Brigadier General Lê Nguyên Vỹ (22 August 1933,

Sơn Tây ''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnamese or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' found in Asia, although it has been planted else ...

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

—30 April 1975,

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

) was an officer in the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

Education

In 1951, he graduated from the officers candidate course in the Regional Military School, Military Region II at Phu Bai near

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

Military service

He was the commander of 5th Infantry Division at Lai Khe. He was born in

province, North Vietnam. As a deputy Commander of the 5th Infantry, He fought fiercely during the siege of

Battle of An Lộc The Battle of An Lộc was a major battle of the Vietnam War that lasted for 66 days and culminated in a victory for South Vietnam. The struggle for An Lộc, Bình Phước, An Lộc in 1972 was an important battle of the war, as South Vietname ...

and later was promoted to the CO of the division. On April 30, 1975, after receiving the order to surrender after the communist North Vietnamese and Việt Cộng captured Saigon, he committed suicide at 11:00 AM, at the division headquarters in Lai Khe.

References

External links

An Exceptional Regimental Commander
1933 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from Hanoi Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals South Vietnamese military personnel killed in action Deaths by firearm in Vietnam {{Vietnam-bio-stub Suicides in Vietnam