aware that the provincial chief of Kiên Giang Province
had left his post on a boat, he ordered pilots to sink it with rocket and machine
gun.3 On Monday, 28 April, General Nam met with Ambassador Francis
McNamara, U.S. consul general of the Mekong Delta, for the last time. After
thanking him for the U.S. help over the years, he told the consul not to take
with him any military, particularly officers, if he were to evacuate out of
Cần Thơ.4
Things were quiet in the MR4 as there was no imminent danger of being
overrun by the enemy. When President Minh went on the radio on 30 April
to announce his surrender to the communists, General Nam became obvi-
ously upset. He even refused President Minh’s pleas to order his soldiers to
lay down their arms. He could not understand why Saigon had to surrender
without putting up a fight. After conferring with General Hưng, he reluctantly
went along with the president’s decision.
In the evening after having visited his soldiers at the hospital, he
returned to the headquarters and was told that General Hưng had taken his
life. At 23:00, he called Mrs. Hưng to offer his condolences. As a man of
war, he did not believe in surrendering to people he did not like and thought
he could defeat. He locked himself in his office, put on his official white
uniform along with all his medals, sat at his desk and shot himself in the
head. That incident occurred in the early hours of 1 May 1975. His body was
taken to the morgue and buried at the Cần Thơ military cemetery among his
peers. In 1994, his remains were exhumed and cremated. His ashes were
stored at the Gia Lam Pagoda in Gia Định.
General Lê Nguyên Vỹ (1933–1975), born in Sơn Tây, North Vietnam,
graduated from the Officers Candidate Course at the Regional Military
School, MRII, at Phú Bài near Huế, class of 1951. He was a colonel at the
battle of An Lộc in 1972. As the attack raged on and as the enemy got closer,
he single-handedly took an M-72 anti-tank gun to blast away a communist
T-54 tank. He became deputy commander of the ARVN 21st Division and in
1974 went to the U.S. for military training. On his return, he became com-
mander of the ARVN 5th Division. When Saigon surrendered, he gathered
his staff and bid them farewell. He locked himself in his office and shot him-
self with a Beretta 6.35. When the VC officer came to take over the military
 XIV. Hell in a Very Insignificant Place 219

office, he calmly saluted the general and said, “This is how a general should
behave.”5
General Trần Văn Hai (1925–1975), when he was a colonel, parachuted
at the famous battle of Khe Sanh in 1968. He became commander of the
ARVN 7th Division in 1974 and was known as a brave and clean officer who
also cared about his soldiers. In April 1975, President Thiệu offered to take
him out of the country, but he refused. He remained at his post and was noti-
fied of a heavy concentration of enemy troops across the border in Cambodia.
He called the CIA person requesting air support to blow them away. “We
have them in the open. Now is the time to get them…. I need help. Help me,
CIA man.” But the agent could not do anything and the general later watched
hopelessly as the enemy crossed the border and overran his troops. General
Hai committed suicide instead of surrendering to the enemy.
General Phạm Văn Phú born in Hà Đông, North Vietnam, graduated
from the Dalat Military Academy, Class 8. He was the man who ordered the
withdrawal from the II Corps under President Thiệu’s insistence. Back in
1954, then Captain Phú parachuted with his company into Điện Biên Phủ to
reinforce the French troops. When Điện Biên Phủ fell, the Việt Minh held
him prisoner although they later released him. He vowed never to become
prisoner of the communists again. He committed suicide on 30 April 1975.
There are many more officers who committed suicide in the last days
of the war. Colonel Nguyễn Hữu Thông, commander of the 42nd Regiment,
22nd Division, took his own life instead of surrendering. Colonel Hồ Ngọc
Cẩn, commander of the 15th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, province chief
and commander of Chương Thiện Province & Sector, refused to surrender
to the enemy. He and his men fought until the end, when he was captured
before he could kill himself. He asked the VC to salute his flag the last time
before being shot to death by the enemy. Former Prime Minister Trần Chánh
Thành, fearing a fall into the hands of the communists he had deserted
decades earlier, took a poison.
To die for one’s country is not only an act of bravery; it is the act of
bravery. For soldiers, it is just an extension of their military career, a part
of their duty. As war was seen as a noble act, tuấn tiết, or self-sacrifice/war
suicide, serves as redemption in case of defeat. It is also a way to tell the
enemy they might have won the battle/war, but they do not deserve it because
they do not have chính nghĩa or just cause. It is not only just cause; it is the
belief that the cause they are fighting for deserves their total sacrifice.
Although tuấn tiết means “war suicide,” there is no good corresponding
word in English because the act itself is not practiced in the Christian West.
Secondly, the words “self-sacrifice” or “war suicide” do not convey the moral
220 INSIDE AN LOC

and courageous implication of the act. It is a closer equivalent of the Japanese

hara-kiri or seppuku.6 Although tuấn tiết and seppuku are technically differ-
ent, the end result is the same: the death of the victim by himself or at the
hands of the assistant. Vietnam and Japan are two of the few countries in
the world whose leaders killed themselves to wash away the ignominy of
war loss.
Westerners do not believe in taking their own lives when they lose the
ultimate battle, although it is a known fact that ship captains would go down
with their sinking ships. South Vietnamese Captain Nguyễn Văn Tha indeed
went down with his disabled destroyer HQ10 during the battle of the Paracel
Islands7 against the communist Chinese in 1974. Easterners, on the other
hand, are willing to die following crucial battle losses in order to preserve
their honor. They do not want to surrender, to be caught and have to go
through the shame of being held prisoner. By taking their own lives, they
still feel they have control of their lives or have redeemed their honor.
One soldier prefers to die with their honor intact. The other is willing
to suffer from the humiliation of defeat. There is no intention to belittle those
who have surrendered. They have done it in order to save their troops and
the civilian population; they have done it because their commander in chief,
President Dương Văn Minh—no matter how undeserving he was—has ordered
them to surrender.
These people have a very high sense of morality. They are ashamed of
handing over the troops under their command to the enemy for they feel
they would betray “not their emperor, but a sovereign state that had ceased
to exist long before, whose ideals they, as military officers, still respected.”8
Although South Vietnam lost the war, the fact that five generals and scores
of colonels and other officers took their own lives at the end of the war
shows that there is something bigger and larger than defeat or victory. There
is pride and belief that what they have fought for—freedom, heroism, and
dignity of human life—is worth more than life itself. By sacrificing them-
selves, they freeze in history the bravery and courage of the RVNAF.
 Epilogue

The Vietnam War was a war of ideologies, although it may not seem
that way to some in the U.S., who saw the war as a waste and at some points
even supported Hanoi.
But to the South Vietnamese, it was a war of ideologies, of common
sense, chivalry, chính nghĩa (just cause) and justice, not a brutal war of
aggression, intrigues, double-crossing, wickedness, and cowardice as played
by the North Vietnamese.
Why then did the South Vietnamese lose the war?
Of all the causes, the main one was related to the weaknesses inherent
in democracy itself—the incapacity to sustain a long, unfocused, inconclu-
sive, and bloody war. This applies to the U.S. as well as South Vietnam.1
First, Saigon never understood the concept of Vietnamization until it
was too late. Or rather, they trusted the U.S. too much to the point of letting
Kissinger bargain away the fate of South Vietnam. Vietnamization was a
strategy that would clear the way for the U.S. to leave South Vietnam whether
the latter was ready or not2; it was not simply a modernization or expansion
of the RVNAF. Since even President Thiệu believed until the end that Wash-
ington would come back and assist them, the South Vietnamese were not
ready to take charge and assume all the costs of supplies and ammunition
which were prohibitive by Vietnamese standards. Without support and assis-
tance, Saigon simply fell apart.
The strength of South Vietnam and its armed forces had been built primarily
on foreign aid, not on its national resources. The fate of South Vietnam there-
fore depended on its American friends.3
Second, the revolutionary war was a political war in its totality. Saigon,
as a fairly democratic society by Asian standards of the time, was waging a
halfhearted war because it was also trying to build its country, its economy
and administrative systems. While the NVA was heavily indoctrinated, tightly

221
222 EPILOGUE

organized, and grossly exploited to support the revolutionary war effort,

there was minimal indoctrination of the ARVN in its political role or require-
ment for it to support the South Vietnamese people.4 There was no unity of
effort between the U.S. and the Republic of Vietnam to wage combined polit-
ical, economic, military, diplomatic, and psychological war fronts.
Third, while Hanoi waged a protracted war, the U.S. pursued a “limited”
war, limited not only in geography but also in length. “Limited war” was
the brainchild of a group of academic theorists who believe that force can
be applied “skillfully along a continuous spectrum … in which adversaries
would bargain with each other through the medium of graduated military
responses.”5 The problem is that communists were not gentlemen warriors
and would not deal with honor and respect. Therefore, using that strategy
was simply playing into the hands of Giáp who would use it to erode the
morale and resolution of his enemy. Besides, when the U.S. felt it had done
enough, it just withdrew whether the job was done or not. While the South
Vietnamese were indebted to the U.S. for their help, they were shocked by
the “limited” commitment of their partners.
One ARVN officer wrote,
… Go ahead and leave Vietnam, my friends,
if you are exhausted,
if you are ashamed,
for not being honest with yourself before you came…
We pray that those pages [of history] do not make you troubled and bitter.6

Fourth, South Vietnamese soldiers when ably led performed well, such
as at An Lộc in 1972 and Xuân Lộc in 1975. However, the combat leadership
and tactical competency of the generals were often lacking. Major Thomas
Bibby wrote,
It [the leadership] lacked the competence to do the job when the crisis arose;
the aggressiveness to take and gain the initiative from the enemy; and ulti-
mately the credibility to maintain the loyal support of its soldiers and the
South Vietnamese people.7

Where do we go from here?

In this war of ideologies, the South Vietnamese may be afraid of the
communists because their cruelty, but they have no respect for them who
just prove to be vile aggressors and extremists. The NVA combatants are
neither chivalrous fighters, nor innovators. They have no code of honor. If
they do not kill people, they just throw them in reeducation camps like a
“consignment of pigs to the market.”8 After 1975, they even sent poets to
jail: Nguyễn Tú was incarcerated for 13 years, Trần Dạ Từ 12 years, Nhả Ca
 Epilogue 223

more than a year.9 They just duplicated the things taught to them by the Rus-
sian and Chinese communists and waged the war in a monstrous and inhu-
mane way. That is why four decades after the war, the North Vietnamese
still have failed to rally the overseas South Vietnamese, also known as the
Việt Kiều to their side. How could they when they engaged in such a lowly,
unchivalrous way of fighting, when they killed people right and left, and when
they lied through their teeth?
• They stole the government in August 1945 out from under the nose
of the nationalists.10 The goal was to seize the power from the hands
of the Japanese and the legal Vietnamese government before the
arrival of the allied troops.
• They set up a coalition government and then eliminated all nationalists
from the government.11
• They dealt in secrecy with the French they had fought against before
siding with them to purge all the nationalist parties.12
• They violated the 1954 Geneva Agreements and the 1973 Paris
Accords, which stipulated that no force should be used to invade
the other side in order to reunify the country.
The overriding theme of the communist culture, which is foreign to
Vietnam, is hatred. While adults are taught “criticism and self-criticism,”
children learn to sing revolutionary songs, to hate their parents and report
them if necessary.13 This culture is very different from the Vietnamese culture,
which espouses respect of elders and love for their parents. Therefore, the
South Vietnamese in no way could accept this communist concept.

