Van Khach Nguyen

Mr Van Khach NGUYEN was born on October 22nd, 1934, in the province of Bac Ninh, North Vietnam.

In 1953, at the age of 25, as many compatriots who loved the army, he was admitted the Vietnamese National Military Academy, Class 10 (Khoa 10 TRAN BINH TRONG, Vo Bi Quoc Gia Da Lat).

After his graduation in 1957, he was selected to receive further trainings at Fort Braggs, and Fort Bennings which are widely known as the best traning centers of the United States Army.

His army career can be highlighted by the followings :

1.- From 1957 to 1969

He joined and served the Vietnamese Airborne and fought side by side with his comrades.

In 1964, thanks to his distinguished performance as an Airborne officer, he was selected to be Commander at Delta Operations Training Center near Dong Bo Airport, Nha Trang province.

2.- From 1969 to 1971

In 1968, he was Chief of Staff for the general DOAN Van Quang, commander of the Vietnamese Special Forces in the province of Khanh Hoa, and occupied this position, until 1969, when he was promoted to the post of commander of the unit B11 in Chu Lai, province of Quang Tin.

3.- From 1971 to 1974

He served as Commander in Chief at the Long Thanh Airborne Training Center .

4.- From 1974 to the fall of the Republic of Vietnam 1975

After the dissolution of the Vietnamese Special Forces in 1974, he asked to be transferred to the Fifth Infantry Division in Lai Khe, Binh Duong province to be at the front line to actively serve and protect his country.

His last position there was Deputy Chief of Staff of the Fifth Division. As the Communists were approaching Saigon on April 27, 1975, Lt Cl Khach refused to leave Vietnam even though he had a boat ready for him and his family. He instead chose to stay and fight with his soldiers.

Late April 1975, General Le Nguyen Vy, the Division’ Commander, killed himself as the Communists took over Lai Khe. All the officers, including Khach, were taken prisoners by the North.

5. After 1975

Lieutenant Colonel Khach Van Nguyen was held prisoner in several different Communists camps for 14 years until his release in 1989.

In 1992, he went to the US under the H.O. program.

In 1993, he went to Canada to reunite with his wife, Vinh Thi Tran and his children.

He remained active in the local Ex-officer Associations until 2006 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Parkingson’s diseases.

He passed away on December 28, 2008. He was survived by his wife of 50 years, Vinh Thi Tran and his five (5) children.