401. I was 7/5 Recon Company Leader, 7th Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. I had the privilege and honor serving under General Hieu while he was 5th Infantry Division Commander. Although a recon company of a regiment, it was only a few times that my unit got the chance to station in Lai Khe base camp (in order for the troops to rest while the other Recon Company, 5th, 8th and 9th took turn to conduct operation). I cherish a memory about General when our unit was operating in Bui Gia Map area (Phuong Long) and he came all the way down to the battlefield to visit the unit and to operate together with us. Around that time, the 7th Regiment Commander was LTC Pham Van Niem and Deputy Commander was LTC Ly Duc Quan. General Hieu talked to me lengthily and inquired about my welfare, "Do you need any assistance from the division?" I, with my spontaneity of a youngster, responded, "I only ask you to grant me a few weeks of R&R in Saigon and I would be satisfied." For me personally, as well as many soldiers in 5th Infantry Division, General Hieu was the most genuine hero symbol of an ARVN combatant. I did buy your book and kept it with reverence in my private library. (Nguyen Tuong Tuan)
402. I would congratulate you on the posts you have made available on the web since late last year. I will try to find the time to read them all, but the last two especially stand out, the CIA assessment briefs taken on the testimony of Dong and Hieu. The character differences between the two top officers and the contrasting portraits drawn are revealing. Let me say that if these two CIA reports are authentic, they especially corroborate your brother's superior view of complete army command, and Dong's nervous, uncertain legacy. (James Miguez)
403. Here is photo I believe to be BG Cao Hao Hon, Commander, 24th Special Tactical Zone, with headquarters in Kontum. Photo was taken in the Plei Me Special Forces camp after the October 1965 battle. The US Colonel with him is Archie D. Hyle, Senior Advisor to 24th STZ. Photo believed to be taken by Joseph D. Galloway and not available for reprint. The other photo was taken at Duc Co Special Forces Camp following the relief of the camp in August 1965. My source for both photos was Col. Edward B. Smith, Jr., now deceased, who was my boss in Pleiku. Hope these are helpful. (Sol Binzer)
404. The country appreciates him! I thank you - not knowing what to add more, "words" become unnecessary! I was very touched watching the video clip, Hero-Gallantry-Finesse!...very so a flavor of Hanoi (Thang Long)... Free Viet Nam Forever! (Unknown)
405. I visited the webpage mentioning the 5th Infantry Division and the evaluation of officers serving under General Hieu done by the American Advisors. If you still keep this document, would you be so kind as providing me a copy pertaining to Colonel Vu Dang Chong. (Vu Quoc Tuan)
406. Has anyone ever confronted you for telling bold face lies on your website? I cannot believe you are so proud of this.
"Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Minh suddenly asked: "Truong, did you already have a Third Class National Honor Medal?" Colonel [Mach Van] Truong answered: "Not yet, Sir." Lieutenant General Minh hastily picked up a Third Class National Honor Medal and passed it on to President Thieu to be pinned on to Colonel Truong."
Do you seriously think that Honor Medals are handed out like candy? Maybe you should be a little more discriminative when publishing other people's work. Especially when they have extremely biased opinions.
"If one were allowed to visit General Minh's weekend hideout, one would have noticed piles of bags containing gold leaves wrapped in Kim Thanh papers."
This is the one quote which proves to me that you have published flagrant lies. I can't believe you think this shit is true.
"On the contrary, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Minh, who replaced General Do Cao Tri who died on a helicopter accident in Tay Ninh, treated an elder honest General who was well liked by the population, Major General Nguyen Van Hieu, former 5th Infantry Division Commander, with disrespect and contempt, just because the 8th Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Bui Trach Dan in 1971 suffered heavy losses in the Snoul withdrawal back to Loc Ninh and Major General Hieu was immediately replaced by Colonel Le Van Hung. (The officer who was more qualified to command the 5th Infantry Division was Colonel Le Nguyen Vy, an honest officer, with many years of experience with the 5th Infantry Division in the 3rd Military Region)."
