Do Cao Tri
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Đỗ Cao Trí (20 November 1929 – 23 February 1971) was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) known for his fighting prowess and flamboyant style. Tri started out in the French Army
before transferring to the Vietnamese National Army
and the ARVN. Under President Ngo Dinh Diem
, Tri was the commander of I Corps
where he was noted for harsh crackdowns on mass Buddhist demonstrations
against Diem's pro-Catholic discrimination. Despite this, Tri participated in the November 1963 coup
that ousted and killed Diem
. Later, during an era of military rule, Tri was exiled by Nguyen Cao Ky
, the most powerful member of the junta, but when Ky was eclipsed by Nguyen Van Thieu
, Tri was called back to command III Corps
, displacing a Thieu loyalist. During this period, Tri was the subject of corruption allegations due to his flamboyant manner. Tri led III Corps during the Cambodian Campaign of 1970, earning the laudatory sobriquet as "the Patton
of the Parrot's Beak". In 1971, Tri was ordered north to take command of I Corps in Operation Lam Son 719
, an incursion into Laos
, which had gone astray due to the incompetent leadership of Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam
. However, he was killed in a helicopter accident before being able to take control.
Province, French Indochina
, just northeast of Saigon. His father was a wealthy landowner and his grandfather served as Nguyen Dynasty mandarin
during the French colonial era.
Tri earned his Baccalaureate Part II from Petrus Ky High School
in Saigon. After entering the French colonial forces in 1947, he graduated from Do Huu Vi Officer Class and the following year was sent to Auvour, France
to attend the infantry school. In 1953, while an officer in the Vietnamese National Army
, he graduated from General Staff and Command Class in Hanoi
.
Tri's first command was as a young airborne officer, and until his death he survived three attempts on his life, leading him to his conviction that he enjoyed "immunity from death on the battlefield".
As a young lieutenant colonel, he was made the commander of the Airborne Brigade
in 1954 and was based in Saigon. Towards the end of the May 1955 Battle for Saigon, in which Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
asserted his rule over the State of Vietnam
by vanquishing the Binh Xuyen
organised crime syndicate, some of Diem's supporters tried to move against some generals of questionable loyalty. When he heard that three top generals were being detained in the palace by one of the factions backing Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
, Tri telephoned and threatened them: "Free the generals in one half-hour or I will destroy the palace and everything inside it." One of the rescued generals was Nguyen Van Vy
.
In 1958 he attended the United States Command and General Staff College
at Fort Leavenworth
, Kansas
. During the same year he graduated from Air-Ground Operations School at Fort Kisler, in Washington.
In Huế, demonstrations were banned and Tri's forces were ordered to arrest those who engaged in civil disobedience. At 1 pm on June 3, some 1,500 protestors attempted to march towards Tu Dam Pagoda
in Huế for a rally, having gathered at Ben Ngu bridge near the Perfume River
. A confrontation ensued when the protestors attempted to cross the bridge. Six waves of ARVN tear gas and attack dogs failed to disperse the crowd. At 6:30 pm, the military personnel at the scene dispersed the crowd by emptying vials of brownish-red liquid on the heads of praying protestors, resulting in 67 Buddhists being hospitalised for chemical injuries. The symptoms consisted of severe blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments. The crowd responded angrily to what they suspected was the use of poison gas, and the incident became a public relations disaster.
By midnight, tensions were high as a curfew and martial law were enacted. Rumours circulated that three people had died, and Newsweek
reported that police had lobbed blister gas into the crowd. The incident raised concerns by the among the Americans that poison gas was used, and the US thus threatened to publicly condemn and distance itself from Saigon. An investigation cleared the troops of using blister or poison gas.
The main raids in Saigon were accompanied by attacks across the country. Under Tri, the violence was worse in Hue than in the capital. The approach of Tri's forces was met by the beating of Buddhist drums and cymbals to alert the populace. The townsfolk left their homes in the middle of the night in an attempt to defend the city's pagodas. At Tu Dam Pagoda
, which was the base of leading Buddhist activist leader Thich Tri Quang
, monks attempted to burn the coffin of a colleague who had self-immolated. ARVN soldiers, firing M1 rifles, overran the pagoda and confiscated the coffin. They demolished a statue of Gautama Buddha
and looted and vandalized the pagoda, before detonating explosives and leveling much of the pagoda. Many Buddhists were shot or clubbed to death.
