203. I have read most of your writings on your web-site. It is evident that you already have a good idea of what may have happened the day your brother was shot. Two things stood out..........where is the gun?.........and why was the General excluded from such a meeting that otherwise he would have attended?..... I commend you for your search in the truth. Losing a brother is the greatest loss for any man. I do not believe 'accident' was the cause of his death. It is almost impossible for anyone to get information of U.S. Gov. records during the time period of the Vietnam War. The U.S. soldiers that fought in the war have had their own frustrations with obtaining records. 1975 and the entire War era was a very political time for your country and mine. Alot of good men paid the price for it. (Sgt. Greg Kraljev).

204. No doubt he was a good man. I am sorry for your loss. (Chevy).

205. I enjoyed reading about General Hieu, too bad there weren't more like him. (WBTN).

206. I left the first 5 pages of the homepage memorial dedicated to your brother with my father in law for him to look at. Today he wished to talk about it as we had dinner...He recounted some of his recollection of your brother and General Hieu and also told me of the 5 most capable Vietnamese Generals of whom your brother was one. Four were 3 star generals. Your brother was the only 2 star among the group. I thought you would want to know this. Also, he mentioned that you asked if he would be willing to write any recollections of your brother. Judging from his reaction...I feel confident that he would be willing to submit his recollection to you for your future book. Simon and Schuster might be a publisher willing to publish your book and might have suggestions on turning your collected writings into a novel/book format that would be easy to read and create interest in the courageous men of the Vietnamese Military high command that were honest, honorable and courageous to the very end in April 1975. This is a story that needs to be told...and who knows what a book like that could inspire to occur in the future...Today he had a new military style haircut. He seemed different and happier somehow. He even offered me a dram of cognac. Thank you for the difference you have made in his life. (Allan).

207. It gave me great pleasure, satisfaction and even profound sadness to read about the life, heroic military career, and untimely death of General Hieu. You are to be commended for insuring the memory of such a distinguished Vietnamese patriot and beloved relative will never be forgotten. I salute you and your outstanding Brother, General Hieu.

208. As an old USMC lt. I appreciated visiting your site. I served in Viet Nam from 1967 to 1969 but never had the honour of meeting the General. I am truly sorry to hear of the way he passed away but as you know "OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE.....they just fade away". (Earl A. Rosen).

209. Judging from the events surrounding your brothers death it would appear as you surmised that it was a planned event or event that was known going to happen by most of the principals involved. My own father in law has his own private views on this and in recounting of history may be able to shed light on this tragic event that occurred to your brother. I would venture to speculate based upon the recollections you had that the motive for your brothers death would have to do with his character... When the Vietnam military was faced with an uncertain future and the war effort was in serious doubt Gen. Hieu never wavered but went about his assigned tasks with the quiet resolution and confidence that always belonged to him. That was why the common soldiers and the people whom relied upon him for their protection revered him so much.

210. I liked General Hieu's homepage very much, because besides its military historical value, there is also room for feelings which is very touching. If every ARVN General had a similar homepage, many truths would be made known to many people, instead of being buried under the tomb. (Tran Do Cam, Doan Ket Magazine).

211. Thank you for the compliments on my page. I have briefly visited yours. It is fascinating, and I am sorry for the loss of your brother. I intend to visit the page again when I have more time to fully appreciate it. (Robin Higgins, http://www.higginspage.com).

212. We belong to Class 26 of the Vietnam National Military Academy (VNMA). We have visited General Hieu's homepage and have introduced it to the former cadets of the VNMA. The page is very time consuming and contains a lot of historical details. General Hieu is not ashamed to be one of the front runner graduates of the VNMA. We regret that we entered the VNMA kind of late, and thus have missed the opportunity to know our revered elder classmate... (Ampact.net)

213. Thank you for sharing your brother's life with me. I am under 30 years old so I don't know much about the war. Even though your brother is unknown, I think he was a great general. What I know is general Tri and Toan were corrupted and not qualified to be even regular soldier let alone a general. (Van Nguyen)