THE DAY VIETNAM IS FREE

The Vietnamese dream about the day
when they will be free again,
free from oppression and repression,
from communism,
free to act out,
and to speak out their own thoughts.
It has been a long journey,
from antiquity until today.
The Vietnamese
were not free under the Chinese,
they were not free under the French,
they are not free under the communists.
The Chinese forced them
to bow to China,
The French forced them
224 EPILOGUE

to bow to France,
The communists forced them
to bow to Marx and Lenin,
They all have enslaved them
one way or another.
Of all evils, the communists are the worst,
They force the people to serve
one party and its leaders,
to obey the Cong An,
and to bribe their minions.
The Vietnamese were born free.
Then came the Chinese, the French,
and the communists
who told them what to do,
where to sit, what to believe.
They have enslaved, demeaned,
and corrupted them.
The Vietnamese wish to be free again,
free to talk, to walk tall, and to act,
free from all oppression and foreign ideologies,
free to be Vietnamese.
If it took them one thousand years
to free themselves from the Chinese,
if it took them one hundred years
to free themselves from the French,
they will set aside, if need be,
another thousand years
to get rid of the communists
for they were born FREE
and free they will remain.
Nghia M. Vo
Safer once remarked, “The Vietnamese have no sense of time the way
we understand it … their mental and body clocks are tuned more to history
than to the ticking urgencies of ordinary life.”14
The Vietnam War is a war of ideologies: of nationalism and justice
against communism, of freedom against subservience, of nationhood and
self-determination against internationalist communism, of humanity against
cruelty and barbarism. It is a fight for justice and chính nghĩa/just cause.
That is why there will always be TWO VIETNAMS, for the divide between
northerners and southerners, more exactly communists and nationalists, is
as wide as the Grand Canyon.
 Appendix I:
War Self-Immolation in Vietnam
NGHIA M. VO

To die for one’s country is not only an act of bravery, it is the act of
bravery. For soldiers, it is just an extension of their military career, a part
of their duty. As leaders have asked their soldiers to sacrifice themselves for
the good of the society, it is only right for leaders to go through the same
motion and practice what they have preached.
As war is seen as a noble act, tuấn tiết (self-immolation) serves as
redemption in case of defeat. It is also a way to tell the enemy, “You might
have won the battle/war, but you don’t deserve it because you don’t have
chính nghĩa (just cause).” It is not only just cause; it is also the belief that
the cause they are fighting for deserves their total sacrifice.
Although tuấn tiết means “war suicide,” there is no good corresponding
word in English because the act itself is not practiced in the Christian West.
Secondly, the word “suicide” does not convey the moral and courageous
implication of the act itself. It is a closer equivalent of hara-kiri or seppuku.1
Although hara-kiri is practically a disembowelment, its practice varies from
person to person. If the blade is inserted deeply enough, it could cause an
immediate death through intra-abdominal bleeding. If inserted superficially,
the still-alive victim would be beheaded by the assistant. While tuấn tiết and
hara-kiri can be technically different, the end result is the same: the death
of the person through his own hand or the hands of his assistant.
Vietnam is one of the rare countries in the world where leaders killed
themselves when they lose a war. We will review these cases of tuấn tiết
during the pre- and anti-colonial wars and the anti-communist war.

225
226 APPENDIX

Past Self-Immolation
At least seven leaders are known to have killed themselves for their
country during the anti-colonial war: Võ Tánh, Ngô Tùng Châu, Võ Duy
Ninh, Trương Công Định, Phan Thanh Giản, Nguyễn Hũu Huấn, and Hoàng
Diệu. Many more officials could have committed suicide throughout history,
although their deeds may not have been recorded.

Võ Tánh and Ngô Tùng Châu

Võ Tánh was one of the military warlords from Gò Công in the Mekong
Delta who had defeated the Tây Sơn around Gia Định-Saigon in 1783.2
Nguyễn Ánh, the scion of the Nguyễn dynasty, realized he needed this valiant
free spirit’s assistance if he wanted to defeat the Tây Sơn. It was only in
1787 that he was able to lure and recruit him into his army by giving him
his sister as concubine. From that time onward, Võ Tánh participated in most
of Nguyễn Ánh’s battles against the Tây Sơn and proved to be one of his
best generals.
In March 1799, Võ Tánh’s troops besieged Qui Nhơn—a port city in
central Vietnam—which after four months of resistance surrendered. Nguyễn
Ánh changed the city’s name to Bình Định (Pacified). He left Võ Tánh and
Ngô Tùng Châu in charge of the city that sat in a rebel-controlled area and
returned to his base in Saigon.
Nguyễn Ánh at that time was waging a seasonal or “monsoon” war
against the Tây Sơn by attempting to retake rebel-controlled regions from
south to north. In the spring, when the winds blew away from the Indochinese
Peninsula, he loaded his crack troops onto his sailboats and headed toward
a military target in the Vietnamese central coastal area. He dropped them off
close to the target area where he met the rest of his troops that had arrived
by land. The combined army then attacked the target, which was decisively
taken. In the fall, he left troops to guard the newly conquered region and
headed home with the monsoon winds, which in November blew back toward
the peninsula. Each year, he had about a six- to eight-month window to wage
war as the winds shifted biannually.3
Realizing the strategic loss of Bình Định, which controlled access to
Phú Xuân (Huế)—the Tây Sơn headquarters—Tây Sơn general Trần Quang
Diệu decided to retake the city and its surroundings. In early 1800, Diệu had
his troops guard all land exits of Bình Định while a Tây Sơn naval fleet
blocked the sea approach. Nguyễn Ánh in early April came to the rescue of
Võ Tánh who was holed up inside the besieged Bình Định. It was a tough
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 227

battle, which lasted until February 1801 (10 months) before the Tây Sơn fleet
was destroyed after a bloody 28-hour sea battle. With the sea approach
cleared, Nguyễn Ánh ordered Võ Tánh to get out of town: the latter refused
to leave without his soldiers.
Nguyễn Ánh at that time realized that the bulk of the Tây Sơn troops
were encamped in front of Bình Định leaving the capital Phú Xuân almost
defenseless. Leaving Võ Tánh to hold the Tây Sơn army in place, he moved
with his fleet to Phú Xuân and up the Hương River where as expected he
found minimal resistance. His troops took over the city on 15 June 1801—26
years after the day he was forced to leave town.
Bình Định in the meantime was still besieged by the Tây Sơn. For the
last 17 months, the defenders had put up a valiant resistance. Running out
of food supplies, they finally decided to kill their animals (horses and ele-
phants) for their meat. Võ Tánh, knowing the end had arrived, discussed the
surrender with General Diệu: his only request was that his soldiers would
be spared. He then had a scaffolding built on which he stacked the remaining
gunpowder. Dressed in full military regalia, he got up on the scaffolding and
lit the powder, which blew him into pieces. That was the signal for his men
to open the garrison’s gates for the Tây Sơn to take over. Ngô Tùng Châu
had preceded him in death by taking poison. When General Diệu entered the
citadel, he realized the braveness of his adversaries and had their remains
buried with honors.4

Võ Duy Ninh
A combined Franco-Spanish force (2,500 French troops aboard 13 war-
ships and 450 Spanish troops on a warship) attacked Danang on 1 September
1858. It met with severe resistance from the Huế imperial troops, led by Gen-
eral Nguyễn Tri Phương. After five months of fierce combat, the invaders
could only control an inhabited stretch of shore. Frustrated, the French com-
mander Rigault de Genouilly took two-thirds of his troops and ships and
sailed on 10 February 1859 toward Vũng Tàu where he thought he would
face lesser resistance. He blasted his way along the Saigon River before tak-
ing the Gia Định citadel on 17 February 1859.5
Aware of the Danang attack by the French, General Võ Duy Ninh, the
military commander of Gia Định-Saigon citadel, thought his troops would
need some retraining to keep abreast of new tactical maneuvers. The Viet-
namese used breech-loading muskets, and each soldier was able to practice
shooting one single round each year. He unfortunately chose the wrong time
for the exercise: he did it when the French came to town. The remaining
228 APPENDIX

troops that guarded the citadel were unable to hold against the French. Fright-
ened by the massive shelling, they ran away. General Ninh, when aware of
the defeat, committed suicide rather than surrender the Gia Định citadel to
the French.6

Trương Công Định (1820–1863)

Định, born in 1820 in central Vietnam, moved with his father—a colo-
nel—to Saigon. He later married a wealthy Định Tường landowner’s daugh-
ter and used his wife’s financial resources to build a don dien (plantation).
He enrolled impoverished workers and soldiers to assist him in his agricul-
tural business. After Võ Duy Ninh committed suicide in February 1859, Định
rallied around him imperial troops that had fled in disarray. With about 1,000
troops, he began a guerrilla war against the French. His initial military suc-
cesses led the king to grant him the title of deputy commander of the southern
forces.
By 1861, his army of 6,000 men gave him many battle successes. The
following year, he was promoted commander of all the southern nghia quan
(volunteer soldiers for a cause). The French were frustrated at not being able
to crush the rebels as they “were everywhere and nowhere.” He then moved
his troops to Gò Công where he continued his guerrilla movement.
When the 1862 Saigon treaty was signed,7 the Huế court cut off its sup-
port to Định and his nghĩa quân, being fearful that the French would use the
insurrection as an excuse to expand their conquest in the South. The court
even ordered Phan Thanh Giản to pressure Định to lay down his arms. Định
not only lost the logistical support of the imperial court, but the French were
free to focus their effort solely on fighting the rebels. Local people who col-
laborated with the French gave the rebels new problems. Định, however,
refused to comply with the court’s pressure, arguing that his mandate came
not from Huế, but from the will of the people in the occupied territories. He
gave himself the title of “Great General for the Pacification of the Western-
ers” and asked for the financial and moral support of the local people now
that he had lost the court’s support.
In February 1863, Admiral Bonard encircled Định in his stronghold of
Gò Công from which he escaped after sustaining heavy casualties. On 19
August 1863, betrayed by a former rebel, he was ambushed and wounded.
Facing imminent capture, he took his own life.8
Years later, Định’s wife returned to her hometown much impoverished.
King Tự Đức felt that Định was a righteous man who deserved praise. He
felt that he needed to support his widow who was alone, poor, sick and mis-
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 229

erable. He granted her a monthly allowance of 20 quan of cash and two

phường of rice. This was more than a mandarin could expect for his pay.9

Phan Thanh Giản (1796–1867)

Gian was the first southerner to pass the mandarinate exam—which
would qualify him for an administrative or military position in the king’s
government—with honors at the very young age of 30. Many qualified can-
didates could not pass the exam until their mid-forties. In 1831, he was
appointed province chief of Quảng Nam. The troops he sent to quell a Cham
rebellion were defeated and caused him to be removed from his post.
Although he was given another position, he learned to accept failures and
successes in a dignified and stoic, almost fatalistic, way.
The Huế court at the time of the French invasion was divided between
the chủ chiến (hawks, led by Nguyễn Tri Phương, Hoàng Diệu, Tôn Thất
Thuyết, and Hoàng Tả Viêm) and the chủ hòa (doves, led by Phan Thanh
Giản, Lâm Duy Hiệp, Nguyễn Bá Nghi, and Trương Đăng Quế).
Despite being hawkish, the chủ chiến were unable to think of any strat-
egy to oppose the French. They did not contemplate mass resistance probably
because the court had in the past so antagonized the South that any thought
in that direction would prove futile. They had taken down the Lê Văn Khôi
rebellion, sentenced the leaders to death, and massacred about 2,000 people.
They had desecrated Lê Văn Duyệt’s tomb and put three generations of his
family to death. They had placed the South under direct court control and
sent all southern generals and lettered men away from the South, the upper
leadership of which was no longer native. Southerners no longer felt like
trusting the government. The chủ hòa, on the other hand, felt that they could
no longer resist the overwhelming firepower and military force of the for-
eigners.
The court sent Phan Thanh Giản and Lâm Duy Hiệp to negotiate the
Saigon treaty, which was signed on 5 June 1862. Besides the loss of three
eastern provinces, freedom for Catholic priests to proselytize was granted
throughout Vietnam. King Tự Đức flew into a rage when he heard the news.
By performing a necessary but unpleasant duty, Giản and his colleagues
were not only vilified by the court, but also rebuked by Tự Đức, who called
them “criminals.”10
Tự Đức, however, did not take any sanction against them; on the con-
trary, he elevated Giản to viceroy of the Southern Region and resident grand
dignitary and plenipotentiary (Chánh Sứ Toàn Quyền Đại Thần). Giản, being
67 at that time, requested permission to retire, but his request was denied.
230 APPENDIX

