Phạm Phú Quốc (1935–1965) was a French-trained South Vietnamese fighter pilot and lieutenant in the

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

, best known for being one of two mutinous pilots involved in the 1962 South Vietnamese Presidential Palace bombing on February 27, 1962, which aimed to assassinate President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

and his immediate family, who were his political advisers. His plan failed, and he was imprisoned until 1963, after Diem's assassination. The coup plotters released him and reinstated his rank.

Early life

Quốc was born on October 20, 1935 in Da Nang in a well-to-do family. According to genealogy, he is a descendant of a minister of the reign of

Tự Đức Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, 嗣德, lit. "inheritance of virtues", 22 September 1829 – 19 July 1883) (personal name: Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm , also Nguyễn Phúc Thì) was the fourth emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam; he ruled ...

, the fourth emperor of

Nguyen dynasty Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this su ...

. As a child, he attended primary school in Da Nang. When he went to high school, his family sent him back to

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

to study at Chasseloup- Laubat Public School. His passion for aviation developed when he was a student. He used the pocket money provided by his family to buy technical books on how to build small planes from France. He assembled and flew model airplanes at

Tan Son Nhat Airport Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018 ...

. In 1954, he graduated from high school with a full

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

. After that, his family planned to let him go to France to continue his education, but because he was so interested in airplanes, he asked his parents to let him join the military.

Military career

On June 15, 1954, he volunteered to join the Air Force. He was sent to train at the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

Officer Training School in

Marrakech, Morocco Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrak ...

. In early April 1955, he finished his graduation with the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. Returning to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, he served in the

Vietnamese National Army The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army ( vi, Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Army of the State of Vietnam, french: Armée Nationale Vietnamienne, lit=Vietnamese National Army) was the State of Vietnam's military force create ...

and was stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base. In November 1957, after more than a year serving 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 Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

, he was promoted to

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. In early 1961, he was sent to study in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, to learn and fly the new generation aircraft of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

for six months. On October 26, 1961, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and was appointed Chief of Operations of the 514th Fighter Squadron of the South Vietnamese Air Force in Bien Hoa.

1962 Independence Palace bombing

During President

's regime, political dissent intensified. As a result, on February 27, 1962, Quốc and his wingmate Nguyễn Văn Cử, who were flying

A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

s, turned away from their routine military operation and headed to Saigon, where they bombed the Independence Palace, which resulted in the knocking down a corner of the palace. However, President Diem and his family managed to escape death. Quốc's plane was hit by the anti-aircraft fire over

Bạch Đằng River The Bạch Đằng River ( vi, Sông Bạch Đằng, ), also called Bạch Đằng Giang (from ), ''white wisteria river'', is a river in northern Vietnam, located near Hạ Long Bay. It flows through the Yên Hưng District of Quảng Ninh Provin ...

and he was forced to land on the

Saigon River The Saigon River ( vi, Sông Sài Gòn) is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about and empties into the Soài Rạp, which in its turn empties into th ...

, near a security post in the Nha Be gas depot. He was arrested and imprisoned at Chi Hoa Prison, while Nguyễn Văn Cử escaped to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

and took refuge there.

Rehabilitation

On November 1, 1963, a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

broke out, which resulted in the overthrow of Ngô Đình Diệm. As a result, Quốc was released from prison and his rank restored. At the beginning of December, he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After that, he was sent to study at the Air Ground Operation School in

Okinawa, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

for a period of six months. At the beginning of February 1964, he was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, holding the position of Deputy Commander of 514th Fighter Squadron under the 23rd Air Wing. At the end of the year, he was promoted to hold the position. In early 1965, he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and was appointed commander of the 23rd Tactical Squadron and Bien Hoa Air Base.

Death

On April 19, 1965, he and his wingmen carried out a mission to coordinate with the U.S. Air Force to destroy the traffic axis 10 kilometers south of

Vinh Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...

. After completing the mission on the way back, his squadron encountered enemy air defenses. His plane was shot down and it crashed in the sky of Hà Tĩnh, resulting in his death. A memorial service for him was held by the South Vietnamese Air Force Command and the 23rd Tactical Air Force Command. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Quốc was also posthumously awarded 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. ...

, 5th class and Gallantry Cross. His remains were initially buried by local people. It was not until 1997 that his body was brought back from Hà Tĩnh by his biological sister, and reburied in Hoi An. The popular songwriter

Phạm Duy Phạm Duy (5 October 1921 – 27 January 2013) was one of Vietnam's most prolific songwriters with a musical career that spanned more than seven decades through some of the most turbulent periods of Vietnamese history and with more than one ...

wrote a song to eulogize him, named "Huyền Sử Ca Một Người Mang Tên Quốc" ("Epic of a Man Named Quốc").

Personal life

On the day he died in battle, Quốc's wife was 3 months pregnant with their first son. Before 1975, she and her son had migrated to the US. Quốc's son, Phạm Phú Phi is currently a doctor of

cosmetology Cosmetology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyle, hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/p ...

in the United States.

Awards and decorations

*Commendation of merit (12 times) and many other commendations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Phu Quoc South Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War South Vietnam Air Force personnel 1935 births 1965 deaths Vietnam War casualties Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Vietnam South Vietnamese military personnel killed in action Aviators killed by being shot down Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Recipients of the Air Gallantry Cross