THE DEATH OF A LEGENDARY MILITARY LEADER
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On Monday, March 6, 2000, the Hanoi Central Military Party Committee and the Ministry of Defense announced that the remains of the late Major General Nguyen Binh, aka Nguyen Phuong Thao, killed in 1951 in Cambodia, were recovered and repatriated on February 29, 2000. Memorial and funeral ceremonies are held on March 11 at the 7th Military Region Headquarters in Saigon (the former Republic of Vietnam Joint General Staff).
The announcement draws attention of the old Vietnamese generations. To them, Nguyen Binh was a legendary military commander in the Resistance War against the French, renowned in the country for military talent that earned him high esteems even from his enemies.
According to Hanoi authorities, Nguyen Binh was born in 1908 in Hung Yen province near Hanoi. Meanwhile records in South Vietnam and in the USA show his birthday is in 1906.
According to his official biographical sketch by Hanoi government, Nguyen Binh participated in a students' anti-French movement in 1925-1927. In 1928, he joined the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang when this party was growing up. In 1929, Nguyen Binh was arrested by the French colonialist security service during its nation-wide crack-down on the VNQDD. Along with hundreds of his comrades, he was serving his jail term in the Poulo Condore Island.
In the prison, the Communist inmates convinced Nguyen Binh to leave the VNQDD and join their side. Since 1935 when he was released from Poulo Condore, he had been actively serving the revolutionary cause in the "Front Populaire," a left-wing movement in France and her colonies. He had been arrested several times in 1936 (Thai Nguyen) and 1938 (Hung Yen). In 1943, Nguyen Binh was in charge of "binh van" or proselytizing enemy soldiers, and procuring weapons for the Communist party.
In August 1945, Nguyen Binh was commanding the revolutionary troops fighting in the coastal provinces of North Vietnam, and was named as the head of Northern Coastal Region.
In October 1945, Ho Chi Minh personally appointed Nguyen Binh as commander of the 7th Region (Saigon and its vicinities). In 1948, he was promoted to the position of Commander of the National Army and Militias of Nam Bo (former Cochinchina), the combined military force fighting the French under the Viet Minh control.
Ho Chi Minh promoted him to the rank of Major General on Jan. 1, 1948. It should be noted that at the time until 1958, the Viet Minh army had had no rank system. Only some top commanders holding key positions were awarded ranks.
In 1951, Ho Chi Minh recalled Nguyen Binh from his commanding post. Nguyen Binh was to meet Ho at his secret headquarters in North Vietnam to "report" (the situation in Nam Bo). His journey would have been over two months walking the Long Mountains trails.
When he was in Cambodian territory (Rattanakiri province, along common borders with Vietnam's Pleiku and Kontum provinces), he was killed by the French Army Cambodian soldiers who were waiting in ambush. The date is September 29, 1951.
Under his command till his death, the Resistance units that mostly included non-communist activists, were fighting bravely against the French forces and won many fierce battles in southern areas. Their victories reverberated all around the country.
One of his famous exploits was the commandos' attack at the French Army ammunition depot beside the Thi Nghe canal, across the street from the Saigon Zoo back gate. Legend runs that Nguyen Binh had sent warning of his oncoming attack to the French military authorities weeks ahead.
On a night, his commandos infiltrated the depot through the barbed wire fence and destroyed the depot. According to the legend, a 12-year-old boy sneaked into the depot without being detected. He fell upon the main target then set fire to his body already soaked in gasoline to ignite greater fire in the ammunition storage.
Whether the legend was true or not, Nguyen Binh has been known to many Vietnamese as a hero and a military genius. In another aspect, Nguyen Binh also typifies the patriots on the Viet Minh side, who were suspected of being opposed to the rule of Ho Chi Minh, and thus became victims of Ho Chi Minh's bloody purge to eliminate his potential rivals.
There are many unanswered questions regarding the Nguyen Binh case.
He was serving the Communist Party since 1935, so he must have been one of the most faithful to the party cause. Why had he not awarded the membership until 1946?
Why did Ho Chi Minh recall him just for reporting the situation in the Nam Bo region, whereas such minor task could have been done by any of Nguyen Binh's associates or subordinates? Calling back a field commander while his troops were fighting for such an insignificant work is in no way justifiable. It should be noted that Nguyen Binh would have to walk the 1000-mile Long Mountains Trails, to go see Ho Chi Minh. It took people about 60 days to complete such journey.
The question that is hardest to answer is how could the Communist military locate the grave site in an area of dense jungle, certainly without mark and attention for the last 49 years? And how could the remains be identified as of Nguyen Binh? The Vietnam Communist army has not had any explanations.
Another question is why does the Communist Party now bring back the controversial story after so many years of silence?
Sources close to the French intelligence and speculation by nationalists who were well informed of the Communist personalities alleged that Nguyen Binh had been put to death by the wily scheme of Ho Chi Minh and his close subordinates. The allegation was supported by some reliable facts.
On the route from his Nam Bo headquarters to the Vietnam-Cambodia border, Nguyen Binh and his companions were welcomed to many farewell parties held by local authorities and people. News of such events was not kept secret and it quickly reached the French intelligence service.
It was also alleged that Nguyen Binh private secretary, who was also his wife or mistress, had to frequently report his itinerary by radio. However since Nguyen Binh and his suite departed for the long journey, she had not received updated cipher keys. So the French intelligence specialists had no difficulty to decode her messages to predict their most possible routes.
The French then launched a series of ambushes along a part of the Long Chains Trails. Nguyen Binh and his group fell into one of the ambushes at last.
Among materials captured at the scene was Nguyen Binh's diary, with his own hand writing. The short diary was published in a Paris Match issue not long after Nguyen Binh's death.
Nguyen Binh's death once again reminds people of the brutality of Ho Chi Minh's leadership and another example of his crafty tricks to get rid of his rivals.
Many Vietnamese have been well aware of the tricks. One of them was to reward the persons who were executed by Ho's orders, with posthumous promotion, restoring their party membership and honors...
Under Ho's Land Reform Campaign (1953-1956), Ho's decrees of commutation granted to hundreds of landlords arrived shortly after they had been executed, so that the Communist authorities could lay the blame on "delay of mail delivery."
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