He was sent to France to negotiate the return of the three eastern provinces,
although he was not successful. He became aware of France’s technical and
military advances. He saw trains running faster than horses, ports crowded
with ships armed with powerful guns, and gas lamps burning brighter than
oil lamps.
When he told Tự Đức about his assessments, the latter brushed away
Giản’s apprehensions by saying that if people were faithful and sincere,
tigers would pass by without hurting them, crocodiles would swim away
and everyone would listen to them.
Tự Đức—as the top Confucian man in the country—implied that the
foreigners, French included, would respect a man of a high level of rectitude
like Phan Thanh Giản if the latter fully believed in the Confucian doctrine.
Having seen his powers slipping away from him—loss of territorial integrity
to the French, civilian unrest in northern and central Vietnam, internal divi-
sion between the chủ chiến and chủ hòa, and powerlessness against the
French—Tự Đức could not help but ask himself why everything was falling
apart under his feet. He probably wanted to reassure himself first. Akin to
Montezuma who tried to stop the advance of the Spanish conquistadors with
arrows and human sacrifices, akin to Nguyễn Văn Thiệu who in 1975 tried
to stop the advancing communists with the magic words of the Paris Accords,
Tự Đức attempted to repel the French with sharpened staves, swords and
righteousness. He lived in an ancient Confucian world and belatedly realized
that the French did not believe in righteousness, but only in guns and can-
nons.
There were, however, heroism and self-righteousness in abundance in
the Mekong Delta. Nguyễn Đình Chiểu (1822–1888), who was legally blind
at that time, heaped scorn on those who collaborated with the French. He
would not touch anything that was western in origin like soap powder or
perfume.
The Vietnamese, however, did not have the economic and technological
means to build up a strong military response. The Huế government, as a
Confucian state, did not have a foreign ministry and was not able to keep
up with news and advances of the western world. The ministers at the court
locked in their gilded ivory tower and their thousand-year-old Confucian
leaning did not care about what was happening in the modern world. The
few who had traveled abroad like Nguyễn Trường Tộ and Phan Thanh Giản
and talked about western technological advances were simply laughed at.
The French, using another pretext, conquered three southwestern prov-
inces and forced Giản to sign the 1867 treaty granting France control over
the whole of South Vietnam or Cochinchina. He returned home dejected and
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 231

declared that the French flag would not be allowed to fly above the fortress
as long as he was alive.
He returned to the king all badges of office and the 23 royal awards he
had acquired during a lifetime of distinguished service and intended to fast
until he died. In contrast to other officials, he did not have a big estate or
retinue to serve him. Being still alive two weeks later, he took additional
poison that killed him.11
The chủ chiến sprang into action. They declared him guilty of the loss
of the six provinces. Having killed himself, they thought he should be spared
posthumous decapitation. Tự Đức, however, revoked all his titles, positions
and grades; had his name removed from the stele of the tiến sĩ degree holders;
and ordered his body exhumed and decapitated (trâm hầu).12
We leave for a thousand generations the sentence of trâm hầu. Thus we exe-
cute those who are already dead in order to warn those who are still living.13

Thus died in infamy one of Vietnam’s greatest civil servants and patri-
ots. As an abiding Confucian and a victim of the Nguyễns’ failed policies
of neo-Confucianism and self-isolation,14 he took the blame for the loss of
the six provinces with equanimity.
The thousand-generation sentence did not even last one generation.
King Đồng Khánh rehabilitated him 19 years later (1886) and returned to his
family his titles and medals.

Nguyễn Hữu Huấn (?–1875)

Also known as Thủ Khoa Huấn,15 he was one of the leaders of the resist-
ance movement in the South. Caught by the French, he was forced to wear
a cangue—a wooden framework—around the neck as a portable pillory. It
was a sign of infamy. He bit his tongue and died before being executed by
the French. He left a few verses that forever immortalized him. Forced to
wear a cangue, although stooping under the weight of the device, he, like a
hero, held his head high and straight.16

Hoàng Diệu (1829–1882)

Peasant unrest, tribal rebellions, Catholics, pirates, and the Lê restora-
tion movements contributed to the chaos in the North, which remained an
unsettled region under the Nguyễn regime. When the southern Nguyễn con-
quered North Vietnam, which had been under the Lê for more than four cen-
turies, and after reunifying the country following a complete North–South
232 APPENDIX

division for two centuries (1600–1602), northerners were as expected not

happy to submit to the Nguyễn and demonstrated for the restoration of the
northern Lê.
A French merchant trying to find a way to get to China using the Red
River fought verbally with officials in Hanoi. In 1873, French officials in
Saigon dispatched Captain Francis Garnier to solve the problem. The 200-
man French force backed by powerful artillery, using this excuse, overran
the Hanoi citadel, which was defended by 7,000 men. They suffered only
one casualty and two wounded. They soon controlled four provinces in the
Red River delta. Garnier was ambushed by the Black Flag river bandits and
killed. A treaty was signed the following year with the Hue court allowing
the French to trade and proselytize Catholicism all over Vietnam.17
Chaos resulted as the nghĩa quân joined the battle against the French.
Tự Đức had to call on China for help. In 1882, French troops led by Captain
Henri Riviere attacked the Hanoi citadel for the second time. Although the
defense had improved this time, Vietnamese soldiers could not withstand
the shelling of the naval artillery. The ammunition depot was hit and blew
up. Soldiers scrambled for their lives. The commanding officer, General
Hoàng Diệu, calmly wrote the report and hung himself from a tree amidst
the burning city. His body was brought back to his hometown of Quảng Nam
for burial. Riviere went further but again was ambushed and killed by the
Black Flags.
It is interesting to note that while Tự Đức could not do anything against
the French, the river brigands were able to kill two French officers and hold
off their offense.

Modern Self-Immolation
In 1975 as the fall of Saigon was taking place, many high-level officers
and Saigon officials who refused to surrender took their own lives.

General Nguyễn Khoa Nam (1927–1975) graduated from the Thủ Đức
Military Academy in 1953 as an airborne officer. He fought against the Bình
Xuyên in Saigon in 1955 and the Viet Cong around Saigon during the 1968
Tet Offensive. He molded the 7th ARVN Division into one of the most effi-
cient South Vietnamese units. As a three-star general and commander of the
IV Corps and Military Region, he used to drop by to see and support his sol-
diers during their military operations. A vegetarian, he led a simple life and
followed Buddhist rules closely.
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 233

Until the end, he requested every officer and soldier to remain at their
posts. When designated President Minh announced his surrender to the com-
munists, he reluctantly went along with the decision. He and General Hưng
gathered their staff and saluted the South Vietnamese flag one last time at
the Corps headquarters court. They then bid farewell to the staff and to each
other. He went to the Phan Thanh Giản Military Hospital in downtown Cần
Thơ to comfort and bid farewell to the hospitalized soldiers.
When he returned to the headquarters, he was told that General Hưng
had taken his life. At 23:00 hours, he called Mrs. Hưng to offer his condo-
lences. As a man of war, he did not believe in surrendering to people he
thought he could defeat. Alone in his office, he put on his white uniform
along with his medals, sat at his desk and shot himself in the head in the
early hours of 1 May 1975. His body was taken to the morgue and he was
later buried at the Cần Thơ Military Cemetery among his peers. In 1994, his
remains were exhumed and cremated. His ashes were stored at the Gia Lâm
Pagoda in Gia Định, Vietnam.
Two-star General Lê Văn Hưng (1933–1975) graduated from the Class
5 Thủ Đức Reserve Officers School and was known as one of the five “Tiger
Officers” of the ARVN. He was made general and commander of the 5th
ARVN Division in 1972 when North Vietnamese General Giáp unleashed a
three-pronged attack on Quảng Trị (I Corps), Kontum (II Corps) and An Lộc
(III Corps). General Hưng and his soldiers defended An Lộc for 95 days and
defeated an overwhelming enemy force. He was later promoted to the post
of deputy to General Nam. In late April 1975, these two generals were offered
evacuation thrice, but they flatly declined.
By 16:00 hours on 30 April 1975, General Hưng was still proclaiming
he would not surrender to the Viet Cong. He later met with his wife and son
and told her to be brave and to raise his son as a man. He gathered his staff
and told them,
I will not abandon you in order to evacuate my family. I cannot surrender in
this shameful situation. If I have yelled at you on occasion, when mistakes
were made, please forgive me.

He shook their hands and drove them out of his office, after which he
locked himself in. Not even his wife was allowed to remain in his office. A
gunshot was later heard. His family and staff broke into the room and found
the general, his arms outstretched, still convulsing with blood all over his
uniform. He had shot himself in the head at 20:45 hours on 30 April 1975.18
General Lê Nguyên Vỹ (1933–1975) graduated from the Officers
Candidate Course at the Regional Military School, MRII, at Phú Bài near
234 APPENDIX

Huế, class of 1951. He was a colonel at the An Lộc battle in 1972. As the
attack raged on and as the enemy got closer, he single-handedly took an M-
72 anti-tank gun and shot a communist T-54 tank. He became deputy com-
mander of the 21st ARVN Division before going to the U.S. in 1974 for
military training. On his return, he became commander of the 5th ARVN
Division. When Saigon surrendered, he gathered his staff and bid them
farewell. He locked himself in his office and shot himself with a Baretta
6.35 mm. When the VC officer came to take over the military office, he
calmly saluted the general and said, “This is how a general should behave.”19
General Trần Văn Hai (1925–1975), then a colonel, had parachuted
himself into the famous battle of Khe Sanh in 1968. He became commander
of the 7th ARVN Division in 1974 and was known as a brave and clean officer
who also cared for his soldiers. In April 1975, President Thiệu offered to
take him out of the country, but he refused.
He remained at his post and was notified of a heavy concentration of
enemy troops across the border in Cambodia. He called the CIA represen-
tative to request air support, “We have them on the open. Now it’s the time
to get them. I need help. Help me, CIA man.”
But the agent could not do anything and the general watched hopelessly
as the enemy crossed the border and overran his troops. General Hai com-
mitted suicide instead of surrendering to the enemy.20
General Phạm Văn Phú graduated from the Dalat Military Academy,
Class 8. He ordered the withdrawal from the II Corps under Thiệu’s insis-
tence. The Việt Minh held him prisoner after the fall of Điện Biên Phủ,
although they later released him. He had vowed never to become prisoner
of the communists. He committed suicide on 30 April 1975.

Many more officers had committed suicide during the last days of the
war, although most of these cases have not been fully reported. This should
not come as a surprise because many of them had spent their youths fighting
the communists, and the end result was heart and dream shattering. Colonel
Nguyễn Hữu Thông, commander of the 42nd Regiment of the 22nd Division
also took his own life instead of surrendering.21 Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn, com-
mander of the 15th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, refused to surrender to
the enemy. He and his men fought until the end and he was captured before
he could kill himself. He asked to salute his flag the last time before being
executed by firing squad. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Thông saluted
the Soldier Statue in central downtown Saigon before pulling the trigger on
himself. Around 14:00 hours on 30 April, after a decent meal, Major Đặng
Sĩ Vinh had his wife and seven children drink some medicine before killing
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 235

them and himself. His last note read like this, “Forgive us. We do not want
to live under a communist regime.” Former Prime Minister Trần Chánh
Thành, fearing a fall into the hands of the communists he had deserted before
1954, ended his life by taking a poison.
This is a mass self-immolation never seen before in Vietnamese history.
At least five generals, three colonels, a major and a politician took their own
lives in various places throughout Vietnam.