The most determined resistance occurred outside the Dieu De Pagoda
in Hue. As troops attempted to erect a barricade across the bridge leading to the pagoda, the crowd fought the heavily armed military personnel with rocks, sticks and their bare fists, throwing back the tear gas grenades that were aimed at them. After a five-hour battle, the military finally took the bridge at dawn by driving armored cars through the angry crowd. The defense of the bridge and Dieu De had left an estimated 30 dead and 200 wounded. Ten truckloads of bridge defenders were taken to jail and an estimated 500 people were arrested in the city. Seventeen of the 47 professors at Hue University
, who had resigned earlier in the week in protest against the firing of the rector Cao Van Luan, a Catholic priest and opponent of Diem's brother Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc were also arrested.
Despite his vigorous application of Diem's military policies against the Buddhists in central Vietnam, where in the words of Ellen Hammer
, Tri "ruled...with an iron hand", he was still involved in plotting against the regime even before the attacks on the pagodas.
so that he would be away from Ngo Dinh Can
, who ruled central Vietnam from Hue for his family. The coup took place on November 1, and Tri helped to prevent any loyalist actions by causing diversions. He scheduled a meeting with the province chief and other pro-Diem officials during the time that the coup was to take place. As a result the Diem loyalists were stuck in a meeting room and were unable to mobilise the Republican Youth and other Ngo family paramilitary and activist groups.
After the coup, angry crowds surrounded the Ngo family home where Can and his elderly mother lived. It was agreed that they would be given safe exile by the junta. Tri told his former master Can that he would be safe and that he would be taken out to Saigon where it would be safer. Tri would only promise safe passage in an American plane to the capital, where embassy officials would meet Can, who wanted asylum in Japan. However, it was a trick and the Americans handed Can over to the junta, and he was executed in 1964.
Following the arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
in November 1963, there was much pressure on the new regime to remove Diem supporters from power. Prime Minister Nguyen Ngoc Tho
's approach to removing Diem supporters from positions of influence drew criticism. Some felt that he was not vigorous enough in removing pro-Diem elements from authority, whereas others felt that the magnitude of the turnover was excessive and vengeful. One high profile and heavily criticised non-removal was that of Tri, who gained prominence for his anti-Buddhist crackdown in the central region around Hue. Tri was simply transferred to the II Corps
in the central highlands
directly south of the I Corps
region.
became president, with Ky as his deputy. Thieu sent Tri to South Korea as ambassador.
The power struggle between Thieu and Ky played into Tri's hands. At the time of the communists' Tet Offensive, Thieu was out of the capital, celebrating the lunar new year in the Mekong Delta
. Ky, who was still in Saigon, stepped into the spotlight, organising the military forces against the communists, who were repelled. Ky's overshadowing of his superior during South Vietnam's deepest crisis further strained relations between the two men. The Americans pressured Thieu to give Ky more responsibility, but Thieu, known for his extreme fear of threats to his power, did the opposite.
In the wake of the offensive, however, Thieu's regime became more energetic, declaring martial law, widening conscription, and organising token anti-corruption campaigns were carried out. Thieu used the communist threat to increase his
personal power, arresting, exiling or relieving senior officers who supported Ky.
, which surrounded the capital Saigon and was crucial in blocking or orchestrating coups. Tri replaced Lieutenant Le Nguyen Khang
, a prominent Ky supporter. Thieu gave orders directly to his supporters in senior positions, bypassing the high military command. According to Creighton Abrams
, the head of US forces in Vietnam at the time, "Tri has dinner with the President once or twice a week. He gets operational approval, that sort of thing, and [the chief of Joint General Staff Cao Van] Vien's
not in on that". Although Tri and Ky often crossed paths at official functions thereafter, they never shook hands.
