Poor Nguyen Cao Ky.
For a brief period, 1965 to 1967, the air force general (a rank earned by participating in a coup) was the Prime Minister and de facto head of state of South Vietnam.
But then he lost the intricate backroom maneuvering to President Nguyen Van Thieu, and life has been all downhill since.
During the Tet Offensive of 1968, a number of Nguyen Cao Ky‘s military allies were killed in a friendly-fire bombing. Some blamed Thieu, who obviously denied it. Either way, Ky’s wings were clipped.
Throughout the Vietnam War, Ky was accused of various forms of corruption, smuggling, drug-running and generally syphoning off of American aid into personal wealth and foreign bank accounts.
He also infamously said that Hitler was his hero.
In 1975, as communist forces approached Saigon, he again uttered infamous words, exhorting South Vietnam’s military that “I will fight by your side to my last drop of blood” and then minutes later boarded a helicopter to fly himself and his family out of the country.
In the U.S., Ky was accused by investigative columnist Jack Anderson of being the leader of Vietnamese gangs in California and Texas. He nonetheless remains widely admired by other former South Vietnamese officers living in the U.S.
In 1990, when communist regimes all over Eastern Europe were dropping like flies, Ky jumped on the bandwagon and attempted to position himself as the leader of anti-communism. Or, as the eminent Vietnam expert Douglas Pike called it, “emperor of Vietnamese abroad.”
That didn’t work. The Communist Party of Vietnam remains entrenched in power.
In 2004, Ky became the highest-ranking former South Vietnamese official to return to the country. He announced his decision to live in Vietnam permanently and began a new, lucrative career as a broker bringing investors to the impoverished country.
Now, the buzz is alive with Ky’s name again. A picture (above) of Nguyen Cao Ky attending the funeral of Vo Van Kiet, a former Viet Cong fighter and later prime minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, was published on the BBC Vietnamese service’s web site and is now making its round on the email listservs, prompting renewed denouncement of the man who once held rock-star status among the exiled Vietnamese military types.
I’m expecting Lan Nguyen, Van Tran to write an Op-Ed soon. Where is Ngo Ky? Please organize a protest. I dare Ngo Ky would do this. Cao Ky’s loyal followers would kick this guy a**. These Bolsa anti-commies or scumbags only pick on the weak ones. They pick and choose who they protest.
HAHAHA , YOU ARE RIGHT ANH TU ! THOSE FAKE ANTI COMMIES SIMPLY ARE INSANE AND THEY EVEN DARE NOT GET CLOSE TO NGUYEN CAO KY , I GUARANTEE IT !!!
NGUYEN CAO KY IS A BRAVE PERSON AND SALUTE HIM FOR HIS FRANK POLITICAL VIEWPOINTS AND ACTIONS , NO MATTER PEOPLE LIKE THEM OR NOT ! IT IS TOO BAD THAT THOSE FAKE ANTI VC SIMPLY ARE THE NOISY MINORITY AND THAT THEY HAVE THEIR VOICE UNHEARD IN THE US IN GENERAL AND IN THE VN COMMUNITY HERE IN PARTICULAR !!!!!!!! WAKE UP !
Jung Kim is a North Korean guy and the vietnamese community here in Little Saigon is safer and quieter without him ! He is insane indeed !
The “intellectually challenged” reality aka Viet Cong is having his low day………without me around!
The vietnamese community is sure to be happy without you around , North Korean Jung Kim !!!
Our Viet community will be happy to get rid of polluted Viet Cong from Asian- Flu plagued chicken palace.
IF MR. nguyen cao ky DID SAY THAT ” hitler WAS HIS HERO ” THEN he’S REALLY REALLY A ” MAD MAN ” … PLUS he’S ALSO A BIG COWARD TO RUN OFF LIKE he DID AND LEFT HIS MEN BEHIND. I PERSONALLY HAVE NO RESPECT FOR him OR MR. nguyen van thieu.
Hey , Jung Kim is a North Korean guy and he is nothing to do with the vietnamese community ! Go back to North Korea , Insane Jung Kim ! Nobody wants you here !!!!
Not only Nguyen Cao Ky and Nguyen van Thieu ran off , TLC ; all people who ran off before Saigon fell are ” big coward ” as you said of Ky and Thieu ! I have no comment !!!
Reality is either truly ignorant or extremely biased.