Courage and Sacrifice, East and West

Southerners have always put up resistance against invaders and for-
eigners: they fought against the Chams, the Khmers, the French, and then
the communists. This is not to say that they are xenophobic. Far from that,
they have welcomed foreigners and were open to commerce and industry.
Their history of mingling with the Chams, Khmers, and Chinese was noto-
rious, especially during the period of southern migration.22 However, the
French who landed in Saigon in 1859 forced the southerners to bear arms
against them.23 In the 20th century, they fought against the communists who
took over power in North Vietnam in 1945.
Võ Tánh and Ngô Tùng Châu fought for the South. They sacrificed
themselves to preserve their honor and not to fall into the hands of their ene-
mies, the Tây Sơn. They at the same time tried to preserve their moral purity.
All these heroes lived for their nghĩa (righteousness): duty to the king
and country. As Phan Thanh Giản was 67, he no longer wanted to work and
had asked the king to simply retire; however, under the insistence of the
king, he took on the position of viceroy of the South. This was a losing
proposition because there was no way anyone could defend the South against
the French who were mighty militarily as well as eager to conquer Vietnam.
Giản had asked Tự Đức on various occasions to reorganize the army, buy
new guns and artillery pieces, but to no avail. The end result was almost
foreordained. Despite these facts, he tried to deflect the blame away from
the king by assuming all the blame himself.
Trương Định wanted to fight on, but the king told him to lay down his
arms. He decided to carry on the insurgency warfare anyway, making sure
to deflect the blame away from the king.
During the anti-communist war, 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers
lost their lives to defend South Vietnam against the Hanoi government. They
were great, courageous men who had dedicated their lives to their country.
When the latter sank, some killed themselves rather than surrender. Instead
of flying out, they preferred to die in their country. Despite being offered to
236 APPENDIX

be flown away, Generals Nam and Hưng refused and killed themselves. Gen-
eral Lê Minh Đảo, commander of the Xuân Lộc region—the last bastion of
resistance against the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War—also
declined to be airlifted by the U.S.; he ended up being confined to concen-
tration camps for the next 18 years during which he almost lost his life. There
was no greater dedication and self-sacrifice than this.
These people have a high sense of responsibility and morality. They
were ashamed of handing over the troops under their command to the enemy
or of turning themselves in. They felt they were betraying “not their emperor,
but a sovereign state that had ceased to exist long before, whose ideals, they
as military officers, still respected.”24 Although South Vietnam had lost the
war, the fact that five generals, scores of colonels and officers of various
ranks, and even civilians took their own lives at the end of the war showed
that there was something bigger than defeat or victory. There was pride and
belief that what they were fighting for—freedom and dignity of human life—
was worth more than life itself. By sacrificing themselves, they implied that
life without freedom was not worth living. By dying, they made a mockery
of communism, a theory they fought against and died to resist.
Westerners do not believe in taking their own lives when they lose the
ultimate battle, although it is a known fact that ship captains would go down
with their sinking ships. South Vietnamese Captain Nguyễn Văn Thà did
indeed go down with his disabled corvette HQ10 during the Paracels battle
against the Chinese in 1974.25 Easterners, on the other hand, were willing to
die following crucial battle losses to preserve their honor. They did not want
to surrender, to be caught and have to go through the shame of being held
prisoner. By taking their own lives, they still felt they had control of their
lives or had redeemed their honor. This is an expression of extreme courage
and nationalism.
One soldier prefers to die with his glory intact. The other is willing to
suffer from the humiliation of defeat. There is no intention to belittle those
who surrendered. They did it in order to save their troops or the civilian pop-
ulation; they did it because the commander in chief, President Dương Văn
Minh, ordered them to surrender.
Each man chose his version of glory, each man his pain and suffering.
There is no right or wrong solution to the problem. Each person was the
master of his own life. What is unique about the Vietnamese (at least the
South Vietnamese) culture is that over the centuries, tuấn tiết has been a part
of the tradition. The Japanese shared the same tradition. Great numbers of
officers, soldiers, and even civilians killed themselves when faced with defeat
and the prospect of being captured. They felt a man of honor would not
 War Self-Immolation in Vietnam (Nghia M. Vo) 237

allow himself to be captured by his enemy. Only hara-kiri could erase shame,
express ultimate devotion, or register a protest.
It should be noted that South Vietnam has been in existence since 1600
while communism has been present only for the last seven decades. While
southern nationalists believe in tuấn tiết, northern leaders who demanded
that soldiers sacrifice themselves for the party did not. Although General
Giáp, who had sacrificed—in Vietnamese, the word nuong or “roast” is
used—tens of thousands of North Vietnamese soldiers during the Tet Offen-
sive and lost many more during the 1972 Eastern Offensive, had been
demoted from his position of commander of the People’s Army, he still held
on to power and did not believe in killing himself.

Conclusion
This study reveals a fairly high number of tuấn tiết throughout Viet-
namese history. Tuấn Tiết seems to be a unique southern nationalistic Viet-
namese tradition akin to the Japanese hara-kiri or seppuku.
 Chapter Notes

Introduction and used the same pattern of attack to “lib-

erate” Phước Long—a town north of An
1. This was one of the few times that the
Lộc—from where they assaulted Ban Mê
North Vietnamese used their most advanced
Thuột and took over the II Corps. In this re-
Soviet-made T-54 tanks on the battlefield in
gard, the battle of An Lộc has become sim-
South Vietnam. These tanks were so huge
ilar to the battle of Bastogne during World
and clunky that they caused fear in the de-
War II where the Germans desperately
fenders.
needed to capture a vital road intersection
2. ARVN or Army of the Republic of
so that they could continue their westward
Vietnam in its early years was composed of
attack and movement of their supplies.
infantry regiments (main forces). Later, it
7. “Viets on Way to Victory at An Loc—
expanded to include navy, air force, artillery,
Top Adviser,” Pacific Stars and Stripes,
and other territorial units (RF and PF: re-
April 23, 1972.
gional and popular forces) and was desig-
8. Highway 13 has also been called Route
nated as the Republic of Vietnam Armed
13 because in some areas, the four-lane high-
Forces or RVNAF. To avoid switching back
way became a two-lane country road. For
and forth we will use interchangeably
the sake of simplicity, from here on, we will
ARVN and RVNAF.
call it Highway 13.
3. The NVA offensive began on or about
1 April with attacks on surrounding posts,
although the attack on An Lộc did not ma- Chapter I
terialize until the night of 11 April. The NVA
wanted to attack earlier, but the move was 1. NVA: North Vietnamese Army, which
delayed because of poor coordination. Gen- was a given name to the units of the Hanoi
eral Hung declared the town liberated on 12 Communist Party’s Popular Army of Viet-
June, and the president visited An Lộc on 7 nam—PAVN—fighting in South Vietnam by
July. By day 60, the town had been freed, MACV authorities. We will use the NVA ter-
e.g., no major engagement had occurred; minology in this book. DMZ: demilitarized
however the roadblock south of An Lộc was zone dividing North and South Vietnam.
not cleared until day 90 plus. Therefore, we 2. Ngo Quang Truong, The 1972 Easter
and some others have used the “94-day Offensive, 106. General Trưỡng became the
siege” to be accurate. I Corps and MR1 commander following the
4. Vietnamization of the war was a term Quảng Trị defeat to the communists.
coined by the Nixon administration in 1968 3. Andrade, 373.
to designate the shifting U.S. policy of re- 4. Norman Hannah, The Key to Failure,
placing U.S. ground troops in Vietnam by 298. Laos was not a neutral buffer as in-
ARVN troops, thus facilitating the U.S. tended in Geneva, but a partitioned state
withdrawal out of Vietnam. whose southeastern sub-sector was a pistol
5. Dale Andrade, Trial by Fire, 371. aimed by Hanoi at South Vietnam.
6. Two years later, the NVA came back 5. The French like the word “Indianized”

238
 Notes—Chapter I 239

as it relates to India, while U.S. authors re- 20. Prados, 70.

cently use “Hinduize” as it relates to the 21. Ibid., 78–80.
Hindu faith of these people. 22. Lewy, 50.
6. Michael Freeman and Warner Roger, 23. Lewy, 84. In December 1964, total
Angkor, 63–67. The first king of Cambodia enemy strength was estimated at 180,700;
was Jayavarman II. One inscription reads, by December 1967, it stood at 261,500.
“His Majesty came from Java to reign in the 24. Ibid., 133.
city of Indrapura.” 25. Lewis Sorley, Westmoreland, 91.
7. Henry Kamm, Cambodia, 18–21. 26. Van Nguyen Duong, 106–107. Sulli-
8. Ibid., 23. van simply did not want anyone to interfere
9. Nghia M. Vo, Saigon: A History, 51. with his area of influence. This turf war lim-
Since the king of Vietnam lived in Huế, ited President Johnson’s choice of options.
some 500 miles away, the ceremony in 27. Sorley, Westmoreland, 92. He was
Saigon was simply a ritual: a few bows in not imaginative enough strategically to cir-
front of an altar. As he arrived to the cere- cumvent the rules until at the end of his
mony late one year, he had to pay a fine of tenure as MACV commander when he used
3,000 taels of silver before being released. the Khe Sanh outpost, which was only a few
10. Arthur Dommen, The Indochinese miles from the Vietnamese-Laotian border,
Experience, 441. President Diem received to deploy SOG teams and make forays into
Harriman at Independence Palace together Laos.
with General Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman 28. Lewis Sorley, A Better War, 4.
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 29. Alexander Haig, Inner Circles, 161.
11. Ibid., 438–442. 30. Việt Cộng, short for Việt Nam Cộng
12. Ibid., 455–465. The flaws of the Sản, or Vietnamese communist, is used to
Geneva Accords concerned the mode of op- designate the local communist insurgents in
eration of the ICC or International Control opposition to the NVA or northern commu-
Commission. The ICC worked well from nists. After the 1968 Tết Offensive, since
1954 to 1958 because decisions were made most of the VC had died, they were replaced
in unanimity with a majority report and a by NVA troops. Therefore we are using VC
minority report submitted. Harriman in and NVA interchangeably.
1961–1962 under pressure from the commu- 31. Sorley, 122–123.
nist bloc allowed the ICC to operate on a 32. Ibid., 98.
majority basis rather than unanimity, which 33. Sorley, 91; Lewy, 89. In fiscal year
would give a commissioner veto over ICC 1968, almost 14 billion were spent for bomb-
actions. Article 14 could not only prevent ing and offensive operations but only 850
the initiation and carrying out investiga- million for pacifications and various aid pro-
tions; it also allowed the accused party to grams.
never be indicted. Hannah, 46; John Prados, 34. A. J. Langguth, Our Vietnam, 63.
The Blood Road, 53. After the Accords were 35. Quoted by Sorley, 95.
signed, foreign forces must withdraw from 36. Bruce Palmer, Jr., The 25 Year War,
Laos within 75 days. 28.
13. Prados, 56. 37. Stephen Hosmer, The Fall of South
14. Hannah, 62–63, 72. Vietnam, 61.
15. Hannah, 76. The Vietnamese commu- 38. Phillip Davidson, Vietnam at War,
nists flagrantly violated the Geneva Accords 338–339. The strategy of gradualism calls
by failing to withdraw from Laos, driving for not applying maximum force to defeat
the Laotian neutralists off the Plain of Jars, the adversary, but to employ a continuous
partitioning Laos into three sections, and in- spectrum—from diplomacy, to crises short
filtrating into Vietnam. of war, to an overt clash of arms—in order
16. Guenter Lewy, America in Vietnam, to exert the desired effect upon the adver-
24. sary’s will. Inherent in this doctrine is a dis-
17. Prados, 69. trust of the military’s desire to win a war as
18. Hannah, 217. fast as possible.
19. Richard Nixon, No More Vietnams, 39. Thomas Ahern, Vietnam Declassified,
47. 364.
240 NOTES—CHAPTER I