Still, Tri's colourful lifestyle and ever-growing wealth continued to raise eyebrows in Saigon. Two senators dubbed him "flagrantly corrupt", and Tri was accused of being involved in a money-smuggling ring at the same time of his successful campaign in Cambodia in 1970. At the time, he lived in a spacious villa equipped with a swimming pool in Bien Hoa
. Tri was known for his flamboyant style. He usually wore a camouflage jungle suit, a black three-starred cap to indicate his rank, a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson .38 handgun, and was always seen with a swagger stick, quipping "I use it to spank the Viet Cong".
Tri was considered by both his contemporaries and by historians as one of the most aggressive and able combat commanders produced by the Republic of Vietnam. As a lieutenant general, he performed brilliantly as commander of the III Corps
during the Cambodian Campaign of 1970, earning an unusual laudatory sobriquet from the U.S. news media as "the Patton of the Parrot's Beak". Tri had been ordered north to take command of beleaguered I Corps
forces after Operation Lam Son 719
, a 1971 incursion into Laos
, had gone astray due to the incompetent leadership of Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam
. However, he was killed in a helicopter accident while still in Cambodia
.
Tri was buried at Bien Hoa Military Cemetery.
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(ARVN) known for his fighting prowess and flamboyant style. Tri started out in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
before transferring to the Vietnamese National Army
Vietnamese National Army
On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnam's military force created shortly after that. It was commanded by...
and the ARVN. Under President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
, Tri was the commander of I Corps
I Corps (South Vietnam)
The I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps which the ARVN oversaw. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering North Vietnam...
where he was noted for harsh crackdowns on mass Buddhist demonstrations
Buddhist crisis
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963 characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist monks....
against Diem's pro-Catholic discrimination. Despite this, Tri participated in the November 1963 coup
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
that ousted and killed Diem
Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, then president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963...
. Later, during an era of military rule, Tri was exiled by Nguyen Cao Ky
Nguyen Cao Ky
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ served as the chief of the Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South Vietnam in a military junta from 1965 to 1967...
, the most powerful member of the junta, but when Ky was eclipsed by Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
, Tri was called back to command III Corps
III Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
, displacing a Thieu loyalist. During this period, Tri was the subject of corruption allegations due to his flamboyant manner. Tri led III Corps during the Cambodian Campaign of 1970, earning the laudatory sobriquet as "the Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
of the Parrot's Beak". In 1971, Tri was ordered north to take command of I Corps in Operation Lam Son 719
Operation Lam Son 719
Operation Lam Son 719 was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos by the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam between 8 February and 25 March 1971, during the Vietnam War...
, an incursion into Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, which had gone astray due to the incompetent leadership of Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoàng Xuân Lãm was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and a native of the city of Huế. Given responsibility for the I Corps Tactical Zone in 1967, Lãm coordinated the South Vietnamese offensive known as Operation Lam Sơn 719 which aimed at striking the North Vietnamese logistical...
. However, he was killed in a helicopter accident before being able to take control.
Early years
Tri was born in Binh Tuoc, Bien HoaBien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
Province, French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, just northeast of Saigon. His father was a wealthy landowner and his grandfather served as Nguyen Dynasty mandarin
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
during the French colonial era.
Tri earned his Baccalaureate Part II from Petrus Ky High School
Le Hong Phong High School
Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted is a high school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established in 1927, the school is one of the oldest high schools still operating in Vietnam. The school is specialized for gifted students who show their exceptional talents in academic fields such as basic...
in Saigon. After entering the French colonial forces in 1947, he graduated from Do Huu Vi Officer Class and the following year was sent to Auvour, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to attend the infantry school. In 1953, while an officer in the Vietnamese National Army
Vietnamese National Army
On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnam's military force created shortly after that. It was commanded by...
, he graduated from General Staff and Command Class in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
.
Tri's first command was as a young airborne officer, and until his death he survived three attempts on his life, leading him to his conviction that he enjoyed "immunity from death on the battlefield".