214. Perhaps I have been too harsh in my past criticism of the ARVIN's. Many that I observed in the I Corps Area were questionable to say the least. But in every Armed Force, there are those of whom Honor and Integrity are a mainstay in their psyche. Perhaps this man is one of them. But if you will notice...like a great many of these "like" individuals...their lives are snuffed out before they can fulfill the destiny that they strive for. we have a few of our own...Lincoln...the Kennedy brothers...Martin Luther King. Then again...perhaps they did fulfill that, which they incarnated into this earth planet to do. Who is to say otherwise. Someday when we cross over...perhaps we'll find out for sure. My (late, but no less sincere) condolences to your family on such a loss.

215. They lost yet another great man. The war that should have been won. The men and women that never saw a end. Many endings that could have been. General Hieu saw,felt,and wanted Freedom. He never stopped his forward march for truth and justice. I pray now that others will continue in his steps. Also the people that shot him should be given to the public to judge them, for true justice. I hope to see more about the ARVN or a special site. The ARVN should be written about, talk about, and to tell the sacrifice they faced. Thank you for this site and your time. (EX MARINE 3rd Bn. Nicholas Somarelli).

216. General Hieu's homepage states that he accidentally shot himself in Bien Hoa, without any trace of an assassin. We should ask ourselves what reasons and what motivations caused General Hieu's death, a competent, honest and valiant General. Nguyen Van Thieu knows a lot, he should be able to provide the answer...I invite you to visit General Hieu's homepage to view the 2nd Republic of Vietnam's past. I understand that this webpage is written by Nguyen Van Tin, General Hieu's younger brother, in English and Vietnamese. A special gift, in the sense General Hieu has guided Tin's spirit in realizing this task. In my opinion, Hieu wants the world and Vietnam to know that Vietnam is capable and able to assume the role of front line post against Communism, and teaches its sons and daughters to govern with honesty. It's unfortunate that I have to pay my respect to General Nguyen Van Hieu's soul, a competent and honest friend of mine. (Pham Tien).

217. Someone sent me your home page, I don't know if by accident or chance, but, no matter, because, the pictures of your beautiful garden are truly a site to behold, I am amazed that you were able to add beauty to a place that was once (pardon the expression) Combat Zone. A long time ago before you moved to that area it used to be a wonderful place, for you see, I was born in that part of the "South Bronx" and have not forgot the good memories of that time. My family still lives in the Bronx, but not in that area. It's kind of ironic that you live there now, whereas, I visited your Viet Nam as a Marine in July 1966. May good fortune be with you and your family always. (Arthur Jackson C-1-1 Da Nang, Dong Ha July '66).

218. Thanks much for the invite to the General's website, you've done a fine job. Vietnam is a beautiful country, with beautiful people. (Bill Patterson, Co. B, 2nd Bn 16th Inf., 2nd Bde., 1st Inf. Div., Vietnam 1965-66...).

219. I just visited your web page and it was very enlightening. I was stationed in the Mekong Delta my first tour to Vietnam and I understand General Hieu was assigned there himself. Sounds like he was a great man and an even better General. Too bad I didn't have the pleasure of knowing him.

220. What a fine and fitting tribute to your brother! I would also like to thank you for writing these essays and for translating them into English. They are a wonderful history for we Americans who fought in Vietnam. They are a testimony to the failings of governments who have lost sight of what their own people want. I also greatly appreciate the research it took to compile this, and the pictures you have found to go with the articles. I have passed the URL along to my comrades-in-arms, who will also be interested. Thank you very much. (Scott McClellan, MSgt USMC (Ret), Qui Nhon - Chu Lai '65-'66, Sunnyvale, CA).

221. I am Vietnamese and living in London. I read your article with great interest about General Hieu and other unsung heroes of the VN war, like Brigadier Tran Quang Khoi, Le Minh Dao... It moved me deeply about the detention and death of those who stayed and fought, rather than fleeing the country at the last minute. The more I read about the fall of Saigon in general, and the death of General Hieu in particular, the more I despise Thieu and his entourage. Twenty five years have nearly passed, yet the wound is still there to hurt, every time I think about it. You have done a great job for our future generations! Thank You for writing this fact of history! (Lam Tran).