Also, your brother was treated badly and was replaced because he was asked to come with all his troops and assist Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Minh's men, men who were supposed to be relieved by a squadron of helicopters which were promised to General Tri which never came, during SNOUL. He however took three times, I repeat THREE TIMES as long as it should take to get there, don't ask me why, I wasn't there. He left the men to die. The men that he would have been left in charge of had General Tri promoted him, however he did not. I know that he was General Tri's protege and that he expected to gain that position and that he was very upset about it. I also know, however, that a man of valor does not tell lies about other people to make themselves look better.
The men who were actually there would never stoop to this level and bother to correct you, apparently, they hadn't for years, but I am not and I will not let you continue to believe your lies.
I am a relative of Minh Van Nguyen. He is my grandfather and he is dead now, which is why I am writing you. I will not let you slander against him. He was always above even responding to you and would probably be upset that I am corresponding with you now, but I feel I am justified in doing so. I always asked him why he never wrote a book about the war and he always told me he would never write a book because he would want to tell the truth and in doing so, he would have to say bad things about people, which he never wanted to do. That's more than what can be said of you. And I am quite aware of the FACT that General Tri died prior to Snoul. I don't get fantasies and reality confused. These helicopters were promised to him prior to his death and were to come to my grandfather during this battle, but they never came. I personally have sat down with men who were there to ask them about what you have written, specifically to discuss these fallacies I have pointed out in your "factual" accounts because they upset me. I know that you were not there and they were. My whole family has lived in this villa you speak of and have never seen, heard, or even suspected a bag full of gold leaf. Maybe you should try and obtain a copy of the newly published Chien Thang An Loc 1972. I have one and I know these people didn't make stories up to make themselves look better. I am not trying to make you feel badly about any of this, I just want the truth to be known and for you to stop bad mouthing people you don't even know. (Tram Nguyen, defender of justice)
407. Prior to 1975, I was still a small boy and my Dad, Colonel Vu Dang Chong, was seldom at home. Afterwards he was imprisoned in the reeducation camps then passed away. Therefore I know very little about my Dad's military career. However, I heard from my father-in-law - a colonel from the Signal Unit - praising General Hieu been very honest. I admire generals like General Hieu, who were not corrupted by powers and material goods despite the country's situation at that time. (Vu Quoc Tuan)
408. I am a son of Mr. Tran Thanh Phong. I had read the article, "The Military Tandem Tri Hieu", in which you made mention of my father, and I wish to talk to you. Firstly, I would like to present my condolences to you and General Hieu's family and relatives. Secondly, I also like to have the permission to address you as uncle. And finally, I like to contribute to www.generalhieu.com a photo of my father in military attire along with his curriculum vitae, that is you grant me the permission.
My opinion about you: in pursuing to solve the mystery of General Hieu's death, you ought to have spent tremendous energy and pain. I admire you for that, undoubtedly your parents ought to be very satisfied about your work. If you have designed this web site on your own, then you are really superb. It has boosted up the morale of the Vietnamese refugees living far away their motherland. (Tony Tran)
409. Regarding the attached photo, two weeks ago Ministry of Interior people would not let me go to Duc Co, an area I came to know during 1966-67. Instead, I went to the next turnoff (Provincial Route 6C, I guess) and inspected Plei Me. I have been rereading the Plei Me data -- always so excellent -- on your website: www.generalhieu.com/pleime-2.htm. (Jim Michener)
410. I was reading through some comments forward by a Major Doleman and I would like to add a clarification. His comments regarding the lack of combat experience of the 5th Division Senior Advisors is wrong as it concerns LTC Roy Couch and also my father. My father, then LTC Robert Lott, was a Rifle Platoon Leader and later a Rifle Company Commander in the 3rd Infantry Division during the Korean War. I would sincerely and certainly appreciate adding the comment to the paragraph below. I would like to ensure the "record is straight" on my father's behalf.