Nguyen Cao Ky was a leader. He was the most gungho, anti-communist out of all. He earned great respect and commanded a great following among VNCH soldiers. He pledged his life to stand and fight with them. Then he quickly fled, leaving behind those who believed in him. How many young lives were wasted because of Ky’s false promise and betrayal?
His action was clearly betrayal. It was an act of cowardice. Many other leaders also escaped during those last days of VNCH but they accepted their responsibility, and lived quietly thereafter. Ky, on the other hand, is always after fame, power, and money.
Ky is a person who will do whatever it takes simply for personal gains. Country or honor would be the last thing on his mind.
With leaders like that, no wonder VNCH collapsed. His followers today should wake up and realize that their leader is nothing but a scam. You can follow and support him out of previous personal ties or for benefit but you can’t go anywhere with the argument that because others left like Ky, they are also cowards.
Who are you kidding but yourself?
Leadership demands character. Leaders must believe in a cause before he can inspire. What are his values? What are his true cause/beliefs?
Frankly, I give more respect to those Vietnamese communist leaders who truly believed in their quest for independence (people like Tran Do, Vo Nguyen Giap) than the sleezy Ky.
Good comment, Publius.
reality is truly ignorant ………his IQ score is much less than chimps.
Hey Publius ,
You have the right to your opinion about ” coward people ” ” like Ky , Thieu and other high ranking officers who fled the country before Saigon fell and ” heroes ” like general Tran Do and general Vo Nguyen Giap . I have no idea about your comments , but please do not try to give anybody a lesson why VNCH collapsed , because you are not in the postion to ” teach anybody ” at all about politics and history !!! . I have a suggestion : keep your mouth shut , you talk too much !!! I am nobody’s fan or follower !!!!
This is for Jung Kim : you are idiot and insane ! Ignorance is still better than insanity and idiocy !!!
Hey ignorant rat,……… face the reality and enlist your self to the Mao’s mental institute for the new commie’s brain cell enriching treatment program.
CALM DOWN REALITY, DON’T BE MAD AT PUBLIUS’ COMMENT
I THOUGHT IT’S PRETTY GOOD ACTUALLY. EXCEPT THE FIRST LINE, OTHERWISE THE REST OF THEM ARE QUITE TRUE. SAD 
BUT TRUE… AND JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE THINK THAT THEY ARE HOLDING A HIGH RANKING POSITION & HAS A TITLE TO GO WITH IT THEN THEY WILL GET THE RESPECT BUT RESPECT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO EARN AND I THINK MR. nguyen cao ky HAS LOST ALL OF THAT WHEN he FLED & LEFT ALL HIS MEN BEHIND.
Hi TLC ,
Thank you for your post ; As I said , I am no fan or follower of anybody ; but I hate FAKE TEACHERS of history and politics and FAKE POLITICIANS ! I don’t defend them and I don’t badmouth them either . Just keep cool and don’t blame them for the collapse of VNCH , because history is not as simple as they think ! So many books about the collapse of VNCH already are on the markets and on the bookshelves , but still the debate has not ended yet ! I love something fun to post , to argue , to talk back and forth , but no personal hate is needed here ! I don’t hate VC and and don’t blame VNCH either , because all this is over my head !!! I am not ignorant or biased as he thought and my suggestion is that he keeps his mouth shut and not talking too much like a ” ong thanh song ” ./.
Hi Young Kim ,
I challenge you to reveal your true identity and I’ll do the same so that you and I can talk in public about your fake ideology . You tell me what you did befopre the collapse of VNCH and I’ll tell you what I did , too . OK . I wait for your reply . I hope you are not a rat !!!
If you cannot do that , my conclusion is that you simply are ” UN BLANC BEC ” or a big kid who learns to talk about things your parents can only talk !!!!
All commie wannabes are same… both ignorant and under educated
jung kim, BE NICE ! I KNOW IT’S HARD FOR you BUT COULD you PLEASE TRY ?
Ordinary people like myself had no courage to do anything amid the huge waves of historical events in 1975 except to run away in herds. Now, being safe and free, I would like to pose a question to all my fellow Viets, just for the sake of a healthy discussion, what would you do if you were in the position of Mr. Ky or Mr. Thieu?