222. I did remember hearing your brother's name, but, frankly, I did not know anything about him. You have done an excellent job in memorializing your brother, of whom you are obviously and justifiably very proud. I have bookmarked your web page so that I can go back and read his story more closely since there is a great deal of information and links that I have not yet visited. I am also going to recommend it to friends who might be interested. Thanks again and congratulations on a great job. (Rolando Salazar).

223. I visited your website in honour of your brother. I hope you are able to find some of the answers that elude you. You obviously have many military records which you have researched to prepare the website. It is probably a long shot, but I'll raise this anyway. I was involved in a night emergency re-supply of a company from the 3rd ARVN Airborne Battalion about 6 kilometres south east of Fire Support Base Oklahoma in the Fishhook region of Cambodia. I think the 3rd Battalion was part of the 1st ARVN Airborne Division -- but I'm not sure. Do you know? The incident was May 12 or June 12, 1970. The ARVN company was surrounded by an estimated NVA Battalion and had run out of ammo -- we re-supplied them under fire at about 9 pm at night. Do your records contain details like that? (Dan Tyler)

224. Very good site. I was at Plei Me immediately after the fight ended, 1 Nov 1965. I was with the First Cav Div and we used Plei Me to stage our assault into the Ia Drang Valley 14 Nov 1965. In the interim, we patrolled aggressively seeking enemy stragglers, hospitals/aid stations, prepositioned but abandoned caches, and whatever other G-2 we could develop. This went on for 2 weeks with no results. What made the biggest impression on me was the defenses at the camp. I examined the camp inch-by-inch from the outside. I lay behind NVA machine gun positions (no abandoned weapons but evident by large piles of spent link ammo) to get a sense of the fight. The barbed wire was 100 meters in width. The front gate was narrow, the width of a M-151 Jeep. There was no other way to get in or out. The NVA showed tremendous bravery in attacking what appeared to me to be an almost impenetrable fortress. If the NVA had had Air support, Plei Me would have fallen.

225. My thoughts on what happen run through all of the emotions that a person could have, to me it's like being in the war, some times we are sad, others glad, and sometime scared. We can change them as the situation changes. I am sorry to say that I do not remember or maybe that it's one of the things that I don't remember about the time that I was in country. It sounds like Gen Hieu was one of the Vietnamese that cared a little too much about what he could do for his country and not enough about what he can get out of it, and that he paid the highest price for it, by giving up his life for it. I read most of the pages in that web site and again so many conflicting stories were told to the family that you will never really know what happen on that day. We could only guess. I have not read every page and will go back to it and reread it again , But I know what I read it just sounds like he fell into some thing that happens in any war and will go on forever as long as we have greedy people in high places. Take care and you are welcome like I said that was a part of my life that I am very proud of I fell that we at least tried to do what was right regardless as to how the outcome we tried and put all that we could into it. (Edward Walsh, USA SFC ret).

226. Your site about your gallant brother, the general, is very informative and full of information. It will take me a while to read everything, it being so comprehensive. I have much respect for the ARVN and the people of South Vietnam. The war was a noble cause and I will always be saddened by the outcome. There were so many dedicated people who died and suffered to make RVN free. The efforts were just awesome but the politicians and liberals in this country just refused to let our military and the South Vietnamese forces prevail. Please accept my heartfelt sorrow and condolences for all you, and so many others have suffered. God bless and take care. I will visit your website often. (Grif, https://www.angelfire.com/nc2/vietnamvet/index.html).

227. Thank you for informing me of the outstanding tribute to General Hieu. It was an honor for me to serve along side the soldiers of the 5th ARVN Division. The information on the site brought back many memories of the officers and men that I had served with, both Vietnamese and American. While looking over the site and some of the documents and information I proudly took notice that my name was listed among the Americans who were in contact with General Hieu, I was the G-4 Advisor at the time. Please keep up the good work. With your permission I would like to add a link from my website (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2365). (Mike McMunn, Formerly Captain William M. McMunn, Advisory Team 70, 5th ARVN Infantry Division, January 1970 to January 1971).

