Nguyen Van Cu

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Lieutenant Nguyen Van Cu (born 1934 in Vietnam) was a pilot in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, 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 Ngo Dinh Diem and his immediate family, who were his political advisers.

[edit] Biography

Cu was the second son of Nguyen Van Luc, a leader of Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (VNQDD), a nationalist party which opposed the regime of Diem. Cu was trained in the United States as a pilot, and had not been promoted for six years, which he felt was due to his father’s opposition to Diem, who had him briefly jailed for "antigovernment activities."[1] Cu felt that Diem was not focused enough on fighting the Vietcong, but was preoccupied with maintaining power. He criticised the Americans for their support for Diem, which he felt had stifled the war effort, saying “I felt that the Americans had slammed the door on those of us who really wanted the fight against the Communists.”[2]

They had planned for Cu, and Pham Phu Quoc, who he had recruited from his squadron, to attack the Doc Lap (Independence) Palace on February 27.[2] Cu had persuaded Quoc by claiming that all the armed services and the United States were aware of the plot, showing him a Newsweek article critical of Diem.[3]

[edit] Attack

Main article: 1962 South Vietnamese Presidential Palace bombing

Quoc and Cu were scheduled to fly on an early morning mission into the Mekong Delta to attack the Vietcong, but turned around to attack the palace. The French colonial era Palace was in flames as their two fighter aircraft, World War II model AD-6s, supplied by the United States, dropped bombs and napalm. Several rockets as well as machine gun fire were fired at the compound. The assault ended within an hour, but the pilots did not empty their full load, which would have been sufficient to level the Palace. On a cloudy day, they flew at low altitudes of around 150 m, completing cycles before ascending above the clouds. Diem and his family escaped unhurt, with three servants killed and thirty injured. Quoc’s plane was damaged by fire; he ejected over the Saigon River and landed in Nha Be. Cu managed to reach Cambodia safely, believing his attack had been successful. As a result, he gave reporters a press conference, telling them of the military's hate for Diem and his regime. Initially arrested by the police, Cu remained in exile in Cambodia where he worked as a language teacher. After Diem’s assassination in November 1963, Cu returned from exile and resumed his service in the air force.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Durable Diem. Time.
  2. ^ a b c Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A history. Penguin Books, pp. 280–281. ISBN 0-670-84218-4. 
  3. ^ Langguth, A. J. (2000). Our Vietnam. Simon and Schuster, p. 99. ISBN 0-684-81202-9.