As a young lieutenant colonel, he was made the commander of the Airborne Brigade
Vietnamese Airborne Division
The Vietnamese Airborne Division was one of the earliest components of the State of Vietnam's military forces . The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organised in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam...
in 1954 and was based in Saigon. Towards the end of the May 1955 Battle for Saigon, in which Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
asserted his rule over the State of Vietnam
State of Vietnam
The State of Vietnam was a state that claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, and replaced the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam . The provisional government was a brief transitional administration between colonial Cochinchina and an independent state...
by vanquishing the Binh Xuyen
Binh Xuyen
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van "Bay" Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh...
organised crime syndicate, some of Diem's supporters tried to move against some generals of questionable loyalty. When he heard that three top generals were being detained in the palace by one of the factions backing Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
, Tri telephoned and threatened them: "Free the generals in one half-hour or I will destroy the palace and everything inside it." One of the rescued generals was Nguyen Van Vy
Nguyen Van Vy
Nguyễn Văn Vy was a Vietnamese soldier who rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ....
.
In 1958 he attended the United States Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...
at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. During the same year he graduated from Air-Ground Operations School at Fort Kisler, in Washington.
Buddhist crisis
During the Buddhist crisis of 1963, Tri gained a deal of attention for his vigorous crackdowns on Buddhist protests against the Diem regime in the central region of Vietnam.In Huế, demonstrations were banned and Tri's forces were ordered to arrest those who engaged in civil disobedience. At 1 pm on June 3, some 1,500 protestors attempted to march towards Tu Dam Pagoda
Tu Dam Pagoda
Tu Dam Temple is a Buddhist temple in the central city of Huế in Vietnam. Tu Dam Temple is located on a street of the same name, in Trường An ward of Huế.-History:...
in Huế for a rally, having gathered at Ben Ngu bridge near the Perfume River
Perfume River
The Perfume River is a river that crosses the city of Huế, in the central Vietnamese province of Thừa Thiên Huế.-Etymology:In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma....
. A confrontation ensued when the protestors attempted to cross the bridge. Six waves of ARVN tear gas and attack dogs failed to disperse the crowd. At 6:30 pm, the military personnel at the scene dispersed the crowd by emptying vials of brownish-red liquid on the heads of praying protestors, resulting in 67 Buddhists being hospitalised for chemical injuries. The symptoms consisted of severe blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments. The crowd responded angrily to what they suspected was the use of poison gas, and the incident became a public relations disaster.
By midnight, tensions were high as a curfew and martial law were enacted. Rumours circulated that three people had died, and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
reported that police had lobbed blister gas into the crowd. The incident raised concerns by the among the Americans that poison gas was used, and the US thus threatened to publicly condemn and distance itself from Saigon. An investigation cleared the troops of using blister or poison gas.
The main raids in Saigon were accompanied by attacks across the country. Under Tri, the violence was worse in Hue than in the capital. The approach of Tri's forces was met by the beating of Buddhist drums and cymbals to alert the populace. The townsfolk left their homes in the middle of the night in an attempt to defend the city's pagodas. At Tu Dam Pagoda
Tu Dam Pagoda
Tu Dam Temple is a Buddhist temple in the central city of Huế in Vietnam. Tu Dam Temple is located on a street of the same name, in Trường An ward of Huế.-History:...
, which was the base of leading Buddhist activist leader Thich Tri Quang
Thich Tri Quang
Thích Trí Quang is a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk best known for his role in leading South Vietnam’s Buddhist population during the Buddhist crisis in 1963....
, monks attempted to burn the coffin of a colleague who had self-immolated. ARVN soldiers, firing M1 rifles, overran the pagoda and confiscated the coffin. They demolished a statue of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
and looted and vandalized the pagoda, before detonating explosives and leveling much of the pagoda. Many Buddhists were shot or clubbed to death.
The most determined resistance occurred outside the Dieu De Pagoda
Dieu De Pagoda
Dieu De Pagoda is a Buddhist temple in the central city of Huế in Vietnam. It is named for the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, which are called Tứ Diệu Đế in Vietnamese. During the period of the Nguyễn Dynasty in the 19th century, Emperor Thiệu Trị declared it to be one of the national pagodas of...
in Hue. As troops attempted to erect a barricade across the bridge leading to the pagoda, the crowd fought the heavily armed military personnel with rocks, sticks and their bare fists, throwing back the tear gas grenades that were aimed at them. After a five-hour battle, the military finally took the bridge at dawn by driving armored cars through the angry crowd. The defense of the bridge and Dieu De had left an estimated 30 dead and 200 wounded. Ten truckloads of bridge defenders were taken to jail and an estimated 500 people were arrested in the city. Seventeen of the 47 professors at Hue University
Hue University
Huế University is a university located in Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam; this university is one of the important regional universities of Vietnam...