WELL, ONE THING he COULD HAVE DONE IS AS SOON AS he REALIZED THAT THE AMERICAN WERE NO LONGER SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY, he SHOULD HAVE TOLD ALL OF HIS MEN THE TRUTH AND TELL THEM TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE & GET THEIR FAMILIES OUT QUICKLY INSTEAD OF MAKING THEM BELIEVED THAT he WOULD HAVE STAY AND FIGHT WITH THEM TILL THE END AND THEN FLED AND LEFT THEM BEHIND. AND I KNOW THAT TO BE ABLE TO PUT SOMEONE’S WELFARE BEFORE YOURSELF IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO, HOWEVER he WAS OUR LEADER AND WITH THAT TITLE WE EXPECTED him TO HAVE CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES FOR OUR COUNTRY & OUR PEOPLE. NOW IF he WAS ONLY AN ORDINARY SOLDIER THEN THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT STORY…
This expectation is not practical because several millions people would try to flee the country right away and the US could not afford that mass exodus.
WHETHER IT’S PRACTICAL OR NOT, IT WAS A RIGHT THING TO DO AND NECESSARY …. I’M SURE ky & thieu HAVE ENOUGH TIMES TO GATHER ALL THEIR FAMILIES & THEIR BELONGING TO ESCAPE WHILE MANY OTHER SOLDIERS WERE STILL STAYING & BELIEVING THAT THEIR LEADER WON’T ABANDONED THEM. NOW WHAT RIGHT DID ky OR thieu HAD TO DICIDE WHOSE LIFE WORTH MORE THAN ANOTHER? ALSO, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT ALL THOSE SOLDIERS WERE THE ONE WHO HAVE SACRIFIED THEMSELVES TO PROTECT OUR COUNTRY, DON’T YOU THINK THEY SHOULD DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE ?
If the soldiers knew the truth they might rebel and kill their own leaders.
Viet Pundit & TLC,
Thank you!
Reality,
If I may, I’d like to withdraw my first sentence. I was in a combative mood and such comment was unwarranted, unnecessary and offensive.
With that said, I’d like to address your claim that Ky was brave. He is not brave. He is gutsy and calculated, with the tendency towards “personal heroism.” Within its own limit, of course, which is as long as he is not harmed or suffering any considerable loss.
Ky is not visionary. He is opportunistic. His daring acts derived from his ability to smell opportunity and make bold moves for personal gains. Courage, on the other hand, is shown in acts of making sacrifices, that although detrimental to one’s own interest, were carried out for a cause or for the public good.
We are here to discuss and debate. And to learn from each other. If you know so much about history due to participation in it, then I’d like to learn from your wisdom and hard-earned experience. If I make a mistake and you point it out, I’ll acknowledge my mistake and apologize if necessary. I hope you can do the same. Ego is what keeps Vietnamese men SMALL.
Tien,
>> what would you do if you were in the position of Mr. Ky or Mr. Thieu?
Mr. Ky and Mr. Thieu were in different roles and acted in different ways. I do not put them in the same group. For one, Mr. Thieu was a better politician (Ky was more on the flashy, gungho bravado side with the militaristic edge). Mr. Thieu, as South Vietnam’s political leader, also escaped but he kept quiet. Unlike Ky, who promised to fight with his soldiers to death, thereby motivating and encouraging a great number of them, to do so. Then fled as fast as he could. In his exile life, he sought various opportunities to make noise and pursue material wealth/fame/power (and not to mention, ladies, but this is irrelevant to this topic on leadership) IN THE NAME OF FIGHTING COMMUNISM. Then, when he saw that there’s nothing to gain here (too old, out of ammunition), he went to the other side. This time, in the name of RECONCILIATION/UNIFICATION.
So if I were in Mr. Ky’s position, I’d have several choices:
(1) If I strongly believe in the warrior’s code, which as “General Ky” I must, I’d rally my troops and fight to the end against the greatest enemy of my people. Nguyen THai Hoc’s “Khong thanh cong thi thanh nhan” teaching rings true to this scenario. We might not be able to prevent the collapse of Saigon anyway but this fight will show the free world how South Vietnam fought for its own freedom, for the hope of a democatic Vietnam. It will go into Viet history and inspire others and future generations to take up the cause. [Apparently, this scenario did not happen. Democratic values, as the love for freedom, demands time and knowledge to be instilled. Until then, we can fight and kill each other out of hate/greed/personal fame but we won't have that many fighting for freedom and democracy.]
(2) If I think that the fight is hopeless, my troops are innocent young men with bright hope in the future but who were caught in the tide of the unfortunate history of a small/unmodernized country, maybe I would excercise the wisdom shown in “Letters from Hiroshima.” Compassion, not passion, would drive my action. I’d discharge my troops, order them to go home and take good care of their families, by any means necessary. And as a general/commander who is, in many ways, responsible for this tragic ending, and with a sense of honor to protect (not just my own but the honor of the South Vietnamese armed forces), I’d end my life. That would be unfair to my family but I’d have to choose.
