Service/branch South Vietnam Air Force | Allegiance South Vietnam | |
Born 21 July 1932
Bạc Liêu, French Indochina ( 1932-07-21 ) Rank Lieutenant General (Trung Tướng) Died 27 August 1997, Los Gatos, California, United States | ||
Lieutenant General Trần Văn Minh (born 21 July 1932, Bạc Liêu, French Indochina – died 27 August 1997, Los Gatos, California) was a general of the Vietnam Air Force (VNAF).
Military career
In 1956 he was promoted to Captain. In 1958 he received jet-training on the Cessna T-37 and was promoted to Major. In 1960 he attended the Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, United States. On his return to Vietnam he served as deputy base commander of Nha Trang Air Base, then deputy commander Bien Hoa Air Base, then Command Assistant Deputy at Danang Air Base.
In 1964 he was appointed commander of the 62nd Tactical Wing at Pleiku Air Base.
In November 1967 he was promoted to Brigadier-General and commander of the VNAF, succeeding Nguyễn Cao Kỳ who was elected as Vice-President of the Republic of Vietnam. Minh would be the longest-serving commander of the VNAF holding command from 1967 until the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. In 1968 he was promoted to Major-General (Thiếu Tướng).
At 08:00 on 29 April 1975, Lieutenant General Minh and 30 of his staff arrived at the Defense Attaché Office (DAO) compound demanding evacuation, signifying the complete loss of VNAF command and control.