Le Van Kim
Le Van Kim was a general in the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam who served as Inspector of the Strategic Hamlet Program, and later deputy chief of the Joint General Staff, then headed by his brother-in-law, Tran Van Don. He was considered highly competent by the Central Intelligence Agency,[1].
While a colonel, he distinguished himself in rural pacification in 1955. [2]
A Buddhist, he was personally close to Duong Van Minh, and was a member of the Military Revolutionary Council after the November 1963 coup that overthrew President Ngo Dinh Diem. As a result of the January 1964 coup by Nguyen Khanh, he was charged with being a neutralist follower of Charles de Gaulle, charges that were dismissed by a court-martial.[3] Nevertheless, he held no further responsible commands.
References
- ↑ Office of Current Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency; annotations by McGeorge Bundy (August 28, 1963), "Cast of Characters in South Vietnam,", in Prados, John, JFK and the Diem Coup, vol. George Washington University National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 101, OCI 2703/63
- ↑ , Volume 1, Chapter 5, "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960", Section 2, pp. 283-314, The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume 1
- ↑ Langguth, A J (2000), Our Vietnam: The War 1954-1975, Simon & Schuster, pp. 276-277