(3) Leave like Ky and Thieu did, on the grounds that I am merely a pawn in a chess game, there is nothing I could do to change the fate of VNCH, anything would be too little… too late, that I have a moral obligation to protect my life + as a precious thing God has given me (if I’m a Christian) + and to guide my family to safety and care for them thereafter. That I’d do, as a third option. Once in safety, I’d rebuild my life, be humble, help my community and htose in need, especially those who lagged behind. I’d maintain that quiet, simple life as my sense of honor and dignity dictates me to do.
(4) Stay back and accept the risks if I believe in the Communists’ words and if I love Vietnam too much to leave it behind. However, this option is highly unlikely and we all know what would happen so I don’t need to elaborate on this one.
What I will NOT do once I decided to leave/flee is encouraging my troops to fight to death and promise them that I would stand by their side and then took all my money and left like a shameless rat. I might be a coward, but I will not commit such a crime. It was an outrageous lie and a betrayal of trust that resulted in countless number of unnecessary deaths.
Certainly, no man knows exactly how he woudl act unless he is in such a position himself. SO treat those scenario as a product of my imagination. Or an aspiration.
However, if you look at our history, we have many examples of men who pursued all those four paths. Some have gone into our history as heroes. Others live to provide lessons (both good and bad) and guidance for younger generations. Ky was not one of them.
Let dead bury dead and move on for brighter future for our next generation to come.
As all the flame of fire has to meet it’s end ultimately, so is one’s fame and boastfulness…this our timed life will end just like the ones from the past .
Share the good times with friends and cherish our love ones before it’s too late to appreciate.
True courage emerges only under dangerous situation. Mr. Ky is just an ordinary person who happened to be in extraordinary position. His actions have never been heroic or brave, but just reflected a fact that he has never had any concept of honor besides his personal interest.
I’m glad to see both Jung & Tien saying something not hostile.
Anyway, do you think McCain was an ordinary man thrust into a dangerous situation. If so,
(1) Did he demonstrate courage? How so? If not, why not?
(2) Is courage a necessary trait for our leader/President?
(3) How is courage ranked in comparision with other qualities, such as intelligence, honesty, authenticity, wisdom, vision, ideology, moral values? Rank them, if you can.
Some humble opinions:
1. I have no knowledge of McCain’s life; however, I assume that any pilot bomber or fighter would possess some degree of courage.
2. Courage is a MUST for any high leader.
3. To be courageous, a person needs to be intelligent, honest, and moral. I would rank courage right after morality.
Tien,
Glad to know! Almost couldn’t find this post.
The fact that McCain was a pilot only shows his military service to his country.
McCain’s courage and character, however, shined when he was captured by the North Vietnamese. Although the son and grandson of two admirals, up until that point in his life, McCain has pretty much lived an ordinary life. What he did and how he handled himself in the hands of enemies showed who he really is.
There are a lot of resources online to read about how McCain handled himself during captivity and how he continued to live a life of character, compassion, and courage as a stateman.
Also, check out any of his books (cowritten with his staff): Faith of My Fathers (his life story), Why Courage Matters, Worth the Fighting For, Hard Call, etc.
>> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214492529435&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
How aware is the public that McCain has raised seven children? Or that he adopted his two oldest sons as small boys (children from his wife’s prior marriage)? Or that he has raised a Bangladeshi girl with severe health problems adopted from Mother Theresa’s orphanage? Or that his own sons have served in the military, including in Iraq?
It’s widely known that McCain, a Navy pilot, was shot down, captured and tortured by the North Vietnamese for 5 and a half years – an episode worth a forthcoming column all its own. But few are aware that he refused early release until all the POWs captured before him were freed, and that he refused special treatment offered once it was discovered that he was the “crown prince” (the son of the admiral in charge of the Pacific Fleet) because he wouldn’t provide the enemy with any propaganda victories.
Even fewer seem to know that those years were a fraction of a 22-year Navy career. Although broken and battered, after his release from Vietnamese captivity he went right back to the Navy, where he continued to serve for an additional eight years.
Both Israel and America honor military service, knowing all too well the sacrifice of those who step up, stand guard, and put their lives on the line to protect their fellow citizens from the ever-present threat of harm.
