How We Lost the Vietnam War

by Nguyễn Cao Kỳ

Nguyen Cao Ky served as South Vietnam's prime minister and its vice president during the years of the Vietnam War's escalation, and of subsequent criticism of the war from the U. S. His memoir provides an insider's look at the disputes and corruption within the government of South Vietnam and the diplomatic struggles with the U. S. during this time. Ky, who was also a military pilot and held the rank of marshal, gives insight into the South Vietnamese military as well, criticizing inaccurate reporting on the war and drawing attention to stories that journalists avoided. Assessing the U. S. ambassadors Bunker and Martin and the role played by foreign aid, Nguyen paint an eye-opening picture of how American politics and elections had a profound effect upon U. S. allies.

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Major General (Thiếu Tướng) Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was a career officer in the Republic of Viet Nam (South Vietnam) Air Force, which he joined in 1949 and eventually rose to command, until his retirement from active service in 1971. He was one of the many Vietnamese military officers who were involved in politics during the 1960s & 1970s, serving as Prime Minister from June 19, 1965 to October 31, 1967. After the elections held when the new constitution went into effect, he served as Vice President under President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, who was also a military officer. In 1971, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ resigned the Vice Presidency in order to run against Nguyễn Văn Thiệu in the upcoming election, but ultimately pulled out of the race along with all the other candidates when it became clear the elections would be rigged. On the morning of April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the communists, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ loaded his personal helicopter with Lieutenant General Ngô Quang Trưởng and several others, and flew out over the South China Sea in search of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, which was stationed just over the horizon off the Vietnamese coast as part of Operation Frequent Wind. After landing the aircraft on a U.S. Navy ship, he went to the U.S. as a refugee, ultimately settling in California. In 2004 Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became the first former political leader of the Republic of Viet Nam to return to his native country. In what was considered by many a controversial gesture, he called for reconciliation between Vietnamese of all political orientations, both inside Viet Nam and in the diaspora.

Reviews

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternatively candid and self-serving, How We Lost the Vietnam War is an autobiography and history by South Vietnam's onetime Prime Minister and Vice President. Ky rose through the ranks as a pilot, missing out on most of the French War while training in Morocco, flying secret CIA transport missions over the north, and then becoming head of the Air Force. Ky ended the post-Diem round of coups, providing a semblance of stable government before elections in 1967. He was politically outmaneuvered by President Thieu, and spent the latter part of the war with little official power, looking on as his country fell apart around him.

A staunch anti-communist, Ky hates the North Vietnamese and their "puppets" in the NLF. He berates the American aid effort for being too heavy, too lavish, training the Vietnamese in compliance to American authority and wealth, rather than scrappy bravery. Special hatred is reserved for Thieu and civilian leaders, who are presented as venal, corrupt, and unable to take any action even with the wolf at their door.

Of course, the key word in the title is "We", and Ky avoids taking personal responsibility for the fall of South Vietnam. The closest he comes is saying that if he had seized power, he'd have fought on and made the Communist pay a higher price. But he doesn't seem to have much grasp of what to do, beyond authoritarianism.

[Mckysky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read Our great spring victory
General Van Tien Dung

[van.derwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

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