Nguyễn Hữu Có facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nguyễn Hữu Có
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Deputy Prime Minister of South Vietnam | |
| In office 1 October 1965 – 27 January 1967 Serving with Nguyễn Lưu Viên
|
|
| Prime Minister | Nguyễn Cao Kỳ |
| Preceded by | Trần Văn Đỗ Trần Văn Tuyên |
| Succeeded by | Phạm Đăng Lâm |
| Minister of National Defense of South Vietnam | |
| In office 21 June 1965 – 27 January 1967 |
|
| Prime Minister | Nguyễn Cao Kỳ |
| Preceded by | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu |
| Succeeded by | Cao Văn Viên |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 February 1925 Mỹ Tho, Tiền Giang Province, French Indochina |
| Died | 3 July 2012 (aged 87) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | Nguyễn Thị Tín |
| Children | 12 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Republic of Vietnam |
| Branch/service |
|
| Years of service | 1943–1967 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Battles/wars | 1963 South Vietnamese coup |
Nguyễn Hữu Có ([ŋwiəŋ˨˩˦ hɨw˨˩˦ kɔ˦˥] ng'weeng-HEEW-koh; born February 23, 1925 – died July 3, 2012) was a soldier and politician from South Vietnam. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was important in several changes of government in the 1960s.
In 1963, Có became well-known for his part in the November coup. This event removed Vietnam's president, Ngô Đình Diệm, from power. Có's boss, General Tôn Thất Đính, put him in charge of the 7th Division. This helped keep forces loyal to the president out of Saigon. After the coup, Có was promoted to brigadier general. Over the next two years, South Vietnam went through many changes in government. Có became more important as other generals struggled for power.
By 1965, Có became the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister. He worked under Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. People started to notice Có's wealth. He was also seen as a political threat by Kỳ. In 1967, Kỳ removed Có from his positions when both men were traveling. Kỳ then stopped Có from returning to the country, sending him into exile. Later, Thiệu became more powerful than Kỳ. Thiệu allowed Có to return in 1970. Có then stayed out of politics and worked in banking and business. In 1975, the communists took control of South Vietnam. Có was captured and held in re-education camps for 12 years. After being released, Có chose to stay in Vietnam. He lived there until he passed away in 2012.
Contents
Early Military Career
Có started his military career as a field commander. He fought for the French-backed Vietnamese National Army. This army was fighting against Hồ Chí Minh's Việt Minh during the First Indochina War. He led a special mobile group of soldiers.
Overthrowing President Diệm
Có was involved in the 1963 coup that removed President Ngô Đình Diệm from power. Colonel Có was the assistant to General Tôn Thất Đính. Đính commanded the III Corps forces. This group oversaw the area around the capital city, Saigon. The Ngô family trusted Đính to protect them from any coup attempts. However, in late 1963, Đính began to plan against Diệm with other generals.
As part of the generals' plan, Đính sent Colonel Có to Mỹ Tho. Có was to speak with the commander of the 7th Division, Colonel Bùi Đình Đạm. He also spoke with other officers. At that time, the 7th Division was controlled by the IV Corps. This corps was led by General Cao, who was loyal to Diệm. The 7th Division was near Saigon. Its decision would be very important for the coup's success. Có told the officers that the Diệm government was not helping the military. He said that all generals except Cao were part of the plan.
Diệm's agents heard about this conversation and reported it to the palace. When the Ngô brothers asked Đính about it, he pretended to be shocked. He cried and said it was his fault. He claimed Có had taken advantage of his absence to cause trouble. Đính said he knew nothing about Có's actions. He even threatened to have Có killed. However, Diệm's brother, Nhu, wanted to keep Có alive. He hoped to use Có to catch the other plotters. Nhu ordered Đính to plan a fake coup against the Ngô family. One of Nhu's goals was to trick people who opposed the government into joining the fake uprising. This way, they could be identified and removed.
Đính was put in charge of this fake coup. He was also given control of the 7th Division. This meant his III Corps completely surrounded Saigon. This would stop Cao from attacking the capital to save Diệm. Cao had done this during the 1960 coup attempt. Diệm did not trust Có. So, on October 31, he put a loyal officer, Colonel Lâm Văn Phát, in command of the 7th Division. Before taking control, Phát had to visit the corps commander. Đính refused to see Phát. He told him to come back later. By then, the real coup was planned to start. In the meantime, Đính had another general sign an order. This order transferred command of the 7th Division to Có.
On the morning of the coup, November 1, Có flew by helicopter to Mỹ Tho. This was the division headquarters. He went to take command. He arrived two hours before the coup was set to begin. He held a ceremony for the officers already there. They thought it was a normal change of command. When the coup started, Có's men rushed in with guns. They arrested the officers and took control. Có told everyone, "Please remain seated quietly. Anyone who rises will be instantly shot."
Có then called Cao, who was further south. Có told Cao that the transfer of command had gone smoothly. Có was from central Vietnam. He worried that Cao, who was from the Mekong Delta, would notice his fake southern accent. He was pretending to be Phát, who was also from the south. But Cao did not notice. When Cao's officers told him there was a coup in the capital, he thought it was the fake coup. Nhu had told him about it. Cao was one of the most loyal generals. He was supposed to help with the second part of Nhu's plan. However, late on the night of the coup, Cao realized the coup was real.
