Cao Văn Viên

Cao Văn Viên (; December 21, 1921 – January 22, 2008) was a four-star army general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He rose to the position of Chairman of the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff.Butterfield, Fox. "The Communists Were Stunned, Too" The New York Times May 12, 1985Holley, Joe. "Cao Van Vien, South Vietnam 4-Star General" The Washington Post January 30, 2008 Considered one of "the most gifted" of South Vietnam's military leaders,Moyar, Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965, 2006, p. 267. he was previously called an "absolute key figure"Smith, Philip. "Key Vietnam Army Figure Becomes Citizen" Washington Post January 20, 1982 and one of "the most important Vietnamese military leaders"Sorley, A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam, 2007, p. 364. in the U.S.-led fighting during the Vietnam War. Along with Trần Thiện Khiêm he was one of only two four-star generals in the entire history of South Vietnam.Dawson, Alan 55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam New York: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

Early life Viên was born to Vietnamese parents in Vientiane, Laos, in December 1921.Tucker, Spencer, ed. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1998. Who's Who In Vietnam Saigon: Vietnam Press, 1967.Westmoreland, William Childs A Soldier Reports New York: Doubleday, 1976. His parents was a merchant from Đông Anh district, a town east of Hanoi, Tonkin protectorate. Hearing rumors of a gold rush in the Mekong Delta, he moved to what was then called Cochinchina to become a prospector. Although he became a follower of Ho Chi Minh and fought as a guerrilla against French colonial rule, he soon concluded that Hồ's movement was more communist than nationalist, and joined independent fighter groups. He was captured by the French, released, and enrolled at the University of Saigon where he obtained a bachelor's degree in French literature. His schoolmate was Lâm Quang Thi.Lam, Quang Thi The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Press, 2001.

Military career Viên attended the French-run Cap Saint-Jacques Military School, graduating with a commission in the Vietnamese National Army as a second lieutenant in 1949. Later, he was sent to France to train at the Infantry School in Coëtquidan, where he began to make friends with Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and Trần Thiện Khiêm. He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a battalion commander in 1953 and major in 1954. He attended the Vietnamese National Military Academy as a lieutenant, where he met and became friendly with many of South Vietnam's later military leaders.Nguyen, Van Tin and Battreall, Raymond R. Major General Nguyen Van Hieu, ARVN: A Revealing Insight of the ARVN and a Unique Perspective of the Vietnam War San Jose, California: Writers Club Press, 2000. He twice served in military intelligence (in 1953 and 1954), and twice as a military logistics officer.One source lists his roles and ranks as follows: First Lieutenant, Deputy Head of Administrative Section, Defense Ministry, 1951 Chief, Press and Information Section, Defense Ministry, 1951 Captain, G2 Chief for Hung Yen Field Force, 1953 Commander, 10th Battalion, 1953 Chief of Staff, Hung Yen Field Force, 1953 Major, G2 Chief for III Military Region, 1954 G4 Chief for III Military Region, 1954 Commander, 56th Battalion, 1954 See: Who's Who In Vietnam Saigon: Vietnam Press, 1967. After the formation of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in 1955, he was appointed chief of military logistics for the ARVN Joint General Staff. Viên was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed Chief of Staff of the Special Military Staff in the office of the President of the Republic in 1956. He and his family moved to a modest home in the Cholon neighborhood of Saigon (where he lived until April 1975). He graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1957. By 1960, he had completed parachute training with both the Vietnamese and American military, earned his Vietnamese combat pilot's license, and earned his American combat helicopter pilot's license. He was promoted to colonel in 1960 and named Commander of the Vietnamese Airborne Division in November 1960. This came after Colonel Nguyễn Chánh Thi and Lieutenant Colonel Vương Văn Đông, the two highest-ranking paratroopers led a failed coup attempt against Diem and fled into exile in Cambodia.Hammer, pp. 125–132. Based on his experiences, Viên concluded in 1961 that the Viet Cong were no longer acting alone but were being led and reinforced by regular units of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).Hamilton, Donald W. The Art of Insurgency: American Military Policy and the Failure of Strategy in Southeast Asia Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.

