Lâm Quang Thơ
Born(1931-02-08)8 February 1931
Bạc Liêu, French Indochina
Died8 February 1985(1985-02-08) (aged 54)
San Francisco, California, United States
Allegiance South Vietnam
Service/branchArmy of the Republic of Vietnam
Years of service1950–1975
RankMajor general
Commands heldVietnamese National Military Academy
18th Division
Battles/warsVietnam War
RelationsLâm Quang Thi

Lâm Quang Thơ (8 February 1931 – 1985) was a Major general in the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

Early life and family

Thơ was born in Bac Lieu on 8 February 1931, to a family of wealthy landowning farmers.

Military career

He joined the Vietnamese National Army in 1950 and graduated from the Vietnamese National Military Academy, in Da Lat.

In September 1966 COMUSMACV General William Westmoreland directed General John F. Freund to examine the ARVN officer training program of the National Military Academy, believing it should reflect a leadership philosophy stressing "the obligation and responsibility of the graduates to the country as opposed to self-interest." According to the American advisers at the academy, the commandant, Thơ, was one of the least effective ARVN general officers.[1]:159–60

In August 1969 he was appointed as commander of the 18th Division, replacing the inept Đỗ Kế Giai, however Thơ turned out equally bad in the eyes of his US advisers.[1]:478 One MACV evaluation later described Tho as a "highly respected and admired general," while another judged him to be a "coward and military incompetent."[1]:365

In April 1972 he was replaced as commander of the 18th Division by Colonel Lê Minh Đảo and he returned to command the National Military Academy.[1]:486

In late March 1975 as the People's Army of Vietnam 1975 spring offensive overran large swathes of South Vietnam, Thơ was ordered to defend Dalat. However seeing that the area was almost surrounded and knowing that the cadets would be needed to rebuild the shattered ARVN, Thơ instead secured Route 11 to Phan Rang and on the night of 31 March all cadets and instructors were loaded onto trucks and driven to Phan Rang, arriving the next morning. With only disorganised Regional Forces left to defend the city, it was captured with minimal resistance by the PAVN 812th Regiment on 3 April.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Clarke, Jeffrey (1998). The U.S. Army in Vietnam Advice and Support: The Final Years, 1965-1973 (PDF). U.S. Army Center of Military History. ISBN 978-1518612619.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Veith, George (2012). Black April The Fall of South Vietnam 1973-75. Encounter Books. pp. 253–4. ISBN 9781594035722.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.