Cao sent the 9th Division to move north towards Saigon to save Diệm. But Có had already planned to stop any attempt by Cao to help Saigon. When Cao radioed the 7th Division in Mỹ Tho, Có answered. He teased the general, saying, "Didn't you recognize my accent?" Có told Cao that he had ordered all the ferries to the Saigon side of the Mekong River. He warned Cao not to try to cross unless he wanted to die.
Seeing that Diệm was defeated, Cao agreed to support the coup. After the coup succeeded, Có became a general in the new government. Có said that Diệm "made so many mistakes." He especially mentioned Diệm's favoritism towards Roman Catholics. Diệm had often promoted officers based on loyalty, not skill.
Joining the Government
The government led by General Dương Văn Minh was removed in a January 1964 coup by General Nguyễn Khánh. Khánh put several leading generals in jail. But Có was not affected. South Vietnam had many short-lived governments over the next 18 months.
In August 1964, Khánh tried to gain more power. This led to strong protests. He was forced to step back, and his rule became unstable. Khánh promised to create a new government within a year. The generals argued at a meeting on August 26-27. They blamed each other for the problems. Thiệu and Có wanted to replace Khánh with Minh. But Minh refused. He reportedly said that Khánh was the only one who would get money from the United States. After more arguments, they agreed that Khánh, Minh, and Khiệm would rule together for two months. Then, a new civilian government would be formed. However, this group did little because they disagreed so much. Khánh made most of the decisions and pushed Khiệm and Minh aside.
In January 1965, the Prime Minister, Trần Văn Hương, tried to expand the military. He wanted to make more people join the army. This caused many protests and riots. Students and Buddhists, who wanted peace talks, were especially upset. Khánh relied on Buddhist support. So, he decided to have the military take over. He removed Hương on January 27. Khánh removed Hương without violence. He had the support of Thi and Kỳ. He promised to leave politics once things were stable. It was thought that some officers supported Khánh's increased power. They hoped he would fail and be removed permanently.
By this time, the United States' relationship with Khánh had worsened. The U.S. wanted a change in leadership. They saw Khánh's reliance on Buddhist support as a problem for expanding the war. In early February, the U.S. told the leading officers that they were "in no way propping up General Khánh."
At this point, the U.S. Embassy thought highly of three officers as possible replacements for Khánh. These were Thiệu, Có (who commanded II Corps), and Admiral Chung Tấn Cang. A U.S. report said Có was an "outstanding officer" and "friendly to Americans." At the same time, the CIA knew that Có was unhappy with Khánh. He had stopped attending government meetings after Khánh accused him of being "bought off by the Americans."
However, the careful plans of Thiệu, Có, and Cang were not as fast as Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo's. Thảo was secretly working for the communists. Có and the other officers preferred by the Americans waited to see what others would do. They did not take bold action. Thảo acted first. The Americans opposed Thảo. With their help, Kỳ and Thi defeated Thảo's attempt. They then overthrew Khánh as well. Kỳ and Thi became the most important officers in the new government. In mid-1965, Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became prime minister. General Thiệu became the figurehead president. They led a 10-person government. Có was part of this group until elections were held in 1967. Có served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
Có was known for his wealth. As a general, his basic pay was US$177 per month. But he managed to buy three large houses in Saigon. He also owned property worth about US$600,000 near the Tan Son Nhut Air Base. It was believed his wealth came from various sources. His wife was known to enjoy gambling.
Có was seen as a political threat to Kỳ. He was also a person that those who disagreed with the government would gather around. Có, for his part, thought Kỳ was "immature." In early 1967, Kỳ sent Có to Taiwan. He was supposedly representing the government at a ceremony. Meanwhile, Kỳ visited Australia. With Có out of the country, Kỳ announced Có's removal on January 25. Có wanted to return to Saigon. But he was threatened with arrest and trial. Soldiers were sent to the airport. Có spent three years living away from Vietnam in Hong Kong. When President Thiệu took more power from Kỳ, he allowed Có to return to South Vietnam in 1970. Có stayed out of politics. He worked as a commercial banker and then as a businessman.
Imprisonment and Later Life
On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell, and the communists took control. Có planned to leave but waited too long. He was not evacuated by the U.S. military. He thought about leaving by boat. But he decided it was too risky with his 11 children. In June 1975, Có was told to report to a re-education camp. Most government workers and military officers were sent there.
Có was first held at the Quang Trung National Training Center. This was about 15 kilometers north of Saigon. It had been a training center for new soldiers. According to Có, the conditions were good. There were also political lessons. In June 1976, he was suddenly moved by airplane to Yên Bái in northern Vietnam. There, he was forced to do manual labor. In 1978, he and some other generals were moved to Hà Tây. This was in the Red River Delta east of Hanoi. He was held in a facility where he was asked to write about South Vietnam's military strategies and government.
In 1979, Có was moved by himself to Nam Ha. There, he had more political lessons and did manual labor with other prisoners. He was later returned to Hà Tây to be with the other generals. In 1983, he was moved back to Nam Ha. He stayed there until his release in 1987. He had been held for 12 years. While he was imprisoned, his wife, who had always been a homemaker, took her first job. She worked in a knitting factory to support their children. After being released, Có decided to stay in Vietnam under communist rule. In 2012, he passed away at his home in Ho Chi Minh City after a six-year battle with diabetes.
Awards and Decorations
South Vietnam :
Commander of the National Order of Vietnam
Army Distinguished Service Order, First Class