40. Rufus Phillips, Why Vietnam Matters, and Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đãng (VNQDD)
xiv. were executed in 1946.
41. Dommen, 252. 58. Turner, 143–146.
42. Vo, Saigon, 219. 59. Philip Catton, Diem’s Final Failure,
43. Hosmer, 133–134. 202. “Lodge played a very different role in
44. Sorley, A Better War, 164. late 1963; it was a calculated, self-righteous
45. Palmer, 37. The Vietnamese were and, in the end, deadly performance.”
constantly outgunned, with predictable re- 60. Shaw, 4.
sults in battlefield outcomes and morale, not 61. Catton, 210. Diệm expressed the na-
to mention reputation. tionalism that was spearheaded by two well-
46. Thomas McKenna, Kontum, 32–33. known non-communist nationalists, Phan
47. Hosmer, 131–133. Bồi Châu and Phan Châu Trinh in 1910–
48. Ibid., 134–137. 1920. The two Phan fought the French colo-
49. Ibid., 137–142. nialists using two different strategies: vio-
50. Palmer, 43. lence and cooperation, respectively.
51. Tran Van Don, Our Endless War In- 62. Dommen, 298. Hồ Chí Minh was
side Vietnam, 6. never voted in as a president by popular vote
52. Henry Kamm, Dragon Ascending, and remained president for life until his
58, 168–169. death.
53. Dommen, 339–343. “The basis of 63. “Achievements of the Campaign of
this land reform was hate; it was hate that Denunciation of Communist Subversive Ac-
would regenerate the vital energy of the tivities (First Phase)” (Republic of Vietnam:
peasants, make them a fundamental revolu- The People’s Committee for the CDCSA,
tionary force”; Stephane Courtois, Black May 1956), 51.
Book of Communism, 568–569; Robert 64. Vo, Saigon, 13–19.
Turner, Vietnamese Communism, 132–146. 65. Moyar, xiv, 36; Miller, 43–46, 138–
More than 50,000 people were executed dur- 139. Personalism, a concept proposed by the
ing the campaign; this does not include col- French philosopher Mounier, addressed the
lateral damage, especially family members economic as well as spiritual needs of the
of victims. person, thus becoming an antidote to the
54. Thomas Edsall, New York Times, Oc- materialistic excesses of capitalism and
tober 28, 2012. communism. It had much in common with
55. John Shaw, The Cambodian Cam- Confucianism and implied moral duties: a
paign, 3. spirit of sacrifice and social responsibility
56. Edward Miller, Misalliance, 89–113. in order to foster respect for one’s fellow
The newly elected French prime minister man and respect for one’s self.
pursued contradictory policies. He sought 66. Turner, 53, 58–60, 63.
an agreement with northern communists to 67. Dommen, 505.
preserve French influence in North Vietnam 68. Miller, 324–326.
and at the same time kept French troops in 69. Moyar, 2; Moyar suggested that the
Saigon and other parts of Indochina for an Vietnamese fought each other out of a desire
indefinite period. The Binh Xuyen, a mafia- for power or freedom from the central au-
type armed gang, controlled the Saigon po- thority. Over the centuries, one clan or fac-
lice and ran brothels and casinos in Saigon; tion had always fought against another clan
they paid Bảo Đại a monthly stipend of 1.5 or faction. Vanity and cruelty prevailed in
million piasters (U.S. $43,000). The Hoa these contests. This is confirmed by a well-
Hao and Cao Dai sects were heterodox known saying that if one puts two Viet-
armed religious groups that controlled namese together, they would work well to-
swaths of territories in South Vietnam. Be- gether; but if one adds a third Vietnamese,
sides, there were the VC and nationalist discord and disarray would ensue.
groups like the Đại Việt who also vied for 70. Dommen, 410, 503.
power; Mark Moyar, The Vietnam War, 34. 71. mò tôm: basically catching shrimp at
57. Tran Van Don, 22–23, 29; Turner, 53, the bottom of the river.
58–60, 63. Hanoi eliminated much of the 72. Van Nguyen Duong, The Tragedy of
nationalist opposition: hundreds of Đại Việt the Vietnam War, 1–5.
 Notes—Chapter I 241

73. Ahern, Vietnam Declassified, 367. dren along with government officials. They
74. Moyar, xiv, 92–94. blocked roads with barricades in which were
75. Nguyen Long and Harry Kendall, concealed grenades. Bui Diem and David
After Saigon Fell, xiii. Chanoff, In the Jaws of History, 43, 52.
76. The Vietnamese communists placed They assassinated their political non-com-
the VCP above the State of Vietnam. Thus munist rivals, Huỳnh Phú Sỏ, Tạ Thu Thâu,
they, and Hồ Chí Minh included, could not Ngô Đình Khôi, Phạm Quỳnh.
be called patriots because they were always 85. Palmer, 29.
internationalists before being Vietnamese 86. Pribbinow, 27.
patriots. 87. Ibid., 51–52.
77. Merle Pribbenow, Victory in Vietnam, 88. Prados, 15.
5. 89. Ibid., xiv.
78. Tom Wells, The War Within, 83. After 90. bộ đội: communist infantry troop.
the war ended, it was revealed that the Chi- 91. Prados, 45.
nese had more than 170,000 troops in Viet- 92. Hannah, 5: He confirmed on French
nam during the war. TV on February 16, 1984; The Economist,
79. http://www.militaryhistoryonline. 25 February 1984.
com/20thcentury/articles/chinesesupport. 93. Lewy, 66.
aspx. 94. Prados, 372.
80. Wells, 575. 95. Lien Hang Nguyen, Hanoi’s War,
81. Ibid., 579. 45–47.
82. Francis Winters, The Year of the Hare, 96. Ibid., 64–65.
177–189. Prochnau wrote about how he and 97. Prados, 18.
Halberstam used “the Buddhist story to 98. Prados, 298. North Vietnam con-
bring down Diệm.” Halberstam did not hes- tracted Chinese ships or even used its own
itate to reiterate misrepresentations of easily ships disguised as Chinese vessels.
verifiable facts. When Kennedy became 99. Sorley, 101.
aware of the conspiratorial spirit of Halber- 100. Moyar, 96–97. This explains how
stam, he attempted to have him transferred, they were able to send so many recruits
but the publisher of the New York Times, through the trail to the South, most of whom
Arthur Ochs, refused. Sheehan provided a would die from war wounds or diseases,
national and international forum for a malnutrition, or lack of medicine. The sys-
cashiered officer, Colonel John Paul Vann. tem, however, was not completely foolproof
Bigart was another correspondent who sug- as soldiers would continue to desert: more
gested ditching Diệm and sending troops to than 200,000 would surrender to South Viet-
support a military junta. Prochnau suggested namese authorities. Others were chained to
that the “destruction of a government is their guns or tanks to prevent them from
within the legitimate framework of journal- running away.
istic enterprise.” Malcolm Brown was the 101. Kamm, Dragon Ascending, 152.
reporter who published the photo of the 102. Prados, 132–133: Russians manned
burning monk. Although the decisive role SAM air defense systems, piloted jet fight-
of the Times in the Vietnam tragedy cannot ers.
be overlooked, Kennedy “bore the respon- 103. Duiker in Pribbinow, xvi.
sibility of being intimidated by the crusad- 104. Bob Seals, Chinese Support for
ing press.” North Vietnam, MilitaryHistoryonline.com.
83. Tom Polgar, “We Were a Defeated 105. Lewis Sorley, Chronicles, 820–821;
Army,” http://lde421.blogspot.com/2013_01_ McKenna, 59–61.
01_archive.html (accessed 7 June 2013). 106. Shaw, 7.
84. Howard Jones, Death of a Genera- 107. Prados, 16.
tion, 18, 73, 103, 141. In 1961, when the VC 108. Kamm, 33–34.
hit the capital of Phước Thành Province, 109. MACV Command History, C-1.
they brazenly executed its chief, his assis- 110. Shaw, 9.
tant, and 10 civil servants and inhabitants, 111. Palmer, 104.
including a woman and a child. There were 112. Henry Kissinger, White House Years,
pictures of beheadings of women and chil- 240.
242 NOTES—CHAPTERS II, III AND IV

113. Palmer, 97. 2. Phan Nhat Nam, “An Lộc: The Un-

114. Leslie Gelb, Power Rules, 55. quiet East,” 80. The number 13 is considered
115. Langguth, 562; Palmer, 100. to be an unlucky number for the Vietnamese.
116. Palmer, 101. Highway 13 was probably named by the
117. Sorley, A Better War, 204, 208. French who do not believe in this supersti-
tion.
Chapter II 3. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 27.
4. McKenna, Kontum, 32–33.
1. James Collins, The Development 5. There were 200,000 communist troops
and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, who abandoned their army and switched to
1–9. the Government of Vietnam’s side by the
2. Ibid., 9–10. end of the war. This was the biggest win for
3. Ibid., 139. Saigon despite the heavy indoctrination by
4. Clarke, Advice and Support, 29. the political commissars on the communist
5. Collins, 132–135. side. There were very few ARVN troops who
6. Arthur Dommen, Indochinese Expe- switched to the communist side; when
rience, 922–924; Vo, Saigon, 195–198. ARVN troops went AWOL, they usually re-
Major General Nguyen Khoa Nam and Gen- turned to their villages to do farming.
eral Le Van Hung committed suicide on the 6. Lewis Sorley, Vietnam Chronicles,
night of 30 April and 1 May in Can Tho. 821–822. The difference between U.S. and
General Tran Van Hai, commander of the ARVN intelligence estimates could be ex-
7th Division; General Le Nguyen Vy, com- plained by the factors mentioned in the text.
mander of the 5th Division; General Pham The enemy had simply pushed back its
Van Phu; and former Foreign Minister Tran strike date because they did not have all
Chanh Thanh also committed suicide. their units and tanks in place. They just
7. Ronald Frankum, Operation Pas- wanted to surprise the ARVN by using at the
sage to Freedom, 205; Vo, Saigon, 130–133. same time attacks by infantry and tanks,
There were more than 800,000 people who which ARVN intelligence had not been able
were evacuated by various ships. Many oth- to locate.
ers flew aboard French planes and others ei- 7. Lam Quang Thi, 59.
ther walked through the DMZ or Laos and 8. Cao Đài is a syncretistic and mono-
Cambodia. Many of the refugees would theistic religion officially founded in Cho-
leave Vietnam a second time in 1975 when lon, South Vietnam, then officially estab-
they lost their country. lished in the city of Tây Ninh in 1926.
8. This arrangement is typical of the Adherents engage in prayer, veneration of
Vietnamese family, in which a wage-earning ancestors, non-violence, and vegetarianism.
person contributes to the welfare of the ex- 9. Andrade, 385.
tended family since the state welfare system 10. Ha Mai Viet, Steel and Blood, 152.
was inexistent. 11. Since U.S. advisers felt that this
9. This generation of officers trained bunker was not safe, they wanted to leave
under the French system was still convers- An Lộc. They, however, agreed to stay back
ing in French during the war period. when the headquarters were moved to the
10. See Chapter XIII. Japanese bunker.
12. Use diversionary attacks in other
Chapter III places, but concentrate on An Lộc.

1. Dale Andrade, Trial by Fire, 373. Chapter IV

Much of the 1st Aviation Brigade had al-
ready been redeployed to the U.S., and that 1. Dale Andrade, Trial by Fire, 395–
portion of the brigade that remained in 396.
South Vietnam was spread over all four mil- 2. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 55–
itary regions. The squadron of the 11th ACR 57.
was redeployed to the U.S. on April 6, 1972, 3. James Willbanks, The Battle of An
and was not a factor during the An Lộc bat- Lộc, 51.
tle. 4. Ibid., 52–54.
 Notes—Chapters V and VI 243

5. Ibid., 193n24. 4. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 88.

6. Nghia M. Vo, The Bamboo Gulag, Nguyen Cau, a TV reporter who stayed in
114–116. Northern camps staffed and con- An Lộc during the entire siege, recalled that
trolled by the Cong An or secret police im- statement.
posed a stricter discipline on prisoners than 5. Ibid., 142.
southern camps run by the North Viet- 6. Quoted in CHECO Southeast Asia
namese Army. High-level officers and high- Report, The Battle for An Lộc, 16.
ranking officials, members of the police de- 7. Interview by CHECO, 16.
partment, were sent to the North where they 8. Lam Quang Thi, 82.
spent 10 to 20 years in the camps while the
usual stay in southern camps was 2 to 5 Chapter VI
years. Northern camp prisoners were older
and had more medical problems than those 1. CHECO, 15.
in southern camps. The hard work, the harsh 2. The U.S. and their allies used the 81
treatment, the long incarceration, the lack mm mortars while the Russians and their
of medication and medical care, the cold and communist partners preferred the 82 mm
unpleasant weather, the lack of heating sys- mortars.
tems, and the poor food and nutrition con- 3. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 87–
tributed to a higher mortality rate in northern 88. ARVN soldiers had never seen such
camps compared to southern camps. Send- huge tanks, which although documented at
ing a person to a northern camp was equiv- a few other battles, had been first seen in the
alent to signing his death certificate. Fami- III Corps. The M-72 rocket launcher, used
lies were usually left in the dark and advised in other battles, was also released to III
three to six months or sometimes years later Corps soldiers at this battle.
that a certain inmate had passed away. If 4. James Willbanks, 76.
they could afford it, they would travel to the 5. Private communication.
North to collect the dry bones of their rela- 6. Tran Van Nhut, An Loc, 117. North
tives. Vietnamese soldiers were brainwashed to
7. Lam Quang Thi, 58–60. the point of believing that An Loc had been
8. Ibid., 61. liberated and that local people would wel-
9. Ibid., 62. come them in. The same propaganda worked
10. Andrade, 418–419. for the VC during the 1968 Tết Offensive.
11. Colonel Stephen W. Bachinski, Prov- 7. Walter Ulmer, Armor, January–Feb-
ince Report, Kontum Province, Period End- ruary 1973, 14–20.
ing 30 April 1972 (May 1, 1972), 2–3, RG 8. Willbanks, 11–12.
472, National Archives. 9. McDermott, True Faith and Alliance,
12. Message from General Creighton 129.
Abrams to Secretary of Defense Melvin 10. CHECO, 19–20.
Laird, 1601Z, May 1, 1972, Center of Military 11. Andrade, Trial by Fire, 438–439.
History, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, 12. Ibid., 440–441.
DC. 13. Andrade, 446.
14. Ha Mai Viet, Steel and Blood, 157.
Chapter V The date of the destruction of the local hos-
pital by shelling was April 16 for Ha Mai
1. McDermott, Year of the Hare, 77–78. Viet.
2. Ha Mai Viet, Steel and Blood, 404n 15. Andrade, 449–450.
88. Colonel Lê Nguyên Vỹ had also sug- 16. Lam Quang Thi, 110–112.
gested to Colonel Nhựt on another occasion 17. Andrade, 492–493.
to have division combat engineers place 18. Ha Mai Viet, 406n99.
anti-tank mines on Highway 13 north of 19. Nguyen V. Quy, “War Fortune and
town. Colonel Nhựt disagreed, saying that Misfortune,” in Chat V. Dang, et al., The
anti-tank mines would be obstacles for ve- Vietnamese Mayflowers of 1975, 371.
hicles from the rubber plantation leaving the 20. Willbanks, 148.
city. 21. An T Than, “In the Eyes of the Storm:
3. Tom Wells, The War Within, 536. Binh Long District Hospital,” in Chat V.
244 NOTES—CHAPTER VII