Thank you for a wonderful website. You honor your brother's memory well. (Robert Lott)
411. I would like to contribute a correction pertaining to Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Vy: he graduated in 1940 from Tong Military Academy, "Ecole Militaire Interarmes d'Extreme Orient - Annexe St Cyr/St Maixent de TONG, Tonkin", which is: The Indochinse Inter-armies School - St Cyr Military Academy Branch/St Maixent in Indochina. (Nguyen Van Thang, Paris)
412. I'm a Vietnamese living in the US. It is my opinion that Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist) can hardly be blamed for the death of General Hieu, because they consider themselves as having beaten the French and American armies, and would not have to resort to assassinate General Hieu. General Hieu's killer should have been someone with resentment toward him in the South Vietnam government or military milieu; whoever had killed General Hieu should now have the courage to confess his crime. Thanks for considering my idea. (L Tran in Pennsylvania)
413. Great site you have on General Hieu, with tons of articles on the RVNAF! I have a question maybe you can help me with, I'm trying to find which ARVN General was the Chief of the Joint General Staff before General Cao Van Vien, especially during the period March to October 1965. (Stéphane, France)
414. I just found your webpage; I really like its content, and truly respect and admire your brother general Hieu. My father is Tran van Than. He was colonel, Dai Ta Truong Phong Tong Quan Tri, bo Tong Tham Muu until Saigon fell, and had been missing since 4/29/75 at BTTM, Saigon. Will you update my father’s name to your list ? I believe you have lots of contact, and can verify the rank and name of my father. Thank you very much. (Tran Anh Tai)
415. I was extremely happy to hear that the remains of Gen. Hieu have been brought to the U. S. It sure is nice to hear that he is now with his family and in the same crypt as his beloved father! I thought of that possibility some time ago and I am just glad to know that he is now in the U. S. Thanks be to God. I have been meaning to write that article on the predictions Gen. Hieu made concerning the on-going Communist offensive of 1974-75, but for some reason have been delayed. Will get to it soon. Congratulations on the 1 million viewers! I know the general would be happy all-around. (James Miguez)
416. I have read your article "General Schwarzkopf's Naïveté in Ia Drang Battle". In my humble opinion, I am very proud of your article because it shows General Hieu's competency, as well as ARVN's value - in particular recon units'. Your article is magnificent in depicting this historical battle. I also congratulate you regarding the matter of General Hieu finding his peaceful rest in this free country. (Tran Van Thuong)
417. My name is Nguyen Vinh Duc. I have just visited the website of General Nguyen Van Hieu and I decided to contact you for your help. By chance, I saw the name of General Do Kien Nhieu from the list of ARVN's generals and I also know that he had already passed away in San Jose, California. Perhaps if you can help me since I try to contact any of his relatives in VN or overseas. The reason is General DKN has a niece and her name is Do Thi Bich. She was my 5th grade teacher at Hung Vuong elementary school in Saigon before 1975. Her father is an older (or younger) brother of General DKN. Please help me to find my teacher. Your assistant will be greatly appreciated. My contact phone number is (713)382-8747 or my email is mdvn65@yahoo.com. (Nguyen Vinh Duc)
418. In all honesty I have to admit I did not know one bit about General Hieu. But after having read articles about the General and talked to a relative who is an ARVN vet, I greatly admire the spirit of those heroes such as Nguyen Van Hieu, Nguyen Khoa Nam, Le Van Hung, Pham Van Phu, Tran Van Hai, Le Nguyen Vy, Ho Ngoc Can and all those who had sacrificed their lives to defend freedom, prosperity, happiness of the people living in South Vietnam. It is unfortunate that these heroes had to live and work side by side with a group of irresponsible and immoral individuals in the Saigon governmental apparatus before 1975 (there is numerous information saying General Toan lived in debauchery and carried a bad reputation while in power). However, it is all bygones. I hope that as Vietnamese we have learned the lesson to allow the young generation to continue the work of the precedent generation in rebuilding the Vietnam house with plenty of Freedom, Prosperity, Happiness, Justice, Charity. Let's pray to those who had lied down their lives that they protect our Vietnamese people. (Nguyen Vinh Duc)
419. My name is Ho Xuan Thuan, currently residing in Houston, Texas. I came to the USA at the same as you and your family which was after the event of 4/30/75. I am very touched and admire General Hieu's patriotism and honesty which transpire through the documents you had collected; these documents gave me the opportunity to read and revere Nguyen Van Hieu, a hero of the Vietnamese who is a role model for every generation, for ancient and modern time. I wrote this letter to thank you for your efforts and to members of General Hieu's family for allowing you to post General Hieu's personal letters that he sent to his beloved wife. His words were genuinely sincere and his love for his wife and children stroke a cord in me. His words demonstrate the great sense of duty of a dedicated man reserves for his country. His honest life humbles me. These letters have taught me immensely. It's priceless. Please convey my appreciation to each member of General Hieu's family and may God comfort everybody; General Hieu's death has provided necessary lessons which allow the next generation to conduct a life worthy of a Jesus Christ's disciple. May God bless you and the entire family. (Ho Xuan Thuan)
420. When I was still attending St John's seminary in Danang either in 1970 or 1971 as a novice of a religious order, one day Major General Nguyen Van Hieu was invited to have lunch at the seminary. He was introduced as a friend of our rector, father Nguyen Binh Tinh (presently retired bishop of the diocese of Danang). For that reason, when I went in a Vietnamese website a couple of years ago, I got the chance to read some of your articles posted in the internet, and came to know one more revered General of Viet Nam. (Hoang Ngoc An)