, who had resigned earlier in the week in protest against the firing of the rector Cao Van Luan, a Catholic priest and opponent of Diem's brother Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc were also arrested.
Despite his vigorous application of Diem's military policies against the Buddhists in central Vietnam, where in the words of Ellen Hammer
Ellen Hammer
Ellen Joy Hammer was an American historian who specialized in 20th-century Vietnamese history. She is best known for writing the two history texts The Struggle for Indochina and A Death in November...
, Tri "ruled...with an iron hand", he was still involved in plotting against the regime even before the attacks on the pagodas.
Coup against Diem
When Tri was informed that coup was imminent, he left Hue on October 29 for Da NangDa Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
so that he would be away from Ngo Dinh Can
Ngo Dinh Can
Ngô Đình Cẩn was a younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam’s first president, Ngo Dinh Diem, and an important member of the Diem government. Diem put Cẩn in charge of central Vietnam, stretching from Phan Thiết in the south to the border at the 17th parallel, with Cẩn ruling the region as...
, who ruled central Vietnam from Hue for his family. The coup took place on November 1, and Tri helped to prevent any loyalist actions by causing diversions. He scheduled a meeting with the province chief and other pro-Diem officials during the time that the coup was to take place. As a result the Diem loyalists were stuck in a meeting room and were unable to mobilise the Republican Youth and other Ngo family paramilitary and activist groups.
After the coup, angry crowds surrounded the Ngo family home where Can and his elderly mother lived. It was agreed that they would be given safe exile by the junta. Tri told his former master Can that he would be safe and that he would be taken out to Saigon where it would be safer. Tri would only promise safe passage in an American plane to the capital, where embassy officials would meet Can, who wanted asylum in Japan. However, it was a trick and the Americans handed Can over to the junta, and he was executed in 1964.
Following the arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, then president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963...
in November 1963, there was much pressure on the new regime to remove Diem supporters from power. Prime Minister Nguyen Ngoc Tho
Nguyen Ngoc Tho
Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ is a Vietnamese politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Vietnam, serving from November 1963 to late January 1964. Thơ was appointed to head a civilian cabinet by the military junta of General Dương Văn Minh, which came to power after overthrowing and assassinating Ngô...
's approach to removing Diem supporters from positions of influence drew criticism. Some felt that he was not vigorous enough in removing pro-Diem elements from authority, whereas others felt that the magnitude of the turnover was excessive and vengeful. One high profile and heavily criticised non-removal was that of Tri, who gained prominence for his anti-Buddhist crackdown in the central region around Hue. Tri was simply transferred to the II Corps
II Corps (South Vietnam)
The II Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps in the ARVN, and it oversaw the region of the central highlands region, north of the capital Saigon...
in the central highlands
Tây Nguyên
Tây Nguyên, translated as Western Highlands and sometimes also called Central Highlands, is one of the regions of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lâm Đồng....
directly south of the I Corps
I Corps (South Vietnam)
The I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps which the ARVN oversaw. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering North Vietnam...
region.
Conflict with Nguyen Cao Ky
Tri lived lavishly and flamboyantly, leading to persistent suspicions of corruption. In 1965, he tried to kill himself during a government investigation. One of the main forces behind the inquiry was Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky, then head of the air force and the leading figure in the ruling military junta. The pair became bitter rivals, and Ky sent Tri into exile. In 1967, General Nguyen Van ThieuNguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
became president, with Ky as his deputy. Thieu sent Tri to South Korea as ambassador.
The power struggle between Thieu and Ky played into Tri's hands. At the time of the communists' Tet Offensive, Thieu was out of the capital, celebrating the lunar new year in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
. Ky, who was still in Saigon, stepped into the spotlight, organising the military forces against the communists, who were repelled. Ky's overshadowing of his superior during South Vietnam's deepest crisis further strained relations between the two men. The Americans pressured Thieu to give Ky more responsibility, but Thieu, known for his extreme fear of threats to his power, did the opposite.
