Nguyễn Văn Vy

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Nguyễn, but is often simplified to Nguyen in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Vy.

Nguyễn Văn Vy (16 January 1916 – 1981) was a South Vietnamese soldier who rose to the rank of General in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In addition to his military career, he served as Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Vietnam from 1967 to 1972.

Nguyễn Văn Vy
Vy greeting US Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird at Tan Son Nhat Airport in 1971
Minister of National Defense of South Vietnam
In office 9 November 1967 – 6 August 1972
President	Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Preceded by	Cao Văn Viên
Succeeded by	Trần Thiện Khiêm
Personal details
Born	(1916-01-16)16 January 1916 Hanoi, Tonkin, French Indochina
Died	1981 (age 65) Saint-Mandé, France
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	State of Vietnam;  South Vietnam
Years of service	19?? - 25 October 1955 (Vietnamese National Army) 26 October 1955 - 30 April 1975 (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
Rank	General (Đại tướng)

Vy was born in 1916 in Hanoi.^[1]

Military career

After graduating from the administration school, against his father wishes, joined the French Officer military academy and served as an officer of an airborne regiment. He was a veteran of the Dien Bien Phu battle and took part in the allied landing in Korea. He originally served in the Vietnamese National Army under General Nguyễn Văn Hinh. On 1 May 1955 Vy was arrested after trying to take over the Army in the name of Emperor Bảo Đại to stop Ngô Đình Diệm from taking power fraudulently, and was forced to flee to France as an exile.^[2][3]

Vy returned to South Vietnam after the 1963 coup which removed Diem from power and led to his assassination.^[3] He was arrested during the January 1964 South Vietnamese coup for being a member of the military committee command staff, under General Dương Văn Minh (or "Big Minh"). It was the late President Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu who want to open talks with the North Vietnamese.^[4] Like most of the military leaders involved in the alleged plot, he was soon released. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General, and was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1967.^[5]

In February 1967 Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ appointed him and the Defense Minister, General Cao Văn Viên, to a committee to root out corruption among senior military personnel.^[5] President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu replaced Viên as Defense Minister with Vy on 25 May 1968.^[1][3][6] As Defense Minister, Vy ran the Servicemen's Mutual Aid and Savings Fund (SMASF), a government-run and owned pension fund for South Vietnamese military personnel.^[7]

In 1971 Vy allegedly embezzled millions of dollars from the fund in order to create or buy the Bank of Industry and Commerce, Vicco (a road and bridge construction company), Vi-navatco (a transportation firm), Icico (an insurance company), and Foproco (a food processing company).^[7] On 22 March Thiệu dismissed five of Vy's senior aides due to a scandal relating to the SMASF.^[8] Thiệu removed him from office on 6 August 1972.^[9] He was placed under house arrest, and fired in March 1974.^[10] He died in the Bégin Military Teaching Hospital in 1981 at the age of 65.^[11]

Awards and decorations

•  South Vietnam :
  • Grand Officer of the National Order of Vietnam
  • Army Distinguished Service Order, First Class
  • Air Force Distinguished Service Order, First Class

References

1. The International Who's Who 2004. 67th ed. Florence, KY: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 1-85743-217-7
2. Lâm, Quang Thi. The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2001; ISBN 1-57441-143-8
3. Kinnard, Douglas. The War Managers: American Generals Reflect on Vietnam. Reprint ed. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1991; ISBN 0-306-80449-2
4. Smith, Hedrick. "New Saigon Chief Tightening Rule." New York Times. 31 January 1964.
5. "Kỳ Reported Ready to Oust 5 More Generals." Associated Press. 16 February 1967.
6. Roberts, Gene. "Saigon Announces a New, Broadly Based Cabinet". New York Times. 26 May 1968.
7. "Vietnam: Make Money, Not War." Time. 3 April 1972.
8. Craig R. Whitney (23 March 1972). "Thieu ousts five defense aides in scandal on retirement fund". The New York Times. p. 4.
9. "Thiệu Fires Defense Chief in Scandal Over Soldiers' Fund." Chicago Tribune. 7 August 1972; "Troops' Pay Invested." Los Angeles Times. 26 August 1972.
10. "Thiệu Retires 11 Generals in Army Shakeup." Los Angeles Times. 9 March 1974.
11. Staff (2017-11-04). "Tr. Tướng Nguyễn Văn Vỹ" (in Vietnamese). WordPress.com. Retrieved 2017-11-04.

External links

• Photo of General Nguyễn Văn Vy at arrest