Dang et al., The Vietnamese Mayflowers of stance, his effectiveness as an adviser will
1975, 201–204. be greatly diminished.
22. Khue Ngoc Nguyen, Ranger Maga- 6. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 30.
zine, 2003, 10–12. The Group was assigned 7. Andrade, 389.
the northern sector of An Lộc and Quản Lợi 8. Ibid., 393–394.
Hill. 9. Ibid., 391.
23. Ibid., 22–24. 10. Willbanks, The Battle of An Loc, 67.
24. Ibid., 28–29. The Ranger Group was 11. Cao Van Vien. The U.S. Adviser, 38–
later commended for having retaken the 40. During the Westmoreland years, once
Open Arms Office and retrieving important the same report reached General Vien, an
communication documents from the enemy. investigation would be ordered by General
25. McDermott, 55–58. Vien who would act based on the conclusion
26. Ibid., 63–64. This was the personal of the investigation.
experience of an American GI who was 12. Lam Quang Thi, 31.
imbedded in a Vietnamese airborne unit. 13. Frances Fitzgerald, Fire in the Lake,
27. Ibid., 94–95. 369.
28. Lam Quang Thi, 126–127. 14. Lam Quang Thi, 28.
29. McDermott, 75–76. 15. hồi chánh, or returnee, is an enemy
30. Lam Quang Thi, 128. soldier who has surrendered and rallied to
31. Khue Ngoc Nguyen, Ranger Maga- the South Vietnamese side. During the war,
zine, 2003, 36–37. more than 200,000 VC switched sides; they
32. Lam Quang Thi, 130–133. were never heard from again after the com-
33. Tran Van Nhut, 131, 137. munists took power in 1975. It was feared
34. Lam Quang Thi, 136. many were executed for having betrayed the
revolution.
Chapter VII 16. Van Nguyen Duong, The Tragedy of
the Vietnam War, 153.
1. James Willbanks, The Battle of An 17. Willbanks, The Battle of An Loc, 41.
Loc, 67. “Miller suggested to the clearly de- 18. Ibid., 62. Willbanks wrote, “Miller saw
moralized Hung that he relinquish command Hưng as totally indecisive and unable to
to Colonel Nhut, the province chief.” handle the stress of high intensity combat.”
2. James Bruton, “Analyzing Viet- 19. Ibid., 91. Willbanks wrote, “When the
namese Culture” in Nghia Vo, et al., The chips are down he looses [sic] all of his
Women of Vietnam, 127–170. composure.”
3. Willbanks, The Battle of An Loc, 62. 20. Ibid., xv.
4. Andrade, Trial by Fire, 391. 21. Ibid., 112.
5. Ibid., 390. In Cao Van Vien, et al., 22. Ibid., 62.
The U.S. Adviser, 66–73, ARVN generals 23. Ibid., 112.
argue that the relationship between the U.S. 24. Thomas McKenna, Kontum, 10.
adviser and the Vietnamese commander is 25. Cao Van Vien, The U.S. Adviser, 190.
fraught with misunderstandings because of 26. Ibid., 73–74. The fact that advisers
their culture, upbringing, way of life, tech- rotated every six months seemed to curtail
nical abilities, leadership, and so on. Unless the effectiveness of the advisory effort. A
the parties want to subordinate their per- good working relationship requires better
sonal desires to the good of the unit, there understanding, mutual trust and harmony
is no way to foster a true working relation- between adviser and his counterpart, which
ship. The adviser is usually more junior than could only be obtained through a long asso-
his counterpart and has minimal war expe- ciation.
rience, although he is well trained and could 27. Cao Van Vien, The U.S. Adviser, 197.
offer theoretical and material support to the 28. John Rambo is the archetype of a
commander. The adviser sometimes wants troubled Vietnam War veteran and former
to have things done immediately because of Green Beret in David Morrell’s novel First
his short tour of duty; but if he keeps on ha- Blood. Rambo is skilled in survival tactics,
rassing the commander with ideas and un- weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and guer-
interrupted suggestions regardless of sub- rilla warfare.
 Notes—Chapters VIII, IX and X 245

29. Cao Van Vien, The U.S. Adviser, 198. 14. CHECO, 32–33.

30. Andrade, 473–474. 15. Ibid., 33–34.
16. Andrade, 460.
Chapter VIII 17. CHECO, 34.
18. Andrade, 461.
1. CHECO, 21. 19. Willbanks, 94; Lam Quang Thi, 100.
2. CHECO, 15–16. Thi somehow placed the second attack on
3. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 84. 15 April, which was followed by a lull the
4. Lam Quang Thi, 190. following day, 16 April, that lasted until 21
5. Khue Ngoc Nguyen, Ranger Maga- April. One wonders why Thi uses that date
zine, 2003. This was also reported by Phan because the first attack lasted from 13 to 15
Nhat Nam (see below) and Major Raymond April. Willbanks, on the other hand, placed
Haney, U.S. adviser to the 5th ARVN Divi- it on April 19. Our date of April 18 is close
sion at An Loc (see CHECO, 24). Fallen to Willbanks’s date.
refugees “laying in ditches like cordwood.” 20. CHECO, 22–23.
6. CHECO, 25–26. 21. Lam Quang Thi, 135–136.
7. Phan Nhat Nam, “An Loc: The Un- 22. Andrade, 446–447.
quiet East,” 78. When a few hundred civil- 23. Lam Quang Thi, 137–138.
ians attempted to escape from the town by 24. CHECO, 40–41.
walking south on Highway 13, they were
gunned down by the VC who did not care Chapter IX
whether they were civilians or soldiers.
8. In May 1972, civilians poured out of 1. An Lộc Chiến Sử Phan Nhật Nam,
the besieged Quảng Tri city in the northern 1972—The Battle of An Lộc by War Re-
part of Central Vietnam on buses, scooters, porter, Airborne Captain Phan Nhật Nam,
bicycles, or on foot. Artillery observers in- 1972.
tentionally adjusted the fire of NVA guns
onto the column of refugees. On 9 May, Chapter X
President Thiệu denounced this butchery,
which killed and injured thousands of inno- 1. Lewis Sorley, Vietnam Chronicles,
cent civilians. (See Ian Ward, “Why Giap 834, emphasis in original.
Did It,” 6.) A long section of National High- 2. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 101.
way 1 was thus littered with charred bodies 3. Guernica is a Basque country village
and burned civilian vehicles. The scenery that was bombed by German and Italian air-
was so horrifying that the section of high- planes during the war at the behest of the
way was later called “the Highway of Hor- Spanish Nationalist forces in 1937 during
ror.” On another occasion, in March 1975, the Spanish Civil War.
while trying to get out of Ban Mê Thuột be- 4. Walter Ulmer, Armor, May–June 1974,
hind the II Corps convoy, they were shelled 23–25.
and gunned down on Route 7B during which 5. Lam Quang Thi, 144.
tens of thousands of civilians lost their lives. 6. CHECO, 42.
The convoy was dubbed the “Convoy of 7. Lam Quang Thi, 146; Andrade, Trial
Tears.” (See Dommen, The Indochinese Ex- by Fire, 477.
perience, 903; Englemann, 230. The number 8. CHECO, 44.
of dead civilians and soldiers was unknown 9. Andrade, 475.
but estimated to be in the tens of thousands.) 10. CHECO, 43.
9. James Willbanks, 81. 11. McDermott, True Faith and Alliance,
10. McKenna, Kontum, 93. 106–108.
11. Phan Nhat Nam, 94–95. 12. Ibid., 114–116.
12. Ngo Quang Truong, The 1972 Easter 13. Ibid., 117–118.
Offensive, 118–119. An Lộc had survived 14. Ibid., 135, 145.
thanks to airdrops by dedicated and coura- 15. CHECO, 47.
geous pilots and airmen who risked their 16. Document from the Military History
lives to save the population of the town. Branch of the GCOS/JGS/RVNAF recorded
13. Andrade, Trial by Fire, 452–456. “275th Regiment/VC 9th Division.”
246 NOTES—CHAPTERS XI, XII, XIII AND XIV

17. Walter Ulmer, Armor, January–Feb- 12. Ibid., 8–9. The comment, however,

ruary 1973, 17. could be totally self-serving.
18. Lam Quang Thi, 154. 13. Ibid., 271.
14. Ibid., 268–269.
Chapter XI 15. Ibid., 454.
16. Brush, in Marc Gilbert, The Tet Of-
1. Phan Nhat Nam, Crossroads, 83. fensive, 208. Ironically, the communists
2. Ibid., 87. built a monument at Khe Sanh to commem-
3. Ibid., 82, 93. orate the battle. Among the words inscribed
4. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 178– on the monument are “112,000 U.S. and pup-
179. pet troops killed and captured. 197 airplanes
5. James Willbanks, 142. shot down. Much war material was captured
6. Lam Quang Thi, 242–243. and destroyed. Khe Sanh another Điện Biên
7. John Howard, “The War We Came to Phủ for the U.S.”
Fight,” 19. 17. Davidson, 275.
8. Verdun was one of the major battles 18. Ibid., 243.
between Germans and French in the First 19. Safer, Flashbacks, 19.
World War. It resulted in more than 700,000 20. Ibid., 26.
casualties, half from each side. 21. Ibid., 20.
9. Lam Quang Thi, 2. 22. Davidson, 562–567.
10. Bánh hỏi is rice vermicelli woven 23. Ibid., 571.
into intricate bundles and often topped with 24. Prados, The Blood Road, 350.
chopped scallions and garlic chives to be 25. Lam Quang Thi, Hell in An Loc, 207.
consumed with barbecue pork. This is a 26. Andrade, Trial by Fire, 474.
fancy dish that is expensive, best served hot, 27. Ibid., 502.
time consuming to prepare, and therefore 28. Davidson, 701.
cannot be made in large quantities to be
dropped to thousands of soldiers. Chapter XIII
11. Lam Quang Thi, 183.
12. Nguyen V. Quy, in Chat V. Dang, et 1. William H. Sullivan was ambassador
al., The Vietnamese Mayflowers of 1975, to Laos during the 404 project—U.S. Air
374. Force covert operation in Laos—and as a
13. Lam Quang Thi, 185–186. General former gunnery officer, he personally di-
Hưng’s steel helmet had a camouflaged rected the bombing of the Hồ Chí Minh Trail
cloth cover. On the front was embroidered a in order to minimize civilian losses. This
black star with black thread. Across was civilian control and the restriction of oper-
Hưng’s signature written with a black ations rankled the military and allowed the
marker, with a dedication to President Thiệu. NVA to almost run freely on the trail.

