Navy’s first Vietnamese admiral survived massacre of his family by man who was executed in 1968

The first Vietnamese Navy admiral nearly lost his life as a child during the Vietnam War and was forced to play dead to survive and ultimately escape the country of his birth.

Huan Nguyen was only nine years old when in 1968 he was involved in an incident that was captured by a photographer whose image became famous throughout the world.

Photographer Eddie Adams took a picture of Viet Cong guerrilla Bay Lop being executed by South Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan.

The image was published in newspapers around the world in 1968 and the photo served to galvanize the anti-war movement in the US, which saw the image as clear evidence that the war was unjust.

But Adams, a former Marine Corps photographer, has said there’s more to the photo than meets the eye.

Nguyen was promoted to rear admiral in October 2019, and at the age of 60, he became the highest-ranking Vietnamese officer in the US Navy at the time to hold the rank of admiral.

Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the director of the South Vietnamese National Police who killed most of Huan Nguyen’s family, lived to be 67 in 1998. Pictured in 1967

Bay Lop, the subject of the photo, had been executed in Saigon after carrying out the mass murder of Huan Nguyen’s father, South Vietnamese Lt. Col. Nguyen Tuan, along with the officer’s wife, mother and six of their children, five boys. and a girl

Huan Nguyen managed to survive despite being shot three times in the arm, thigh and skull. the young man remained with his mother’s corpse for two hours after the cold-blooded murder according to military.com.

When night fell, Nguyen escaped, avoiding the communist guerrillas, and went to live with his uncle, a colonel in the South Vietnamese Air Force.

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the officer and Nguyen, his now 16-year-old nephew, fled to the United States.

They were just two of about 125,000 Vietnamese refugees who fled to the US after South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese forces.

In 2018, the commander, Vice Admiral Tom Moore, appointed Capt. Huan Nguyen, NAVSEA Deputy Chief Information Officer; with an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) qualification badge on his uniform

The following year, in 2019, Vice Admiral Thomas J. Moore, left, administered the oath of office to Rear Admiral Huan T. Nguyen during Nguyen’s promotion ceremony at the US Navy Memorial & Heritage Center in October 2019.

Nguyen became the first Vietnamese-American promoted to the rank of rear admiral and served as Deputy Commander for Cyber ​​Engineering at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) at the Washington Navy Yard.

The family was cared for by US Navy and Marine Corps troops as they made their way through Guam, along with thousands of other refugees.

It was while fleeing Vietnam during the Vietnam War that Nguyen had his first encounter with sailors and Marines helping refugees. He has since said it was a pivotal moment that fueled his desire to serve in the United States Navy.

US Air Force Colonel Ed Veiluva sponsored the family, who eventually resettled in Oklahoma as political refugees.

Nguyen earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1981, along with master’s degrees in electrical engineering, engineering and information technology.

In 1993, his engineering background led to his receiving a direct commission to the US Navy through the Reserve Engineering Service Officer Program.

Huan T. Nguyen, pictured in 2021, was Deputy Commander for Cyber ​​Engineering in the Naval Maritime Systems Command

Rear Admiral Huan Nguyen also gave lectures and taught those coming up through the ranks.

At age 15, Nguyen, seen here in October 2022, came to the United States as a refugee and became a citizen. He was the first Vietnamese American to achieve ensign rank in the US Navy.

Nguyen was promoted to rear admiral in October 2019, and at the age of 60, he became the highest-ranking Vietnamese officer in the US Navy at the time to hold the rank of admiral. Nguyen retired in October 2022.

“The images I remember vividly when I arrived at Camp Asan, Guam, now Asan Beach Park, were of American sailors and Marines working in the blazing sun, setting up tents and mess halls, distributing hot food and water, helping and caring for people with dignity and respect,’ Nguyen said.

‘I thought how lucky I am to be in a place like the United States. Those sailors inspired me to later serve in the United States Navy.

‘America is the beacon of hope for all of us. There is no other place in the world where a person can go in search of such an opportunity,” said Nguyen.