Ngô Thế Linh (born 6 December 1928, Hà Tĩnh Province,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

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 ...

– died 25 February 1999) was a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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 ...

(ARVN),

South 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 Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. He was the first Commander of Coastal Security Service (CSS). He was the commander of South Vietnam's Special Forces. Linh graduated from Thủ Đức Military Infantry Officer Academy, Class Number 3 (in 1952) with General

Nguyễn Khoa Nam Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam (23 September 1927 – 30 April 1975) was a native of Đà Nẵng and served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He received his primary education at the École des Garçons in Đà Nẵng and graduate ...

. During the next twenty three years of service, he held key positions in Presidential Liaisons Services, Strategic Technical Directorate of the South Vietnamese Army. He was in charge of many important clandestine missions by land, by air and by sea to North Vietnam.

Emigration and death

After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Colonel Ngô came to the United States with his family. They resided in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. He died on 25 February 1999, aged 70.

Family

His grandfather, it is claimed, was in charge of ruling Vietnam for six months while Emperor Hàm Nghi was sent away and was under arrest by the French. Prime Minister Hoang resigned his post and retired early because he disagreed with the French Indochinese policy. A cousin was Cardinal François Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận of

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 ...

.Family connections of Colonel Ngô Thế Linh
/ref> It is also claimed that his wife is a younger sister of John-Baptiste Nguyễn Bửu Đồng, a great grand-grandson of Emperor

Minh Mang {{Orphan, date=December 2021 Minh ( Chữ Nôm: 明) is a popular unisex given name of Vietnamese origin, written using the Chinese character (明) meaning "bright", and is also popular among other East Asian names. The Chinese name Ming has the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngo, The Linh 1928 births 1999 deaths Vietnamese Roman Catholics Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War Vietnamese emigrants to the United States Ngo family People from Hà Tĩnh province