Cadet Hieu

1. Cadet of 3rd Class Tran Hung Dao, National Military Academy of Viet Nam. Because the 3rd Class was the first one established in Dalat, it was also called Dalat Inter-Arms Military Academy or Dalat Military Academy. The 3rd Class started its sessions on October 01, 1950. The inauguration ceremony of the Dalat Inter-Arms Military Academy took place on November 05, 1950. The Director of the Military Academy was Lieutenant Colonel Gribius.

2. Graduated (salutatorian with the highest final scores; the official designated valedictorian was cadet Bui Dzinh) on July 01, 1951.

3. In terms of educational background, cadet Hieu had finished his first year college level majoring in Technology at Aurore University, Shanghai after obtaining his French Baccalaureat 2, majoring in Math. Two cadets in 3rd Class had French Baccalaureat 1: Lam Quang Thi and Nguyen Sy Khanh.

4. Photos

On the eve of entering the Military Academy (Hanoi 09/1950)
Entrance Gate of the Military Academy
Inauguration Ceremony of Dalat Inter-Arms Military Academy (11/05/1950)
Graduation Ceremony (07/01/1951 presided by Emperor Bao Dai)
Cadet Hieu (with Air Force BG Nguyen Ngoc Oanh and LTG Lu Lan)
1st Brigade/3rd Class (cadet Hieu was standing second at the left end of last row)

5. Classmates' Testimonies

6. List of 3rd Class Cadets

7. Recruitment of 3rd Class Cadets.

General De Lattre De Tassigny, Commander of the French Expeditionary Armed Forces in Indochina entrusted a recruitment team headed by Lieutenant Colonel Gribius, a graduate of the French Armor School of Saumur, the task of fanning the three regions of North, Center and South to select cadets for the 3rd Class of the Military Academy newly established in Dalat.
In the Center, 18 civilian candidates signed up for the exams. Only 2 candidates (Vo Dinh and Lu Mong Lan) passed the exams. But then due to the critical military situation following the bloody battle of Hung Yen, the remaining 16 unqualified candidates were also admitted later to the 3rd Class.
Also in the Center, 44 Vietnamese non-commissioned officers serving in the French Army were also considered by the recruitment team. Only 18 from this military group were selected (Bui Dzinh was part of this group).
The 3rd Class session commenced in October 1950 with 4 Brigades. Each Brigade was composed of 6 Cadets: 2 Northerners, 2 "Centerners" and 2 Southerners. Therefore, the initial 1st Brigade comprised: Nguyen Van Hieu and Nguyen Ngoc Oanh (North); Vo Dinh and Lu Mong Lan (Center); Huynh Van Louis and Duong Marcel (South).
It was only three months later that cadets of the 5th and 6th Brigades entered the Military Academy, then were subsequently integrated with the other 4 Brigades.

8. 3rd Class had 11 cadets who went on to become Generals: 5 Lieutenant Generals (Hoang Xuan Lam, Lu Mong Lan, Lam Quang Thi, Nguyen Van Toan), 2 Major Generals (Nguyen Van Hieu, Lam Quang Tho) and 4 Brigadier Generals (Vo Dinh, Ly Ba Hy, Nguyen Ngoc Oanh, Nguyen Van Phuoc).

Nguyen Van Tin
09 January 2000
Updated on 26.10.2005

generalhieu