228. Thank you for signing The Combat Medics Homepage guestbook. I went to your site and saw the picture of General Hieu. I think he might have been the general that I met while rendering aid to children at the orphanage... but, I can't be sure it was a long time ago. I still remember the white beaches at Nha Trang and wishing I could go swimming.... I was wounded badly and couldn't go.... I was on patrol with ARVN troops quite a few times..... brave men...(John Eagle Doc Smith).

229. I appreciate the visiting your pages. I am most interested in ARVN activities (and in particular the General's about this time) during Feb - June 1972. It appears he was in his Anti-corruption position at this time. My reason for interest is that I can find little about ARVN participation during the Spring of 1972 in the vicinity of An Loc. I would appreciate any information you might provide. (LTC Carle E. Dunn, USA-Ret.).

230. I was pleased to see your web page about Patriot General Hieu. I have bookmarked it for further reading. As a veteran of the Vietnam War, I sometimes hear veterans speak poorly of RVN Military. These are usually misinformed or narrow minded individuals. There should be more information such as this on the web. God Bless. (Mike Horan, B 3/12- 4th ID -RVN 66-67).

231. I have booted up and read many of the web pages about your brother, General Hieu. I wish I could have met him and it would have been an honor to me to have served with such a man. There is little fairness in this world. Your brother made it so close to seeing the wars end yet it was so far away. I am sorry for his death. He is honored by having a brother like yourself. (Tom Carpenter, 1LT, Ranger, Co D, 2/237th Inf, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, RVN, I Corps, Dec68-Nov69).

232. I just wanted to comment that you have an excellent Home Page. I thought it to be of great Human Interest and most informative. You are to be commended for helping to inform the public about the sacrifices of Vietnamese Patriots, such as your brother, during the late War. (E. Coleman, Jr., Command Sergeant Major, US Army, Retired, Formerly of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam).

233. Although I did not meet or know your brother and that I am sure is my loss, I did work with many ARVN units while in VietNam. Especially the ARVN Airborne and Recon units in I Corps and around Loc Ninh region of the fishook. As you probably know, we played "cat and mouse" with the NVA across the border of Cambodia about every other day when we could not follow them. But soon after we (the 1st CAV) did and the rest was history.

234. Your webpage was very interesting to both my wife and myself. You did a wonderful tribute to a man who commands his country's respect. In 1969 the ARVN's took charge...I never knew any ARVN's and I wanted to say your brother is the first I have ever known about personally..It was so interesting to hear his story, it took me back 30 years to a time that was both good and evil.. I am glad we liberated So. Vietnam, and sorry we all lost friends, comrades and loved ones by doing our job.. Thank you for doing the tribute to your brother, it should be seen by all who were over there. (Art Garrett, Paratrooper, RVN 4/69-4/70).

235. I happened to stumble across your website after I was doing some research on my wife's family. She is Vietnamese and I am American; and we have three children. And of all the military stories I have read, yours is the most touching. What a fine officer your brother must have been, so very much an all around person. I did not know him. But I am sure glad I have read about him; it seems as if he comes alive again through your stories, and once again he is an inspiring figure, as his modesty transcends the years.

236. It was long ago, but the benefit of time is that gradually the truth emerges, and people find their correct place in history. Therefore, General Hieu will be recognized as a good man, and the assassins and scoundrels will also receive their correct placing. Nothing is more certain than this. Many historical precedents confirm this. I hope you are in good health. (Lex McAulay, Australia).

