Major General Nguyen Ngoc Loan was born on December 11, 1930 in
Hue, Vietnam. He graduated from Institute de la Providence, a renowned French
Catholic secondary school and passed both Baccalaureat levels, a feat only the
brightest students could achieve. He was enrolled in Saigon University when he
was drafted to the Vietnam National Army (VNA) in 1951. Trained at the Thu Duc
Military Academy, he was a member of the absolute 1st class of officers of the
VNA (i.e., Khoa 1 Thu Duc/Nam Dinh).
Subsequently selected for the Air Force,
Nguyen Ngoc Loan underwent pilot training at Salon de Provence, France. In
1955, Nguyen Ngoc Loan became one of the first fighter pilots of the Vietnamese
Air (VNAF). He also received additional flight training in the United States.
An accomplished pilot, Nguyen Ngoc Loan led many air combat operations; in
particular, he participated in the February 1965 Operation Flaming Dart
airstrikes targeting North Vietnam.
With the departure of France from Indochina in 1956, the VNA was
reorganized under American tutelage as the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN). Nguyen Ngoc Loan served in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF)
for almost a decade gradually taking on more responsibilities involving intelligence
and security. In June 1965, he was appointed Director of the Military Security
Service. This was followed within a few months by an appointment to Director of
the Central Intelligence Organization, thus giving Nguyen Ngoc Loan
simultaneous control of both military intelligence and security. He was further
designated Director General of the Republic of Vietnam National Police in April
1966.
Nguyen Ngoc Loan was instrumental in suppressing the Buddhist
Uprising of 1966 which caused violent civil and military unrest in Hue. He was
promoted to Brigadier General in November 1967. In 1968 during the General
Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than, Nguyen Ngoc Loan led Police Special
Forces and Marines fighting fearlessly against the Viet Cong attacks in Saigon.
Nguyen Ngoc Loan was promoted to Major General after the ARVN resolutely dealt
the Viet Cong a major military defeat. A few months after Tet Mau Than, Nguyen
Ngoc Loan was seriously injured by gunfire, which led to the amputation of a
leg. He retired from the ARVN in 1969.
Major General Nguyen Ngoc Loan was a staunch nationalist who
believed that Vietnam should be a free country ruled by the Vietnamese. In
addition to his military service, he was a strident advocate for hospital
construction.
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