Readers in Israel, where military and national service is intertwined with society perhaps more than in any other free country, especially appreciate the McCain family’s tradition of military service and the intergenerational transmission of values that comes with it.
Anyone can talk about “supporting our troops”; the McCains serve. McCain’s father and grandfather were respected American admirals. Of McCain’s four sons, three have gone the military route. One was a Navy pilot like his father, one enlisted in the Marines at age 17 and recently completed a tour in Iraq, and one is completing his education at the Naval Academy (raising the strong possibility that, for the first time in half a century, the United States will have a president with a son at war).
Yet, likely because of those same values, McCain maintains a strict code of silence about his sons’ military service, no matter how legitimate his pride or politically useful their military status. Through 2007, McCain was the strongest Senate advocate of vastly increasing troop levels in Iraq, strongly influencing the administration’s wildly successful “surge” strategy.
Yet McCain never brought up his own son’s service in some of the roughest areas of Iraq. His principled refusal of political advantage from his son’s Iraq service extends to refusal even to be interviewed on the subject, or to introduce his son to campaign audiences.
Also little-known is the story of McCain’s youngest child. As a result of a 1991 Cindy McCain visit to Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh, the McCains adopted an infant daughter dying from a host of health issues. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save the little girl’s life, so the McCains, already the parents of six children, brought the child home to America, and paid for desperately needed surgeries and years of rehabilitation. That child is their teenage daughter Bridget. In fact, there was a second infant girl brought back from the orphanage that the McCains saved. She ended up being adopted by one of McCain’s aides, Wes Gullett, and his wife. “We were called at midnight by Cindy,” Gullett has stated, and “five days later we met our new daughter Nicki at the LA airport.”
This fall, Nicki will be a high school junior. Even after years of expensive medical treatment for the child, Gullett says, “I never saw a hospital bill” for her care. It is an extraordinary man who commits himself to such generous and heroic acts; it is an extraordinary politician who won’t utter a word about such acts for political aggrandizement.
So, it turns out that McCain, standard-bearer of the party constantly slandered as racist, has, without fanfare, raised as his own a Bengali daughter of color. But the character demonstrations regarding his daughter are even more impressive: during his 2000 presidential run, as he was on the verge of becoming the front-runner, rogue staffers of other candidates reportedly conducted a whisper campaign in South Carolina disparaging the McCains for having a “black baby.”
Yet, with every justification to unload with both barrels for such nasty politicking, and with as great an opportunity to set the record straight and tell the world about the heroics of being an adoptive father, McCain chose to shield his child by ignoring the smear. Some analysts believe that move may have ultimately cost him the nomination. But McCain has never questioned his choice. It says a lot about the man that he would readily sacrifice the pinnacle of personal political achievement to protect his family’s feelings and privacy.
The contrast with other politicians couldn’t be more stark. How many candidates have we heard try to score political points as they crow in the public limelight about their own brief military stints, or their wife’s cancer, son’s car accident, or sister’s death from smoking? The contrast is consistent with McCain’s internalizing the codes of honor and military conduct since his youth: the veneration of courage and resilience; the expectation of fidelity to principles of honor; the homage paid to Americans who sacrificed for their country; the nobility of service and sacrifice; the expectation that one would prove worthy of the country’s trust; and the humility that comes from recognizing that there are causes and people greater than oneself. It is, in short, a contrast in character.
Character matters. In a president-and particularly in a commander-in-chief, that kind of character arguably counts more than any particular political orientation or policy. From character flows leadership, as it is character which dictates morally grounded direction and engenders public trust.
Character is critical to determining how a leader will respond to crisis. Will he reach deep within himself and in the traditions that shaped him and find the courage and grace to inspire strength and greatness? Will soldiers trust the wisdom and integrity of his decision when he orders them to war? Will he truly understand the terrible toll of war, as well as the price of appeasement? Will he make decisions based on considerations greater than cheap political expediency?
Now, ask yourself: which candidate has repeatedly demonstrated that kind of character?
Thanks for the interesting information. What a noble man McCain is! However, courage and morality are not sufficient to qualify a person for the presidency. When things are not going well, wisdom becomes the most needed character of a president.
So, the next question is…
B/w McCain & Obama, who has more wisdom?
Knowing that Tien is a liberal from California and the way he frames his answer, Obama is the obvious answer.