421. It was a real pleasure to talk with you at the March VN symposium and to learn more about your brother MG Hieu.
I find your website to be very informative; scholars of the VN War will also find it valuable.
Concerning your pictures of VN generals, I found that I had a chart of generals' photos from the Diem period. I don't know if any of these will be of use to you, but I am forwarding them as .jpg attachments to the subsequent two messages.
At the March 2007 conference, I gave the keynote presentation on VN culture. You asked the last question of the session, but time expired and I did not answer your question. You pointed out that I omitted how the Communists had distorted VN history and culture to support their ideology. You are absolutely right. But I lack the language skill and detailed knowledge needed to show how the Communists did this. That is where people like you, Dr. Bich, Nghia Vo, and others can fill in. (James Burton)
422. I just finished reading the book General Hieu, A Hidden Military Gem. I admire you tremendously. You wrote very well; the book is well documented; and the fraternal love expressed in it tells me you are a good person at par with uncle Hieu.
I was well aware of uncle Hieu's perfect personality since I have had several opportunities to meet and converse with him during the years of 1968-1974 and through the praises of other persons.
I usually pay very little attention to military issues and this is the first book I read dutifully from A to Z. The way you depicted the battles with abundant and stark details, in my humble opinion, can only be accomplished with uncle Hieu's guiding hand. I fully believe in the psychic pen phenomenon, because a person who lacks military experience, no matter with whatever amount of researches, can only write in generalities, rather superficially about a battle. It would be difficult for that person to describe the tactics with minute details, the way a military person who was present in, who actually commanded and actively took part in the battles that are narrated in the book. (Loan Hong Vu)
423. General Hieu's website is very interesting. It would be difficult to find all the information pertaining to a competent general of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Viet Nam without the convenience of www.generalhieu.com. Thank you very much for your efforts in gathering the information and for creating General Hieu's website! (Tri)
424. I would like to ask you to do me a favor; that is to post the Vietnamese version of Mrs. Pham Thi Kim Hoang's article about General Le Van Hung. Your website of General Hieu is very beneficial to the next generations who are still concerned and wish to know about our history in general and our nation's heroes such as General Hieu in particular. I sincerely appreciate your accomplishment. (Le Van Hung)
425. I just finished reading General Nguyen Van Hieu's website. I sincerely commend your family for establishing an excellent and elaborate website. In reading and viewing the pictures of the beloved ARVN, I was touched and was furthermore moved in seeing the filial piety General Hieu's children toward their father.
Sir, I have the following suggestion: in the contents pertaining to General Hieu's military career, there is a mention of him being a "su doan truong su doan 1 bo binh", I suggest that you make a correction to conform to the name usage of the ARVN, which is "quyen tu lenh su doan 1 bo binh"; at that time, nobody used the term "su doan truong"; only the VC used the term "su truong" to designate their division commanders. Thank you for this update.
During the time General Hieu was I Corps' Deputy Commander in the year of 1972, I lived in Da Nang. The Army gave me a residence in Phan Ke Binh camp, which was located right next to I Corps Headquarters, about only a few meters away. I was allowed to live with my dad in Da Nang. My dad was 1st Assault Task Force Commander (Loi Ho ?), Bureau of Liaison, garrisoned at the foothill of Non Nuoc's mountain. I was very touched in reading this website, because I was surprised of the amount of similarities between Genera Hieu and my dad, in particular the sudden death of both of them. More than 35 years had passed by … In 2005, we went back to VN and brought back our dad's ashes to France. (Madame Lefébre Thuy, maiden name Nguyen Thi Huong Thuy).