237. Now, in regard to Gen. Hieu, your virtuous brother, I certainly would like to know more about him, and this in respect to his place of achievement among the other corps commanders (for this is what he truly was, as his posthumous promotion to lieutenant general shows). Also, it would seem that the final offensive of the North against Hue, Da Nang, Ban Me Thout, really shows what the Army was in respect to strategy and tactics, although I know that President Thieu had his chessman's hand in all this, with last minute changes and the like. For it seems that someone should have seen it all coming. Now I have read more about this than perhaps I am revealing here, but it seems like the heroic defense of the 18th division of the 3rd corps just before Saigon, as opposed to the collapse of the army in the highlands, says something about the character of Gen. Hieu that must have gone into this last defense. If he would have lived, what could he have accomplished? To me, it seems that in all fairness his name cannot at all be associated with the disaster and debacle of March-April 1975. (James Miguez).

238. I am writing to you after reading the articles about your brother on the internet. You have done the right thing in writing a memorial about your brother, and secondly about the ARVN. It is a tragedy that insecure rulers will surround themselves only with incompetents, who are no threat to their own rule. Please take the time to translate more articles into English. And consider expanding your articles into a book about the RVNAF generals. There are many you haven't touched on: Huynh Van Cao, Nguyen Duc Thang, etc. (Adam C. Sadowski).

239. I will read it in it's entirety when time permits. You are obviously very proud of your brother as well you should be. While your brother was taken from us too soon (the world always needs men of honor and integrity) remember he is in a better place now and your separation from him is only temporary. The good die young and God no doubt had a Command for him elsewhere. We should all be so lucky. (Paul E Guitteau, Phoenix, AZ).

240. I have found many amazing parallels between Gen. Hieu and Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. in terms of their practice and methods of generalship. Perhaps you would like to hear about it. Also, I was wondering if Gen. Hieu had kept a diary, and if so, what became of this important source of Gen. Hieu's history. As for Gen. Hieu's assassination, I am more and more of the opinion that it had something to do with a possible coup attempt. I do not think that the Gen. might have been on board necessarily, but I do think that he would have played a part in stabilizing the new government; hence, his removal by murder. The CIA was notorious for such plots, and it may be that the CIA was instigating this latest coup. (James Miguez).

241. I have paid your site a visit and feel very honoured to have served on the same side as your outstanding brother. He was truly a great man. (Darryl Warner, Australia).

242. Gen. Hieu must have read Patton's book and followed his suggestions, or rather they were with him from the beginning. There is no doubt that Patton was the greatest general of WWII, and probably of modern times--in terms of knowledge and accomplishment. Gen. Hieu seems to have been more intelligent than Gen. Patton, however, quicker in analysis and perhaps more spiritual, but Patton for his part had a certain sense of duty and valorous honor, that when it came to the battle field--it was simply outstanding. I shall try to do justice to this two great generals, one who was outgoing, an actor, and cocky; the other more reserved, modest, and unpretentious. Yet the similarities are amazing. I will try to do justice to them. Thus they seem to complement each other. (James Miguez).

243. [Regarding Gen. Patton of the United States, Gen. Montgomery of England, Gen. Rommel of Germany, and Gen. Leclerc of France], some clarifications are in order here. First I do not think that Gen. Montgomery of England is in the same class as Patton, and by extension--Gen. Hieu. There are various reasons for this--as critics have maintained in regard to Monty's three costly mistakes at Deippe, Falaise Gap, and Arnhem. Also in North Africa, Monty did not stop Rommel in his drive to Egypt, rather this honor goes to Gen. Auchinleck, who, with less equipment and men than Montgomery, finally wrested away at the first battle of El Alamein, Rommel's initiative and his health. In fact Monty could only win with overwhelming advantage in equipment and men through a battle of attrition.

244. Just finished reading about the General. What an impressive man he was and what a distinguished career. Being a US Marine for 22yrs and serving in Vietnam for 2 tours of duty I also saw the good and bad times. I left alot of good friends over there plus two little girls we had with us for several months that we were taking care of. when I had to go North for the TET offensive we had to put them in a catholic orphanage. I heard from them twice and then nothing. I never knew their fate. Getting back to your brother, your family has done an excellent job in keep his spirit alive. I will read more about him. I salute you and your family and will remember him in my nightly prayers. God Bless. (ROCKY).

