Saturday, May 6, 1972
Truong Seen Right Gen. To End Crisis
SAIGON (AP) --The general chosen by President Nguyen Van Thieu to rally South Vietnam's battered forces in the northern provinces is the most logical man for the job. In the opinion of many American officers he is the only one.Returning to the Hue area where he spent four years as a popular combat commander, Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong becomes the key figure in the current military crisis.It is hoped that by inspiring the troops who have served under him before and by organizing the defenses of the city he knows well, Truong will be able to reverse the tide of the Saigon government's military crisis.To this task Truong brings 18 years of Army service, including four (1966-1970) as commander of the 1st Army Div., which is based at Hue.It was under Truong, now 42, that the 1st Div. became known as the best of South Vietnam's 11 regular infantry divisions. At the same time, Truong himself was earning a reputation as a "soldier's general" who put the combat performances and welfare of his men above the political intrigues so dear to most South Vietnamese generals.Truong, in fact, is widely regarded as virtually apolitical and is known and respected among senior American officers for his honesty and incorruptibility.Truong was said to have once offered to quit as delta commander rather than become involved in a political intrigue. This was when an attempt was made by others to oust him and replace him with Maj. Gen. Nguyen Vinh Nghi, commander of the delta-based 21st Inf. Div. and a relative of Thieu's wife.According to a friend of Truong who verified the story, he offered his resignation to Thieu but the president declined because he feared losing one of his most able military commanders.Truong was picked by Thieu to take over the top delta post in 1970 and for him it was a homecoming, as he was born in the delta coastal province of Kien Hoa. Kien Hoa, ironically, also is the birthplace of the Viet Cong insurrection, according to most accepted authorities, and is still a problem area for the government's pacification program."Truong Seen Right Gen. to End Crisis", by (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Saturday, May 6, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.