426. First and foremost, congratulations on an excellent and most informative web page. The South Vietnamese story has been shamefully neglected in the war's historiography, and if nothing else, your site provides a bit of redress to that imbalance. I am emailing today in regards to the Plei Me Campaign of 1965. Presently, I am engrossed in writing a manuscript detailing the Viet Cong's big unit military campaign against the United States from August of 1965 to August of 1966. Given the H-15 Main Force Battalion's participation in the early morning attack of Nov. 15th, I was naturally drawn to your site's extraordinary emphasis on extracting the truth from that period of time (October-November, 1965) in the Central Highlands. In particular, I would like to ask you about the shifting rationale for the NVA offensive. Like you, I have never believed the claim that the intent of the Plei Me siege, ambush of an ARVN relief force et al, was merely a ruse to draw American troops into a trap in the Ia Drang Valley. If so, why were the 66th Regiment's subordinate battalion commanders caught with their respective pants down when elements of the 1st Cavalry Division touched down beneath the Chu Pong massif? It doesn't make sense. There are number of other issues I would like to discuss with you as well.
About me: I am a junior member in the Center for Threat Awareness and a contributing writer to their website, www.threatswatch.org. Additionally, I have had works published in a number of other publications, including Cold War Times. Incidentally, Merle Pribbenow, whose article in Military review about the Ia Drang Valley fighting you re-publish on your site, has been assisting me in my work. (Warren Wilkins)
427. I have just read some of your information on my grandfather, Tran Quang Khoi. He now resides in South Riding, and has not been in Springfield for years. Just a minor detail in case you want to update your info on your website... Thank you for your time. (Tran Quang Phu)
428. I am looking for the address of General Nguyen Khanh, a cousin of my father who had passed away, in order to contact him; I had met him during his exile in Paris in 1972; thank you for your response, and applause for your site. (Yves Dang)
429. I am working on a story that concerns Gen. Dang van Quang. He lives in Sacramento now. I read the profile on Dang on your website, and I wondered how much more you might be able to tell me. (R.V. Scheide, Senior Staff Writer, Sacramento News & Review)
430. As an antique dealer and expert in military wards and medals, I take the liberty in contacting you regarding various awards belonging to general Tran Van Minh that you mention in your remarkable site. I want to be sure that I have described accurately the items in question et would like to have your opinion on this subject.
Here is the page where these items are posted: http://jpalthey.free.fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=663&Itemid=44
Thanking you in advance and standing by at your disposition in case you need more information. (Nicolas Botta-Kouznetzoff)
431. I stumbled into the list of ARVN generals in generalhieu; I would like to contribute a comment: Rear Admiral Tran Van Chon's C.V. indicated he was born in 1929. Although I do not know which year he was born, but I know he was the fourth child in the family. His eldest sister was born in 1916 and his ninth brother in 1924 (?) or 1925 (?); which, in my humble opinion, places Rear Admiral Chon's birth date in 1918 or 1929 but not 1929.(Ngo thuy Hoang Mai) 1
432. I'm trying to get in touch with the Vietnamese generals Le Minh Dao and Tran Quang Khoi. I know they are living somewhere in the United States, but sadly I was not able to track them down with the help of the US telephone book. Is it perhaps possible that you have their addresses, and could help me out? I am trying to send those two a letter, asking some questions about their time in South Vietnam and for an autograph, as they're both very important for everybody who is interested in Asian history. Thank you so very much for your time and effort, I am really looking forward to hearing from you! Best wishes for the rest of the week, and many greetings from Germany! (André Eickelmann)
433. It was not until recently that I had the chance to read the website that you have painstakingly created for many years. Having the same opinion as the other readers, I would like to express my admiration and sorrow toward General Nguyen Van Hieu, one of competent and virtuous generals of the ARVN of the Second Republic of South Vietnam, before April 30, 1975.