245. I hadn't got the chance to visit General Hieu's Page for a long while; what a surprise to see the number of hits has reached the record number 33665, when I revisited it this evening. Each time I visited General Hieu's Page, I got the impression I was standing in front of a Monumental Memorial, and was contemplating each page that recounts the Epic History of our country. Furthermore, besides all these Greatness, Epopee, I got the impression I also see right in front of my eyes the Sacred Soul, Valiant Spirit of a great General, with his finger pointing up showing the way to his countrymen. Isn't it: In Life, Born As A General; In Death, He Became A Deity ? I am also extremely proud about the skills of a friend whom I knew way back when we were little boys. But allow me to have the right to doubt these skills which would not be able to accomplish such a huge and amazing project without the assistance and guidance of his Valiant brother's spirit! I respectfully lay everything in front of the memorial of Great General Nguyen Van Hieu, a great hero of our country in this modern time. (Francis Nguyen).

246. Your web site is very laborious and has great value indeed. When I was still a student in law school, I read a lot of magazines and newspapers like Dieu Hau and Song, etc... that extolled profusely a honest, competent and pious General named Nguyen Van Hieu, who is your brother, along with other honest Generals. I have one minor question regarding the rumor that former Prime Minister Tran Van Huong used to discriminate against Northerner and yet he used General Nguyen Van Hieu and other Northerners in key positions, especially in the anti-corruption committee. I request that you add corrupt Generals and their way of dealings in your website so that the next generation can avoid going down the same path. I thank you for adding two honest Generals in your website, namely Nguyen Duc Thang and Phan Trong Chinh. (Bui Van Thu).

247. It is by rare coincidence that your e-mail should arrive this day. I will be publishing a book. It will be historical fiction. However, for those Senior Leaders involved, I will use fact. The information I have read on your Web site certainly qualifies as information about a Senior Leader. The publisher's plan is to have the book available for Christmas season sales in 2001. This means I must complete the work at least four months before the Christmas season. As the work advances, I would like to contact you from time to time, for information about the place your relative held in the military. It was an important and honorable one. One upon which individuals have attempted to cast doubt as to the manner of his death. With your permission, his character and honor would be an excellent person to appear in the book, "And the beat goes on...". (Carle "Gene" Dunn).

248. Thanks a lot for having allowed me to know about the great and bitter fate of General Hieu. His name stands high among the ones of those who served their country, the Republic of Vietnam, against a wild and evil enemy, with honour and pride. When I think about Vietnam, I do want to consider the Republic of Vietnam as occupied and Saigon is always Saigon, as far as I'm concerned. I would like, here, to remind all those Americans who did not get back home alive and who suffered in the infamous Hanoi Hilton together with their SouthVietnamese mates. (Sin Loi VC, Roberto Pratic̣, Italy)

249. Thank you for sending us the web page of General Hieu. He was a great military leader and a great hero to his country. (Gerry Fitzpatrick, Pres., Agent Orange Diabetic Victims)

250. Thanks for the VC report on the retreat from the Highlands. The other propaganda reports you posted earlier seemed heavy handed in their depictions of GVN corruption, but it is hard, even for the VC, to exaggerate the debacle in the Highlands, and the complete disaster of the military retreat from Ban Me Thout. I have found a concise report by Mr. McGehee, a CIA op in Saigon in the last years, which shows that CIA Station Chief in Saigon suppressed important intelligence information in Nov. 1974 showing that the South Vietnamese government was in fact disintegrating, and that defensive morale among the troops was very low with desertions high and defections taking place in some provinces. Hence it should come at no surprise that the II Corps was completely caught off guard and flat-footed by the violence of the North Vietnamese attack, or that desertions in the defense infrastructure began immediately to erode the support capability of the South Vietnamese territorial forces. They should have seen it all coming. (James Miguez)

Section 1: 001 - 050.
Section 2: 051 - 100.
Section 3: 101 - 150.
Section 4: 151 - 200.
Section 6: 251 - 300.
Section 7: 301 - 350.
Section 8: 351 - 400.
Section 9: 401 - 450.
Section 10: 451 - 500.
Section 11: 501 - 550.

Table Of Contents