View source for Ngô Du

{{Short description|South Vietnamese general (1926–1977)}}
{{Infobox military person
| name         = Ngô Du
| image        = File:Brigadier general Ngô Dzu.jpg
| caption      = Brigadier general Ngô Du in 1968
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1925|01|01}}
| birth_place  = [[Qui Nhơn]], [[Annam (French protectorate)|Annam]], [[French Indochina]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1977|2|14|1925|01|01}}
| death_place  = [[Sacramento]], [[California]]
| spouse       =
| children     =
| module       =
| allegiance   = {{plainlist|
* [[State of Vietnam]]
* [[South Vietnam]]
}}
| branch       = [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]]
| serviceyears =
| rank         = [[Lieutenant general]]
| commands     = [[IV Corps (South Vietnam)|IV Corps]]<br>[[II Corps (South Vietnam)|II Corps]]
| battles      = [[Battle of Kontum]]
| awards       =
}}
'''Ngô Du''' (1925–1977) was a Lieutenant general in the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]] (ARVN).
A Catholic from [[Qui Nhơn]] and the son of a government official, he was educated at a French Catholic boys' school in [[Huế]]. He held few combat commands and had few connections with the [[South Vietnam]]ese political elite. Du held low-key planning positions on the [[Joint General Staff]] until he was propelled into the role of acting commander of the [[IV Corps (South Vietnam)|IV Corps Tactical Zone]] upon the accidental death of Brigadier General [[Nguyen Viet Thanh]] in 1970. In August 1970 Du was promoted to command of the [[II Corps (South Vietnam)|II Corps Tactical Zone]] in the [[Central Highlands (Vietnam)|Central Highlands]] of South Vietnam.
In June 1971 27 ARVN colonels and majors in II Corps wrote to commanders in Saigon complaining of Du's corruption. Du claimed that the charges were made by his enemies and no action was taken against him.
During July 1971 allegations were raised in the [[US Congress]] that Du was deeply involved in the drug trade. Du's senior U.S. advisor, [[John Paul Vann]] acknowledged forthrightly that Du was corrupt and that, whatever his interest in drugs, his lifestyle far exceeded his legal income. Yet he was, said Vann, so amenable to American instruction that, to maintain respect for him within the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]] (ARVN), his American advisers had even on occasion warned him to be more independent. On that account, said Vann, "Despite some obvious shortcomings, I would rate Ngo Dzu as second... [among] the eight corps commanders I have worked with." With Vann's rejoinder on record, the US dropped the issue and never pursued the allegations against Du.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=William|title=The U.S. Army in Vietnam Public Affairs The Military and the Media 1968-1973|publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History|year=1996 |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/091/91-2/index.html|isbn=978-0160486968|page=397}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>
From his headquarters at [[Pleiku]], he and Vann commanded ARVN forces during the [[Battle of Kontum]], part of the North Vietnamese [[Easter Offensive]] of 1972. His command abilities during the ensuing fighting, according to his American advisors, left a lot to be desired.<ref>{{cite book|last=Andrade|first=Dale|title=Trial by Fire: The 1972 Easter offensive, America's Last Vietnam Battle|publisher=Hippocrene|year=1995|isbn=9780781802864|pages=311-2}}</ref> On 10 May 1972 he was replaced as corps commander by Major General [[Nguyễn Văn Toàn (general)|Nguyễn Văn Toàn]]. Commenting on his replacement Vann said "All distant critics like to see a scalp fall, it makes them feel better. I am aware of criticism by members of the National Assembly from Binhdinh and Kontum Provinces of General Dzu's handling of the situation." Commenting on Toàn, Vann said "He'll either be better or worse than General Dzu or maybe similar."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Saigon replaces Highlands commander|author=Malcolm Browne|date=11 May 1972|page=19}}</ref>
In January 1973 Du was appointed as the South Vietnamese representative to the Four-Party Joint Military Commission responsible for implementing the [[Paris Peace Accords]]. South Vietnamese government and military officials stated that Du's appointment showed [[Leaders of South Vietnam|President]] [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]]'s disdain for the commission. On 11 February 1973 Du was abruptly replaced on the commission due to his "physical condition".<ref>{{cite news|title=Saigon ousts its top man on Truce Commission|publisher=the New York Times|author=Joseph Treaster|date=12 February 1973}}</ref>
In a postwar interview with the [[RAND Corporation]], [[Nguyễn Cao Kỳ]] said of Du: "he's a coward; he's involved in all kind of smuggling and corruption, but still many Americans, when they come to me, they say, you know, Dzu is a "number one" type."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Stephen|last1=Hosmer|first2=Konrad|last2=Kellen|first3=Brian|last3=Jenkins|title=The Fall of South Vietnam: Statements by Vietnamese military and civilian leaders|publisher=RAND Corporation|year=1978|url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R2208.html|isbn=|page=36}}</ref>
Du escaped from Saigon in 1975. He died in California on 14 February 1977, at age 52.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ngo Dzu Dies in California at 52|work=New York Times|date=15 February 1977}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{ARVN}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121021140659/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905359,00.html?promoid=googlep The Dzu Story]
*[http://www.thebattleofkontum.com/stars/27.html Another Top General Fired by Thieu]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngo, Du}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals]]
[[Category:People from Bình Định province]]
[[Category:Vietnamese Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States]]
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