Through the documents presented on the web as well as related details mentioned in the books you had published, the readers in general have the following two understandings regarding the main purpose of the author:
(i) to pay tribute to General Nguyen Van Hieu, who is also your brother, in relating the life and the terrific career of General Hieu, that were imprinted at battlefields spread out in almost all of the 4 military regions.
(ii) to raise questions marks around General Hieu's death. A death shrouded in mystery that occurred right at the critical point of the military and political situation of South Vietnam.
You have spent enormous time and efforts to achieve a wonderful website named generalhieu.com as witnessed by the readers nowadays. I personally admire your determination and persistence. Your work has allowed me to revisit the military events of the last some more than three decades, which lead the readers to assess you to be a military historian of high caliber. Furthermore, the readers also appreciate your democratic mind as shown on your website. You respect the readers' opinions and posted even emails expressing different and opposite views. These opinions, however, only represent one percent when compared with overwhelming appreciative emails of readers coming from all over the world. Among the one percent opinions, I single out the following two:
(i) the comments of Huy Phuong, a military writer, in the book's presentation event, introducing the 'essay' of Nguyen Van Tin writing about General Hieu, organized at San Jose.
(ii) the email of a young reader Tram Nguyen (chien si cong ly), criticizing you for writing "untruthfully", leading to misunderstanding and slandering when General Nguyen Van Minh, former III Corps Commander(also Capitol Special Military Zone Commander and Saigon-Giadinh Governor), was mentioned by the author. General Nguyen Van Minh was assigned III Corps Commander, in replacement of General Do Cao Tri, died in a helicopter accident at Tay Ninh East airport, at Trang Lon, Tay Ninh, in the morning of February 23, 1971.
I cannot remain silent after reading the email, in the "readers' comments", of Tram Nguyen, General Minh's grand daughter, a third generation in the Vietnamese refugee's community after April 1975. Furthermore, I was an Aide to General Nguyen Van Minh for five years until the Communists took over South Vietnam.
As General Minh's aide, I had close and frequent contacts with both Division and Corps Commanders, in all meetings, official with the presence of the General Staff, as well as regular conversations between the two commanders. In those encounters, I befriended Lt. Lien (General Hieu's attache). Consequently, when everybody was shocked by the news of General Hieu's accidental death in his office, I wondered immediately:
(1) Why did General Hieu remain at III Corps to be the assistant of someone he had personnally investigated for and accused of corruption, not long before?
(2) Why General Hieu's family members did not contact his attache to get more information? (I deemed Lt Lien was still his attache, and I had also tried hard to hear directly from him what really happened; unfortunately, I did not succeed in that attempt).
Sir, I would not guarantee the following, but I promise I will make contribution to your website with detail pertaining to General Nguyen Van Hieu. Obviously, I cannot avoid making mention about my Master, my Superior, who was General Nguyen Van Minh. As for these two generals, I found in them similar traits that I should emulate, if I wanted to advance in my military career. I will gradually sent to you the following detail:
- III Corps and MR3 after General Do Cao Tri's death.
- Cross-border Operation, the retreat from Snoul.
- Additional thoughts regarding General Nguyen Van Hieu's death.
- .......
(Please post the following message: I need to contact urgently Nguyen Minh Tuan and family - please email to Nguyen Ngoc Tung, tomnguyen@primus.ca; thank you) (Nguyen Ngoc Tung)
434. I hope the package of three lists of ARVN Graduates of US C&GSC was a suitable Christmas present for your site!! I knew that I had these lists, but could not find them on my bookshelves. I thought that they were lost during one of our moves. My wife and I were cleaning out the basement of storage boxes and there they were. I am happy to share these with the readers of your site. (Adam Sadowski)
435. I had the honor and privilege of serving as Senior Advisor to the 3d Bn, 9th Regiment for approximately four months in 1964. It was probably the most rewarding assignment of my Army career. Is there any sort of group or association for veterans and advisors of the 5th Division? If so, I would very much like to become a member. (Robert B. Church - LtCol (Retired), US Army)
Section 1: 001 - 050
Section 2: 051 - 100
Section 3: 101 - 150
Section 4: 151 - 200
Section 5: 201 - 250
Section 6: 251 - 300
Section 7: 301 - 350
Section 8: 351 - 400