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Trần Thanh Phong
Trần Thanh Phong (19 January 1926 – 1 December 1972) was a Major general in the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Military careerPhong served as the commander of I Corps, which oversaw the northernmost part of the country, from 20 May to 30 May 1966, when he was replaced by Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Lãm. He was one of five different I Corps commanders in two months,[1] as Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ struggled to find a leader of whom he approved while the Buddhist Uprising was taking place.[2]: 138 In 1967 Phong served as Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint General Staff (JGS) and was a rival of JGS Chairman Cao Văn Viên.[2]: 265 On 9 September following the South Vietnamese presidential election, new President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu began consolidating power and promoted Phong to JGS chief of staff.[2]: 268 He subsequently served as the head of the pacification program, head of the Republic of Vietnam National Police and finally as deputy commander of Military Region II.[3] During the 1972 Easter Offensive MR II senior advisor John Paul Vann suggested putting Phong in charge of the defense of Kontum, but Phong's sister-in-law, the wife of Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm, intervened and vetoed the job as too dangerous.[2]: 484 He was killed on 1 December 1972 when the Republic of Vietnam Air Force plane he was travelling on crashed in bad weather on approach to Tuy Hoa Air Base. Four other South Vietnamese and two USAID officials were also killed in the crash.[3] Awards and decorations
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