Colonel Mandeville starts around the one minute mark.
San Jose: Seven South Vietnamese heroes honored
“They wanted the people to see that he was dead,” said Craig Mandeville, an American adviser to the South Vietnamese army who fought side by side with Can. “He was believed to be some sort of invincible guy. The North Vietnamese thought that, too, and I even thought that when I fought with him.”
Can was the only one on the memorial wall who died long after April 30. “After the communists took over, he was still fighting,” said Ho Nguyen, his son, who remained in hiding with his mother for four years before fleeing for the United States.
“He said, ‘OK, the country’s fallen, but by God we’re still South Vietnamese and we’re free,’ ” Mandeville recalled. “So he went down to Chuong Tien province and rounded up all these soldiers down there to form a Free Vietnam.”
Col. Can didn’t live long after that, but the legacy of his struggle lives on.
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7. Colonel Ho Ngoc Can (1940-1975)
He was one who elected to commit suicide by fighting to death.
Ho Ngoc Can was admitted in the RVN Junior Military Academy when he was 14 years old. After graduation, he served 4 years as an instructor sergeant in the same academy. In 1961, he attended the Officer Candidates Course at the Dong De NCO Academy and was the distinguished graduate of the course in 1962.
After commissioned, Can served the Ranger Corps as a platoon leader. He was promoted to captain in 1965, to major in 1968, to lieutenant colonel in 1971, and to full colonel in 1974. He was successfully commanding the 1/33 Battalion (21st Infantry Division), the 15th Regiment (9th Inf. Div.)
In 1974, Can was appointed province chief of Chuong Thien
Province, Vietnam deep south area.
On April 30, 1975, he refused to surrender to the enemy. Along with his troops, Can was fighting with all his might, holding the provincial headquarters until 11:00 PM on May 1, when his forces were out of ammunition. In the last minutes, he ordered the soldiers to leave the headquarters for safety while he and a faithful Popular Force militiaman covered them with a machine gun.
On April 30, 1975, he refused to surrender to the enemy. Along with his troops, Can was fighting with all his might, holding the provincial headquarters until 11:00 PM on May 1, when his forces were out of ammunition. In the last minutes, he ordered the soldiers to leave the headquarters for safety while he and a faithful Popular Force militiaman covered them with a machine gun.
He fell into the hands of the Communist force after he failed an attempt to kill himself. He told the enemy that he wouldn't surrender, and asked them to let him salute the RVN colors with his uniform on before the execution.
Can was publicly executed by the Communist firing squad after a quick summary trial at a Communist cheaply staged court martial.
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A Hard Time
About colonel Ho-Ngoc-Can
the provincial chief of Chuong-Thien,
he was an ex battalion commander of ‘Our Rangers’. Can was a brave and heroic man, he fought until last
minutes in his provincial compound. Captured, executed and ‘they’ tied a rope around his neck then used
a jeep pulling his body around the town. Finally, i heard that his wife was approved to bury him.
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RVN Ranger Army Colonel Ho Ngoc Can
Shortly before he was executed after requesting to salute the RVN colors with his uniform on. He shouted "Down with the Communists. Long live the Republic of Vietnam."
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