Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam (23 September 1927 – 30 April 1975), was a native of

Đà Nẵng Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

and served in the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suf ...

(ARVN). He received his primary education at the École des Garçons in Đà Nẵng and graduated in 1939. After joining the French-sponsored Vietnam National Army (VNA), he attended the Thủ Đức Military Academy and graduated in 1953.

Military service

As a sub-lieutenant, his (chuan uy's) first assignment was to an

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

unit. He served in various positions within the VNA during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

(1953–1955) and joined the ARVN in 1955. He served as a lieutenant in the airborne, a company commander in the 7th Airborne Battalion, a major in command of 5th Airborne Battalion, as lieutenant colonel (and later colonel) of the 3rd Airborne Brigade. In January 1970 he was appointed as commander of the 7th Division where he was credited with making remarkable progress and later promoted to Brigadier General. He then served as a major general commanding IV Corps Tactical Zone. His numerous decorations include the

National Order of Vietnam The National Order of Vietnam ( vi, Bảo Quốc Huân Chương) 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. ...

Fourth Class medal and National Order of Vietnam Third Class medal. As a major general, General Nam liked to carried out a military operations across Mekong Delta to prevent VC taking over any regional districts. On 30 April 1975, with the

Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...

, rather than fleeing the country or surrendering, General Nam and his deputy commander, General Lê Văn Hưng shot themselves dead. General Nam was buried at

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho (: , : ), is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque r ...

Military Cemetery the following day.

References

External links

Nguyễn Khoa Nam's Official siteVNAF The Republic of Vietnam Air Force - Không Quân Việt Nam Cộng HòaRepublic of Vietnam Armed Forces Reunion 2003
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20041021083834/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/Block/chp5_Block%20by%20Block.pdf The Battle for Hue, 1968by James H. Willbanks *The Final Day of My Husband's Lif
http://www.nguyenkhoanam.com
1927 births 1975 deaths Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals Deaths by firearm in Vietnam 4 Nguyen, Khoa Nam Vietnamese anti-communists {{Vietnam-mil-bio-stub