Lâm Ngươn Tánh

Lâm Ngươn Tánh
Lâm Ngươn Tánh
	Lâm Ngươn Tánh (third from the left) in 1952
Born	October 18, 1928; Sa Đéc, Cochinchina, French Indochina
Died	February 11, 2018
Military career
Allegiance	State of Vietnam; Republic of Vietnam;
Service / branch	Vietnamese National Army; Republic of Vietnam Navy;
Rank	Rear Admiral (Đề Đốc)
Battles / wars	Battle of Hoàng Sa
Awards	National Order of Vietnam

Rear Admiral Lâm Ngươn Tánh (18 October 1928, in Sadec, Cochinchina – 11 February 2018) was the last Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Vietnam Navy during the Vietnam War.

Biography

In 1974, he took part in the Battle of Hoang Sa between China and South Vietnam.^[1]

Lâm Ngươn Tánh gained asylum in the United States after the Fall of Saigon in April 1975 and worked as a naval architect at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Virginia. A devout Anti-Communist, he continued to work with Vietnamese exile groups.

Highlights of naval career

Saigon Merchant Marine Academy, 1948
The Republic of Vietnam Naval Academy, 1952
United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, 1958
United States Naval Shipyard Management School in Pearl Harbor, 1960
United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, 1965
United States National Defense Management College in Monterey, California, 1973
Commander of RVN Navy Eastern Riverine Forces Command. 1954
Commander of RVN Navy Sea Forces Command and Fleet Command, 1955
RVN Navy Chief of Staff (two terms) 1963 and 1965
Commander of RVN Naval Shore Establishments and Schools Command, 1959
Commandant of the Saigon Naval Shipyard, 1960
Deputy to the Deputy Chief of General Joint Chief of Staff for Navy Operations, 1965
Commandant and Founder of the RVN Armed Forces Political Warfare College, 1965
Vice-Chief of Naval Operations, 1970
Chief of Naval Operations, 1975 (for over 3 months)
His honors include the National Order of Vietnam, fourth Degree of the Republic of Vietnam.

Activities in exile

In April 1975, Lam and his wife left Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon. They eventually settled in King George, Virginia. Lam served the U.S. Defense Department (Department of Navy) for more than 20 years as a naval architect at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia.

From 1981 to 1985, he was Secretary General of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans Association. From 1989 to 1991, he founded the Vietnamese Navy General Association and was the first-term Chairman. Since 1997, he has served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of an exiled anti-communist organization The Government of Free Vietnam. In 2000, he became the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of National Defense. In August 1997, he founded the Free Vietnam Coalition Party and serves on the Member Central Leadership Council. He is the founder of Vietnamese Navy General Association and First Term Chairman.^[2] In 2005, he was elected as Prime Minister of The Government of Free Vietnam.