In the wake of the offensive, however, Thieu's regime became more energetic, declaring martial law, widening conscription, and organising token anti-corruption campaigns were carried out. Thieu used the communist threat to increase his
personal power, arresting, exiling or relieving senior officers who supported Ky.
Return to command
Thieu recalled Tri back to South Vietnam to take a command role. Tri was made commander of III CorpsIII Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
, which surrounded the capital Saigon and was crucial in blocking or orchestrating coups. Tri replaced Lieutenant Le Nguyen Khang
Le Nguyen Khang
Lieutenant General Lê Nguyên Khang was a Marine Commander of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps for South Vietnam.-Assignments:*Commander of the Marine Corps,*VNN Commander,*Commander of the Capital Military Zone,...
, a prominent Ky supporter. Thieu gave orders directly to his supporters in senior positions, bypassing the high military command. According to Creighton Abrams
Creighton Abrams
Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. was a general in the United States Army who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968–72 which saw U.S. troop strength in Vietnam fall from a peak of 543,000 to 49,000. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1972 until shortly...
, the head of US forces in Vietnam at the time, "Tri has dinner with the President once or twice a week. He gets operational approval, that sort of thing, and [the chief of Joint General Staff Cao Van] Vien's
Cao Van Vien
Cao Văn Viên was a Vietnamese soldier who served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and rose to the position of Chairman of the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff...
not in on that". Although Tri and Ky often crossed paths at official functions thereafter, they never shook hands.
Still, Tri's colourful lifestyle and ever-growing wealth continued to raise eyebrows in Saigon. Two senators dubbed him "flagrantly corrupt", and Tri was accused of being involved in a money-smuggling ring at the same time of his successful campaign in Cambodia in 1970. At the time, he lived in a spacious villa equipped with a swimming pool in Bien Hoa
Bien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
. Tri was known for his flamboyant style. He usually wore a camouflage jungle suit, a black three-starred cap to indicate his rank, a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson .38 handgun, and was always seen with a swagger stick, quipping "I use it to spank the Viet Cong".
Tri was considered by both his contemporaries and by historians as one of the most aggressive and able combat commanders produced by the Republic of Vietnam. As a lieutenant general, he performed brilliantly as commander of the III Corps
III Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
during the Cambodian Campaign of 1970, earning an unusual laudatory sobriquet from the U.S. news media as "the Patton of the Parrot's Beak". Tri had been ordered north to take command of beleaguered I Corps
I Corps (South Vietnam)
The I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps which the ARVN oversaw. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering North Vietnam...
forces after Operation Lam Son 719
Operation Lam Son 719
Operation Lam Son 719 was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos by the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam between 8 February and 25 March 1971, during the Vietnam War...
, a 1971 incursion into Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, had gone astray due to the incompetent leadership of Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoàng Xuân Lãm was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and a native of the city of Huế. Given responsibility for the I Corps Tactical Zone in 1967, Lãm coordinated the South Vietnamese offensive known as Operation Lam Sơn 719 which aimed at striking the North Vietnamese logistical...
. However, he was killed in a helicopter accident while still in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Tri was buried at Bien Hoa Military Cemetery.
Decorations and awards
- National Order of VietnamNational Order of VietnamThe National Order of Vietnam was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government....
, 1st class - Vietnam Army Distinguished Service Order, 1st class
- Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star (17 citations)
- Training Service Honor Medal, 1st class
- Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, 1st class
- Psywar Medal
- Police Medal
- Administrative Service Medal, 1st class
- Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, France - ULJI National Order, Republic of Korea
- White Elephant Medal, 2nd class Thailand
- Van Huy Medal, 1st class, Republic of China
External links
- The Death of a Fighting General
- Two Fighting Generals Generals Do Cao Tri and Nguyen Viet Thanh
- Do Cao Tri/Nguyen Viet Thanh
- The Patton of the Parrot's Beak
- A presentation about Lieutenant General Do Cao Tri
- Declassified CIA Documents on Vietnam War
- CAMBODIA - The New York Review of Books
- Chapter 10 - FRIGHTENED MEN IN SCARY PLACES, LOGIC GOES CRAZY AND SANITY ERASES