Chapter XII Chapter XIV

1. Davidson, Vietnam War, 188–189. 1. Andrade, Trial by Fire, 371.
2. Ibid., 223–224. 2. Myra McPherson, “Chuck Hagel,”
3. Ibid., 233–234. He was not aggres- New York Times, 13 January 2013.
sive enough to promote the defense of the 3. Alan Dawson, 55 Days, 8.
embattled area. 4. Francis McNamara, Escape with
4. Ibid., 235–245. Honor, 136. When the U.S. consul in Cần
5. Ibid., 256–258. Thơ decided to evacuate Americans and
6. Ibid., 261–262. some Vietnamese workers on 30 April, he
7. Morgan, Valley of Defeat, 634. took with him 300 locals; his boat was
8. Ibid., 639–640. stopped by the riverine area command navy
9. Prados, Valley of Decision, 289. but allowed to proceed by Commodore
10. Ibid., 297. Thắng.
11. Ibid., 285. It was made in December 5. Nghia M. Vo, The Bamboo Gulag,
1967. 18–21.
 Notes—Chapter XV and Appendix 247

6. “Seppuku” is the correct term while Appendix

“hara-kiri” is the commonly used word.
The person disemboweled himself with his 1. “Seppuku” is the correct term, while
own sword and was beheaded by his assis- “hara-kiri” is the commonly used term. The
tant who in a sense completed the victim’s person disemboweled himself with his own
work. sword and was then beheaded by an assis-
7. The Paracel Islands are a group of is- tant, who in a sense completed the work.
lands located in the South China Sea and 2. The South (đàng trong) seceded from
claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, and the North (đàng ngoài) in 1600; this was fol-
China. These islands were part of South lowed by the first full scale north-south war
Vietnam until 1974 when China came in and from 1627 to 1672. During the revolutionary
occupied them after sinking a South Viet- period (1771–1802), there was no central
namese battleship during the battle of the government in the South because the south-
Paracels. http://www.sacei07.org/Newslet ern Nguyen had been toppled by the Tây
ter65.pdf. Sơn rebels. The latter had expanded their
8. Arthur Dommen, The Indochinese control over the present-day central Vietnam
Experience, 923. while the Nguyen scion—Nguyen Anh—
barely had control of the Mekong Delta. In
Chapter XV the North, the Trinh lords controlled the
House of Le. Warlords roamed freely. They
1. Davidson, Vietnam at War, 798–799. raised their own armies and fought for
2. Davidson, 604. whomever they liked.
3. Cao Van Vien, Dong Van Khuyen, 3. Nghia M. Vo, Saigon, 38–39, 43–44;
Reflections on the Vietnam War, 135. Taylor, History, 300–302, Nguyễn Ánh took
4. Davidson, 800–801. 26 years to recover his ancestors’ throne. He
5. Osgood, Limited War, 10–11. was a methodical, conscientious, and careful
6. Cao The Dung, Contemporary Liter- fighter. Part of this had to do with the fact
ature, 306–309. that he had to rebuild his government infra-
7. Quoted in Willbanks, Abandoning structure to raise funds to continue the war.
Vietnam, 284. Secondly, he wanted his army to have suffi-
8. Neil Jamieson, Understanding Viet- cient supplies and food without having re-
nam, 364–365. course to stealing from peasants and vil-
9. Nhả Ca is a poetess whose only crime lagers. Everywhere his army went, he had
was to have written a book about the terror, new granaries built for their needs. Third,
killings, and mayhem inflicted by the com- having lost many battles to the Tây Sơn in
munists when they took over the city of Huế the beginning had made him more cautious
in 1968. The book has been translated into than usual.
English in 2014. 4. Le Thanh Khoi, Le Vietnam, Editions
10. Turner, Vietnamese Communism, 37– de Minuit, 1955, 318–321.
38. Back then, they proclaimed human 5. Mark McLeod, The Vietnamese Re-
rights, rights to ownership, and civil rights. sponse to French Intervention, 43–44.
Everything sounded great until they took 6. Ibid., 52.
power. Then people realized they got 7. The three provinces of Biên Hòa, Gia
nothing: no human rights, no ownership Định, and Định Tường were ceded to the
rights. French with a few commercial ports. The
11. Turner, 47–51. Opposition candidates Catholic religion could be practiced freely
were eliminated on grounds that they were throughout Vietnam.
“collaborators,” corrupt, or suspect ele- 8. McLeod, 63–65.
ments. In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh received 9. Ibid., 74.
169,222 votes although the population at the 10. Ibid., 50–54.
time was only 116,000. 11. See Chapter I.
12. Turner, 57–59. 12. The names and birthplaces of the
13. Turner, 122. graduates of the triennial examination are
14. Morley Safer, Flashbacks, 4. chiseled in stone steles that sat on stone tor-
toises housed at the Văn Miếu (Temple of
248 NOTES—APPENDIX

Literature). How anyone could decapitate a 18. A. J. Dommen, The Indochinese Ex-
skeleton is anyone’s guess. But the king’s perience, 921–924. Generals Nguyen Khoa
ruling had to be carried out, and decapitation Nam and Le Van Hung had thrice been of-
had to be done. fered evacuation by their American adviser
13. McLeod, 55–56. before he departed and each time refused.
14. Vo, Saigon, 43–45. When Gia Long 19. Nghia M. Vo, The Bamboo Gulag,
recovered his throne in 1802, his biggest 18–21.
mistake was to return to the old Confucian 20. Dommen, 923.
system to prop up his regime. Locked in this 21. Dommen, 921–922.
mentality, he and his descendants com- 22. Vo, Saigon, 16–19, 54–55. By im-
pletely sealed off their country to modern- mersing and melting into the culture of the
ization and trade. This process weakened local Chams, Khmers, by interbreeding with
their regime so much that it could not put them and the Chinese, the southerners have
up any resistance against westerners. A few created a new way of being Vietnamese.
thousand soldiers armed with guns and ar- They adopted Mahayana Buddhism, culture,
tillery were able to take over the whole food, and clothing of the Chams, Khmers.
country in a few years. 23. See Truong Cong Dinh above.
15. A cử nhân (licentiate) graduate of the 24. Shannon French, Code of the War-
regional examinations of 1852. rior, 220–223.
16. Translated by Huynh Sanh Thong, An 25. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_
Anthology of Vietnamese Poems, 84. of_the_Paracel_Islands.
17. Neil Jamieson, Understanding Viet-
nam, 47–48.
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 Index

abandon 89, 106, 110, 132, 164, 180, 202, Bình Long 31, 34, 48–52, 57–58, 63, 73,
205, 209–210, 217 87, 91, 94–95, 102, 109, 116, 123, 151,
Abrams, Creighton 15, 76, 93, 123–124, 154, 167, 179, 181, 193
154 Bình Xuyên 20, 148, 217, 232
advisee 120, 129 Black April 47
advisory 30, 36 border war 5, 9, 29, 34
aggressiveness 222 bracelet 156
airborne 5–6, 18, 32, 36, 49, 53, 55, 61, bravery 113, 138, 219–220
68, 93–94, 100, 107–113, 115, 141–143, Browne, Malcolm 25
164–168, 175–180 Bùi Diễm 16
Algerian 197–198 Bùi Đức Điềm 46, 78, 88, 105, 132, 140,
Andrade, Dale 215 162, 191, 194
Anne-Marie 197–198 bunker 3, 6, 58–59, 72, 74, 97, 102, 105–
anti-communism 23 106, 114–115, 120–121, 124–126, 132,
anti-war movement 25 135–136, 138, 160–163, 180, 187, 189,
arc light 79–80, 110, 154, 159 194, 202
ARVN 4–7, 17, 25, 34, 43, 59, 64, 75=76, Bunker, Ellsworth 12
83, 94, 114, 123, 127, 141, 150, 200,
222, 232 Cà Mau 23, 38
atrocities 76 callous 136
Calu 200–201
B-52 9, 28, 30, 55, 76–77, 80, 86, 98, Cam Lộ 200, 209
110, 126, 149, 163, 167, 200–202 Cambodia 4–6, 9–11, 15–16, 26, 29–34,
Bạc Liêu 23, 38 37, 48–50, 55–57, 71, 75, 90, 97, 123,
Ban Mê Thuột 50, 209, 213 154, 185, 202, 209, 216, 219, 234
Base Charlie 52 Cần Lê River 5, 51–52, 60, 73–74, 77–79,
Bàu Bàng 146–147, 152 81–83, 87, 104, 108, 120, 151
Bé River 49, 51, 56–57, 77, 82, 142, 177 Cần Thơ 33, 40, 43, 123, 211–212, 217,
Beatrice 197–198 233
Bến Cát 49, 57, 147 Cao Đài 20, 58
Bến Hãi River 26 Cao Phú Quốc 104
Bến Hét 72, 97, 156 Cao Tấn Tài 169
Bến Thành Market 182 Cao Văn Viên 36, 123, 157, 189
Benedict, Ed 125 CARP 137
Bibby, Thomas 222 Castries, Christian de 197–200, 203
Biên Hoà 33, 40, 42, 62–63, 92, 151, 194 casualties 17, 63, 68, 70, 77, 84, 95, 102,
Bình Định 226–227 105, 108–109, 143, 152, 171, 181, 188,
Bình Dương 49–50, 52–53, 84, 92, 107, 198, 205, 228
116, 134, 147, 151 China 184, 209–210, 230

253
254 INDEX

Chinese 10, 13, 18, 24, 27–29, 61, 67, 72, Dương Tấn Triệu 79, 100
87, 97, 196, 200, 210, 220 Dương Thu Hương 28
Chính nghĩa 219, 221, 224 Dương Văn Minh 28, 148, 214, 220, 236
Chinook CH-47 100, 112–113, 137, 142,
157–158 Easterner 117, 119, 236
Choke point 146–147, 150 electronic barrier 200
Chơn Thành 50–52, 57, 60, 89, 91, 95, Eliane 197–198
99, 109, 113, 116, 134, 142, 146–152, entrenched fortification 147
172–174, 181, 191 extrovert 119
Chou En Lai 85
Chùm Bao 66, 69 face 67, 227
cigarette 105, 121, 155 Fall, Bernard 215
Claudine 197 Fan Muong 31–32
collective outlook 119 FANK 31–32
Communism 1–5, 9–15, 20–22, 28–29, Fiery Summer 54, 183, 206, 211
49, 53, 57–60, 76, 86, 90–91, 105, 116, Fitzgerald, Frances 25, 124
134–136, 143, 184, 189, 200, 202, 206, Fonda, Jane 216
209, 216, 218, 223 forward air controller 158
concentration attack 59, 61, 92 France 184, 189, 196–199, 208, 219
Confucius 10, 230–231 free world 184–189
Cong An 224 FSB Alpha 50, 64–65
COSVN 31, 34, 53, 55, 60, 63, 71, 84,
90–91, 109–110, 127, 141, 151–153, Gabrielle 197
168, 181, 183 gallant 104, 115, 189
counterattack 6, 92, 108, 114–115, 126– general offensive 204
127, 131, 141, 164–165, 168, 172, 197 Geneva Accords 29, 35, 38
Củ Chi 49, 92 Gia Định 37, 40, 49, 92, 218, 226
Gia Lam 218, 233
Đại Việt 20 Gianh River 27
Dak To 76 Gò Công 226, 228
Đàng Ngoài 21, 247
Đàng Trong 21, 247 Hagel, Chuck 216
Đặng Văn Sung 17 Hai Bà Trưng 39
DAO 208 Hải Phòng 86, 209
Đào Duy Ân 184 Hải Vân pass 27
Dầu Tiếng 53, 84 Haig, Alexander 13
Davidson, Philip 29, 204 Halberstam, David 25
Dayan, Moshe 156, 183 HALO 138–139
defend to death 87 Hanoi 2, 4, 9, 16, 18, 23, 29, 61, 86, 90,
delivery 138 114, 151, 181, 232, 235
Delta clan 124 Harriman, Avarell 200
democracy 16, 19, 22, 25, 189, 216, 221 hero 37, 46–47, 62, 114, 178, 182, 184,
detachment-left-in-contact 112 186, 204, 212, 217, 220, 230, 235
devastation 2, 143, 164, 184, 187 Highway 13 77
Diệm see Ngo Dinh Diệm Hiroshima 157
Điện Biên Phủ 112, 116, 189, 196–199 Hồ Chí Minh 23, 25, 90
Diệu Huỳnh 134 Hồ Chí Minh Trail 3–4, 12, 26, 56, 201,
dispersion attack 60 209
diversionary attack 62, 64 Hồ Ngọc Cẩn 159, 173–175, 219, 234
DMZ 9, 29, 87, 204–205 Hồ Trung Hậu 148
Đổ Cao Luận 179 Hồ Văn Lời 39, 159
Đỗ Cao Trí 29, 33, 36, 49, 58, 179 Hoà Hảo 20
Dominique 197–199 Hoàng Diệu 20, 229, 231
Đồng Văn Khuyến 18 Hoàng Ngọc Lung 159, 210
Đồng Xoài 49 Hoàng Thông 51
 Index 255

