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Colonel Nguyen Hop Doan

Colonel Nguyen Hop Doan (1928-2002) was to be the last Mayor of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam and Governor of Gia Dinh Province, before the fall of Saigon that led to the reunification of Vietnam under the Communist party in 1975. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Image File history File links NguyenHopDoan. ... Image File history File links NguyenHopDoan. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Combatants Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Commanders Van Tien Dung Nguyen Van Toan Strength ~130,000 ~50,000 Casualties Trivial Unknown The Fall of Saigon (in Vietnamese: Sá»± kiện 30 tháng 4, or April 30 Incident) was the... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Family

Born in Hai Duong Province in 1928 to Nguyen Thuc Vinh, a former Governor of Bac Can Province in North Vietnam. The senior Nguyen nearly captured Ho Chi Minh early in Ho's career. For his efforts, Ho's comrades tortured and killed Nguyen's mother. Fiercely anticommunist, the family fled South at the partitioning of the country following the Geneva Accords of 1954. Hai Duong is a city in Vietnam. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bac Kan is the capital city of Bac Kan Province, Vietnam. ... Hồ Chí Minh   (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1946–1955) and President (1946–1969) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. ... This article is about the proposal for peace between Israel and Palestine. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Military Career

Nguyen attended the 4th class of the elite Vietnamese National Military Academy in Dalat, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (USACGSC) and the U.S. Army War College (USAWC). He was the youngest Major in the South Vietnamese Army at age 24. The Command and General Staff College (C&GSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a United States Army facility that functions as a graduate school for U.S. military leaders. ... The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre (2 km²) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks, a military post dating back to the 1770s. ... The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). ...

He served as Commanding Officer of 705th Battalion, Commanding Officer of 42nd Brigade, Commanding Officer of 14th Division and Chief of Staff of 9th Division. He also served as Chief of Staff of Vietnam's Rangers and Special Forces and participated in the highly successful Phoenix program. The program was designed to identify and "neutralize"—capture; induce to surrender; kill; or otherwise disrupt—the noncombatant infrastructure of Viet Cong (VCI) cadres who were engaged both in recruiting and training insurgents within South Vietnamese villages, as well as providing support to the North Vietnamese war effort. In general, a ranger is a keeper, guardian, or soldier that ranges over a region to protect the area or enforce law. ... Special Forces (SF) or Special Operations Forces (SOF) are highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. ... The Phoenix Program (Vietnamese: Kế Hoạch Phụng Hoàng, a word related to fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix) or Operation Phoenix was a covert intelligence operation and assassination program undertaken by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in close collaboration with South Vietnamese intelligence during the Vietnam War. ...

Nguyen was Governor of Kontum Province from 1965-1970, where the communist Tet offensive of 1968 was soundly defeated. He excelled as a Military Officer and as a Public Servant, in his dual role as the Governor of the Military District of Tuyen Duc, and as Mayor of the provincial capital city of Dalat from 1970-1975. During his tenure, Dalat was a safe heaven. He built on its charm and beauty, and kept it a favorite honeymoon destination. Dalat was also a center of learning, with many boarding schools, universities, military academies and seminaries. South Vietnam's sole nuclear reactor and associated scientists and personnel were based in Dalat. There is a historical website that is nonprofit dedicated to the 1972 Easter Offensive in the Kontum area. ... For the river in Roussillon, France, see Têt River. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... Dalat (pop. ... A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school (usually abbreviated to preparatory school, college prep school, or prep school) is a private secondary school designed to prepare a student for higher education. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... There are three types of military academies: High school level institutions (up to age 19), university level institutions, and those only serving to prepare officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of a state ( such as RMA Sandhurst ). United States usage The term Military School primarily refers to (middle... A seminary is a specialised university-like institution for the purpose of training candidates for positions within a religious context. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ...

Fall of Saigon

At the closing of the war that led to the Fall of Saigon, Nguyen stood and fought while the neighboring Military District Chiefs ran without a fight, creating chaos as refugees poured into Saigon from the First and Second Corps. Along the way, the refugee columns (now known as the "convoy of tears"), took heavy casualties as communist forces (North Vietnamese 340th Division) rained down artillery and killing thousands. Nguyen ordered his own withdrawal only after realizing that his city and district were isolated. Nguyen led an orderly withdrawal (always a difficult military maneuver), stayed with his troops and saved many lives. To his constituency from the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Dalat and Tuyen Duc), he is fondly remembered as an able Military Officer and a Patriot. Combatants Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Commanders Van Tien Dung Nguyen Van Toan Strength ~130,000 ~50,000 Casualties Trivial Unknown The Fall of Saigon (in Vietnamese: Sự kiện 30 tháng 4, or April 30 Incident) was the... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ... Dalat (pop. ...

Exile

He was resolutely honest, and was penniless when his family emigrated to the United States on the day of surrender. He had hopes of returning home, of eventual overthrow of the murderous junta. After spending more than twenty five years in America, Nguyen still held on to his South Vietnamese citizenship. He died before seeing a truly united and democratic Vietnam.

Decorations and Badges

Nguyen received numerous Medals, Honors and Citations including National Order of Vietnam, 4th Class (Bao Quoc Huan Chuong), ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) Joint Forces Order (Luc Quan Huan Chuong), Service Medal (Tham Muu Boi Tinh), Campaign Medal (Chien Dich Boi Tinh) and the United States Silver Star award. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). ... The Silver Star is the fourth highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. ...

Reference

External links

• Vietnam Multimedia Archive
• Picturesque Dalat
• Lonely Planet Dalat Honeymoons
• Several high quality photos
• Texas Tech University Vietnam Project - Large Vietnam Era Archive
• Vietnam War in Pictures
• Battlefield: Vietnam - Acclaimed PBS miniseries
• U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
• U.S. Army War College