Viên refused to participate in the 1963 coup against South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm. He was one of several military leaders who were unaware of the coup.Moyar, Mark Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Halberstam, David and Singal, Daniel Joseph The Making of a Quagmire: America and Vietnam During the Kennedy Era Rev. ed. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. When called to a lunchtime meeting with other senior officers and informed of the coup d'état, he reportedly broke down in tears and resigned, refusing to go along with the putsch.St. George, Donna. "Cao Van Vien, 1921-2008" Washington Post January 2, 2009Kinnard, Douglas The War Managers: American Generals Reflect on Vietnam Reprint ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 1991. Jones, p. 408.Moyar, p. 267. Vien was not aware of the plot, and the generals had discussed whether to assassinate him during their planning phase because they knew he was a Diem admirer.Hung, p. 79. His loyalty to the conspirators now suspect, a rifle was thrust into his back and he was moments from being killed. But Major General Tôn Thất Đính had spoken with General Dương Văn Minh during the planning for the coup and convinced Minh to save Viên's life.Hung, Nguyen Tien and Schecter, Jerrold L. The Palace File New York: Harper & Row, 1986. Dinh played mahjong with Vien's wife, and had convinced Minh that Vien would not oppose the coup. Vien had planned with Diem to allow the president to take refuge at his home in the event of a coup, but the offer could not be taken up because the rebels surrounded Vien's house after taking him into custody. Another account has him accepting the coup after being informed of it. General Lâm Quang Thi later recalled that Viên was a Diem loyalist, but remained neutral during the coup. Viên was briefly imprisoned and stripped of his command, but reinstated a month later.

Viên was a critical supporter of the January 1964 South Vietnamese coup in which President Dương Văn Minh was toppled by General Nguyễn Khánh, plotting with him to overthrow Minh and successfully ordering his Airborne Division troops to help secure the capital.Smith, Hedrick. "4 Generals Held", New York Times January 30, 1964; Smith, Hedrick. "New Saigon Chief Tightening His Rule' New York Times January 31, 1964; "New Viet Coup" United Press International January 30, 1964 By March 14, Viên had been promoted by the new regime to brigadier general.Grose, Peter. "U.S. Rallies to Khanh", New York Times, March 15, 1964.

While commanding troops during action in Kiến Phong Province (now Đồng Tháp Province) in March 1964, his unit was ambushed and surrounded on three sides. Viên was wounded in the upper arm and shoulder, and was decorated by the United States with the Silver Star and by the Republic of Vietnam with the National Order of Vietnam (Knight).Nguyễn, Văn Dương The Tragedy of the Vietnam War: A South Vietnamese Officer's Analysis Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2008. "South Vietnamese General Receives U.S. Silver Star", Associated Press, May 13, 1967. The Silver Star citation said that while leading his men in an anti-communist assault, and despite "the confusion and inferno of enemy fire" from both sides and an arm and shoulder wound, Vien "continued to exercise command vigorously and effectively until the enemy had been routed". Viên was the first senior South Vietnamese military officer to be wounded in the field.Apple, Jr., R. W. "Vietcong Hunter After Big Airdrop", New York Times September 16, 1965.As of April 1968, he was still the only senior officer to be so wounded. See: Tuohy, William. "S. Viet Chief of Staff Reported to Have Quit", Los Angeles Times April 4, 1968. His actions won him widespread respect from American military officers."Viet Coup Rumor", Associated Press; September 12, 1964 In mid-October 1964 Viên was named Commander of III Corps, which held the critical region around Saigon.Nguyễn, Cao Kỳ and Wolf, Marvin J. Buddha's Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam New York: Macmillan, 2002.

Viên was appointed Chief of Staff of the Joint General Staff (JGS) on September 11, 1964, after President Khanh dismissed General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu to win Buddhist support for his government."Khanh Dismisses Three" United Press International September 12, 1964 As Chief of Staff of the JGS, he controlled troop movements around the capital and assigned officers to a few critical positions. He supported Khanh and helped suppress a counter-coup by Major General Dương Văn Đức on September 14, 1964.Grose, Peter. "Khanh, Back at the Helm, Lauds Younger Officers", New York Times September 15, 1964; "Reform Demands Handed to Khanh", Los Angeles Times September 15, 1964. He helped put down another coup on September 27."Saigon Troops Guard Against Coup", Los Angeles Times September 28, 1964 Along with General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, Air Commodore Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, and Admiral Chung Tấn Cang, he supported a coup against Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương in December 1964."Dissidents Offer to Mediate" United Press International. December 21, 1964. He led the then-biggest helicopter attack of the war in February 1965.Foisie, Jack. "Biggest Copter Attack of Viet War Launched", Los Angeles Times February 28, 1965 When Viet Cong forces launched a mortar attack on the city of Đồng Xoài on June 10, 1965, Viên held U.S. forces from attacking—keeping the U.S. out of the war at a time when the United States was still attempting to avoid active involvement in the war.Langguth, Jack. "Mortars Open Attack", New York Times June 11, 1965; Associated Press The World in 1965 New York: Associated Press, 1966; "Perspective", Los Angeles Times June 13, 1965; Esper, George The Eyewitness History of the Vietnam War, 1961-1975 New York: Ballantine Books, 1983. ; Maitland, Terrence and McInerney, Peter Contagion of War (1965–1967): The Vietnam Experience Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1983. When President Phan Khắc Sửu resigned on June 17, 1965, and now-Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ succeeded him, Viên was made a member of the military council which acted as a de facto cabinet."New Viet Premier", Los Angeles Times June 19, 1965

Joint General Staff