So, in order to get down to it, I’ll have to ask: How did Obama demonstrate his wisdom as a leader when he’s only had 134 days in Congress, have no executive leadership experience, no experience in foreign policy, fiscal economy, nor military. Not only he lacks leadership experience, he also hasn’t taken on any important issues. People tend to mistake Obama’s academic intelligence, definitely amplified through his eloquence and rhetorical skills, for wisdom. Carter was the most intelligent person ever occupying the White House. What a disaster he was!
Leadership got much to do with wisdom and social intelligence.
Then, you also have to demonstrate how McCain lack sufficient wisdom as well.
I have less knowledge about Obama than that of McCain. I was a precinct leader during the Clinton’s era but I have been ignorant of American politics in the past several years. Through my brief glance of the news, both McCain and Obama haven’t demonstrated their wisdom yet. (Neither did Kennedy before he was elected as president.) As it stands now, I would say both McCain and Obama have some wisdom and are in equal footing, and I am unable to say who has more wisdom than whom.
>> As it stands now, I would say both McCain and Obama have some wisdom and are in equal footing, and I am unable to say who has more wisdom than whom.
Fair enough.
>> I have less knowledge about Obama than that of McCain.
Same as most Americans. But not b/c they are not willing to find out, it is b/c there’s little on record for Obama. As for McCain, no matter what a voter’s political orientation is, as long as he is willing to dig, he will find sufficient info to make a judgment/decision.
It is difficult to understand and appreciate McCain if one just read all the news around this time.
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To all of you: How old are you all? If you were born and raised in Vietnam during the Vietnam war then I will speak with you if you are not then just shut up. before you make any comments about Mr Ky or Mr. Thieu,make sure you have all your facts straight, do your research, when I mean research,talk to the people who knew and worked with Mr. Ky and Mr. Thieu. Instead of talking trash about them why don’t you use your intelligence, again some of you don’t have the intelligence or smart, to rebuild Vietnam. Mr. Ky was the last highest ranking person to leave South Vietnam. By the way he retired from politics and the military after 1971. So don’t %^&* blame him. I am ready to take u on.
Silent Warrior,
Doesn’t really matter when or where you are born, the fact is undeniable that Nguyen Cao Ky is a turn coat in the best tradition of Benedict Arnold. By the way, both were high ranking military men.
No one needs to talk trash about Nguyen Cao Ky. He has been very content getting down into the gutter and playing with trash.
Setting the judgment on Mr. Ky aside, his acknowledgment and acceptance of defeat is a gracious and courageous act.
Tien Huynh,
If it’s such a gracious and couregous act, let Nguyen Cao Ky say it in front of the family members and relatives of the 1 mllion South Vietnamese who died at the hands of the Viet Communists.
Mr. Ky’s act at least is much better than that of some people who protest against VC in the US and then take a rest in VN (frequently) and go back to the USA to continue the protest! (I personally know one such person)
Tien Huynh,
So, you are basically saying that Nguyen Cao Ky is better than a hypocrite. Not a very high standard to judge a former PM and VP of South Vietnam. With leaders like these, no wonder the Commies won.
I guess NCK is telling all of us, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” That’s the line of a defeatist and an apologist.
Mr. Ky may not be very wise, but he is brave and is not hypocritical. Being better than hypocrites is being way above hundreds of thousands of oversea Viets.
What the buzz? It’s just American pragmatism.
It is a matter of trust :
April 1975, many SVN commanders ordered the troop to hold the line and to fight to the last man, then quickly sneaked out on a chopper back to pick up his family, then flew to Midway.
Many of those commanders now are part of daily protest rally on the Bolsa streets, asking people to not go back to Vietnam, then take a sex tour back to Vietnam.
Tien Huynh,
You are mistaken of Nguyen Cao Ky for having bravado, than being brave. NCK has a lot of bravado, for being a blowhard, rather than being brave.
Isn’t he the one who stood on top of a pick up truck in front of a huge Viet crowd to tell them that he will fight the Commies to the last breath and then hop on a chopper a couple days later to get out of Saigon? So much for being brave. Are you sure he’s not a hypocrite also? Me think so!
Why be an apologist for a man who failed in almost everything he touches?
Mr. Ky is brave in a sense that he dares to live his life according to him, not to conform to hundreds of thousands other angry people. Being able to suppress a huge ego as a leader of VNCH in order to live a humble life of an ordinary person is a great courage. I do not know Mr. Ky and his life, but narrowing down to the issue here, Mr. Ky’s acceptance of defeat definitely is not hypocritical.