Ex-general who briefly ran So. Vietnam dies in US Former South Vietnamese general Khanh Nguyen (KAHN WIHN), who briefly gained control of the government in a coup and went on to lead a "government in exile" in California, has died.
Nguyen's successor Chanh Nguyen Huu (CHAHN WIHN
HOO) says the former general died Jan. 11 at a San Jose hospital after
struggling with diabetes. He was 86.
In 1960, Nguyen helped stop a coup against U.S.-backed president Ngo Dinh Diem (NOH DIHN DEE'-em) when he mistook rebels for Viet Cong soldiers and rushed to the president's defense.
South Vietnamese generals overthrew Diem's regime three years later and started a period of political turmoil.
Nguyen himself took over the government in a 1964 coup, but left Vietnam the following year when other generals forced him out. He lived in France for years before settling in California in 1977.
In 1960, Nguyen helped stop a coup against U.S.-backed president Ngo Dinh Diem (NOH DIHN DEE'-em) when he mistook rebels for Viet Cong soldiers and rushed to the president's defense.
South Vietnamese generals overthrew Diem's regime three years later and started a period of political turmoil.
Nguyen himself took over the government in a 1964 coup, but left Vietnam the following year when other generals forced him out. He lived in France for years before settling in California in 1977.