Hoàng Xuân Lãm 211 Lê Quang Tín 104

Hóc Môn 211 Lê Quý Dậu 104
Hổi chánh 54, 126 Lê Thọ Trung 40, 42–44, 81
Hollings, Fritz 15 Lê Văn Chánh 79, 161
Hollingsworth, James 4, 93, 123, 127, Lê Văn Hưng 4, 6, 33, 35–37, 109, 116,
139, 144, 157, 184, 215 122, 144, 153, 159, 189, 210, 214, 217,
Hồ’s bộ đội 115 233
Huế 9, 10, 36, 202, 205 Lê Văn Mạnh 149
Huguette 197–198 Lê Văn Ngọc 108, 111, 113, 142
Hùng Tâm 52, 58, 64, 73, 83, 141, 169 legionnaire 197
Huỳnh Tấn Phát 57, 90 Leningrad 90, 205
Huỳnh Văn Tâm 44, 88, 114, 163, 190 limited war 16, 29, 34, 222
literary reform 22
Indianized 10 Lộc Ninh 4–5, 50–51, 53–54, 57, 62, 64–
individualism 119 73, 75–76, 97, 121, 123, 156, 192
Indochina 9, 35, 90, 184, 196 Lộc Tấn 50, 54, 59–60, 66, 68–69
indoctrination 28, 221 Lodge, Cabot 29
infighting 11, 22 loneliness 21, 159, 171
inhumanity 22, 136, 216, 223 loud mouthing 27
International Red Cross 184 Lounds, Davis 200
introvert 117, 119 Lưu Yểm 50
invasion 12, 25–26, 61, 205, 229 Lý Đức Quân 44, 79, 82, 120, 161, 189–
Isabelle 197, 199 190

Johnson, Lyndon B. 13, 15, 201 M-72 rocket launcher 72, 96, 115, 155–156
Mạch Văn Trường 41, 44, 88, 163, 184,
Kampong Cham 30–31 189
Kennedy, John F. 11–12 Malaysia 10
Khe Sanh 11, 200–202, 204, 206 mass burial 103, 105
King Savang 11 McNamara, Francis 218
King Sihanouk 11 McNamara, Robert 12–13
Kissinger, Henry 57, 62, 83, 85, 171, 208, meddling 128
221 Mekong Delta 10, 19, 29, 31, 50, 55, 146,
Kontum 9, 46, 61, 76, 87, 151, 233 152, 159, 208
Korea 12, 124 MENU 30
Miller, William 65–67, 72, 77, 82, 107,
Lai Khê 41, 44, 49, 52, 60, 78, 88, 109, 118, 120–125
141, 147, 152, 173 misery 4, 143, 186
Laird, Melvin 30, 76 Montagnard 64, 113, 134
Lâm Quang Thi 74 murder 3, 22, 26, 76, 202
Lâm Quang Thơ 33
land reform 20 Nagasaki 157
Lang Vei 72, 97, 156, 201 nam tiến 10
Lansdale 17 National Military Academy 36
Laos 10–15, 18, 26, 29, 72, 196, 201 nationalism 21–22, 224, 236
LAW 72, 96, 154 Navarre, Henri 196–197, 200, 203
Lê Đạt Công 32–33, 41 neutralization 11–12
Lê Duẩn 26, 57, 86 Ngô Dinh Diệm 11, 20–22, 24–26, 39
Lê Đức Thọ 26, 57, 85–86, 208 Ngô Quang Trưởng 210–212
Lê Hồng 149 Ngô Tùng Châu 226–227, 235
Lê Minh Đảo 33, 36, 191, 214, 236 Ngô Xuân Vĩnh 179
Lê Nguyên Vỹ 36, 45–46, 58, 71, 78, 88, Nguyễn Ánh 21, 226
155, 162, 190, 194, 208, 218 Nguyễn Bá Long 46
Lê Quang Lưỡng 108, 111, 120, 142, 145, Nguyễn Bá Thịnh 74
148, 153, 159, 167, 181, 189, 210 Nguyễn Cao Kỳ 90
256 INDEX

Nguyễn Chí Hiếu 109, 111, 142, 164, 168 Pantheon 204

Nguyễn Chí Thanh 90 Paracel Islands 220
Nguyễn Công Vĩnh 44, 50, 64, 70, 72 paratrooper 6, 104, 111–113, 115, 140–
Nguyễn Đình Chiểu 230 141, 165–166, 182, 197
Nguyễn Đức Dương 44, 50, 65–66, 77 Paris Accords 25, 27, 74, 208–210, 216,
Nguyễn Đức Trạch 79 223, 230, 252
Nguyễn Hoàng 21 Pathet Lao 11–12
Nguyễn Huệ campaign 60, 83, 91 patronization 130
Nguyễn Hưng Chiêu 37–38 people’s court 76
Nguyễn Hữu Huấn 226, 231 Phạm Hùng 86, 90
Nguyễn Hữu Nhân 137 Phạm Kim Hoàng 42
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ 57, 90 Phạm Quốc Thuần 190, 208
Nguyễn Hữu Thông 219, 234 Phạm Tiến Duật 199
Nguyễn Khoa Nam 36, 210–211, 217, 232 Phạm Trọng Phùng 65
Nguyễn Ngọc Khuê 135 Phạm Văn Phú 219, 234
Nguyễn Quang Nghi 69–70 Phạm Văn Sơn 159, 194, 199
Nguyễn Tấn Trọng 158 Phan Huy Lương 184
Nguyễn Thị Bình 143 Phan Nhật Nam 50
Nguyễn Tri Phương 227–229 Phan Thanh Giản 217, 226, 228–230, 233
Nguyễn Trọng Ni 179 Phan Văn Huấn 113, 131, 162
Nguyễn Tú 222 Phú Đức 6, 103, 186–187
Nguyễn Văn Biết 79, 88, 105, 120, 157, Phú Lô 81, 110, 126, 158, 161, 180, 198
162 Phú Xuân 226–227
Nguyễn Văn Của 50 Phước Long 49–51, 56–57, 91, 150, 183,
Nguyễn Văn Đỉnh 109, 142, 176–178 209–210
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu 33, 49 POL 28
Nguyễn Văn Hòa 52, 73, 77, 83, 88 Polgar, Tom 25
Nguyễn Văn Linh 90 political war 221
Nguyễn Văn Minh 90–91, 93–94, 109, poor man’s war 208
113, 147–148, 150, 153, 157, 170, 176, possession 187, 206
180, 182, 184, 189, 208, 210, 212 Prey Nokor 10
Nguyễn Văn Quý 102 Prochnau, William 25
Nguyễn Văn Tha 220, 236 protracted war 222
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu 36, 86, 93, 181, 189,
210, 230 Quản Lợi airstrip 52, 60, 81, 91, 94, 137,
Nguyễn Văn Thịnh 51 141, 143
Nguyễn Văn Tiến 186 Quản Long airfield 79
Nguyễn Viết Cần 174–175, 178–179 Quảng Nam 27, 229, 232
Nguyễn Viết Thanh 179 Quảng Trị 209–212
Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi 146–148, 174, 191, Qui Nhơn 226
210, 214 Rambo 130
Nhả Ca 222 ranger 18, 49–51, 54, 59–61, 65, 68, 79,
Niagara Operation 200 87–88, 94, 105–107, 165, 180
Nixon, Richard 12, 30, 62, 80, 83, 85–86, reality 90
171, 184 redemption 219, 225
Nùng 44 Regional Force 36, 51, 60
regroupee 26
Olympic wounded 102 Resolution 15 26
onslaught 116, 154 ruin 3, 114, 159, 186–187
open arms 97, 106–107, 161, 164 Rusk, Dean 12
orphan 39, 187
overbearing 122, 128 Saigon 28, 34, 41, 62, 75, 83, 89, 92, 171,
181, 206
pacification 14, 228 SALT 85
pallet 107, 132, 138–140, 144 Savior’s Statue 190
 Index 257

SDS 24 Trần Văn Bé 71

self-immolation 225–235 Trần Văn Bình 41, 58, 62–63
Seppuku 220, 225 Trần Văn Hai 219, 232
Sharplen, Bob 25 Trần Văn Hương 214
Sheehan, Neil 25 Trần Văn Nhựt 50, 52, 79, 87, 121, 155,
shelling 2, 58, 68, 70, 75, 101–104, 116, 162, 182
135, 140, 143, 160, 166, 186, 228 Trần Văn Trà 90–93, 109, 146, 151–153,
shuffle 181 170, 182–183
Sihanoukville 27, 29–30 Trị Thiên 87
Snepp, Frank 214 Trinh Đình Đăng 45, 65, 88, 100, 190, 194
Soviet Union 11–12, 14–16, 18, 24, 28, Truman, Harry S 35
51, 85–86, 97, 209 Trương Công Định 226, 228
Spectre gunship 99, 106, 153–154 Trương Hữu Đức 148
Srok Ton Cui 109–111, 113, 141–142, Trương Khánh 106
167, 177, 179 Trường Sơn 26, 49, 56, 209
Stieng 57, 82 Trương Vĩnh Phước 148
Sullivan, Ambassador 13, 209 Tự Đức 228–232, 235
Suối Máu 71 tuấn tiết 219–220, 235; see also self-
survival 15, 25, 87, 137–138, 150, 152, immolation
171, 203 Two Vietnams 224
Sway Rieng 31–32, 57
Ulmer, Walter 98, 122, 132–133, 146,
T-54 1, 3, 59, 61, 71–72, 85, 95–97, 100, 154, 160
110–111, 136, 143, 156, 164, 169–170, underground 13, 58–59, 70–73, 81, 103,
190, 218 121
tactical operations center 42, 45, 58, 65,
73, 78, 114, 125, 162 Văn Bá Ninh 109, 111, 142, 145, 163, 167
tactics 23, 48, 127, 134, 170, 197, 200 Văn Tiến Dũng 61
Tallman, Richard J. 191 Vanuxem, Paul 184
tank destroying team 155 Verdun 184
Tàu-Ô Stream 5, 89, 91, 93, 148, 153, Việt Cộng (VC) 11, 13, 70, 118, 232
172, 181, 191 Việt Minh 197–198, 200, 219, 234
Tây Ninh 14, 30–31, 33–34, 48–49, 51– Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng 20
52, 56–58, 64, 87, 91, 151 Vietnamization 2, 13–14, 62, 83, 85, 221
Tây Sơn 226–227, 235 vindicate 14, 183
Tchepone 33, 200 Võ Bầm 26
Thailand 10–12, 98 Võ Duy Ninh 226–228
Thiệu 25, 36, 86, 89–90, 93–94, 124, 140, Võ Nguyên Giáp 61, 184, 199
181, 189–191, 208, 210, 214; see also Võ Tánh 226–227, 235
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Võ Trung Thứ 44
Thompson, Thomas 156, 184
Thủ Đức 34–38, 40, 65, 107, 179, 217, Washington 10, 15, 29, 34, 62–63, 83, 85,
232–233 132, 164, 171, 181, 210
Thuận Thanh 204 Weed, Gordo 163
time on target 199 Wells, Tom 25
Tống Viết Lạc 106 Westerner 25, 215–216, 220, 228, 236
TRAC 191, 208, 215 Westmoreland, William 12–15, 26, 29,
Trâm hầu 231 200, 204–205
Trần Chánh Thành 219, 235 Willbanks, James 121–122, 124, 127–128,
Trần Công Mẫn 201 168, 171
Trần Dạ Từ 222 Windy Hill 52, 60, 80, 100, 108–110,
Trần Đăng Khoa 44, 72, 75 141–143, 149, 167, 177
Trần Quang Diệu 226
Trần Quang Khôi 48, 92 Xa Cam gate 164, 167–170, 182
Trần Quốc Lịch 190, 194, 208 Xuân Lộc 49, 218, 222, 236