Nguyễn Viết Thanh (1931–2 May 1970) was born in Long An, Vietnam. He served in the South Vietnam army, rising to the Major General. Military Career Việt Nam National Army Toward the end of March 1951, he was drafted to join the Army and enlisted in the Đà Lạt Military Academy. On April 1, 1951, he joined the Lý Thường Kiệt class which was the 4th class of the academy. He graduated on December 1, 1951, with the rank of second lieutenant. After graduation, he was appointed platoon commander of the 12th Platoon of the 51st Company of the 15th Battalion of Vietnam which was stationed in Rạch Giá. In late 1952, he was appointed commander of the 51st Company of the 15th Battalion. In June 1953, he was promoted to lieutenant. In December 1953, he assumed a battalion commander of the 707th Local Battalion. In early 1955, he was promoted to captain. In April of the same year, he attended the Regiment Commander training at the Center for Military Studies in Sài Gòn. Army of the Republic of Vietnam In late 1955, Prime Minister Diệm changed the name of the Việt Nam National Army to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He retained the same position in a new military structure. In early 1956, moving to the field of Military Training, he assumed the Chief of Staff position of the Đà Lạt Military Academy. In the middle of 1956, he left Việt Nam to attend senior infantry training at the United States Army Infantry School Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. In early 1957, after completing the training in the US, he was transferred to Thủ Đức Military Academy to hold the position of battalion commander of the 6th class of The Reserve Officer Cadet. On October 26, 1959, National Day of The First Republic, he was promoted to major. In early 1960, he was transferred to the headquarters to take on the position of Chief of the Defense Planning Department. In February 1961, transferring to the field of Military Administration, he was appointed major of Long An province. In mid-1962, he left Long An province to assume the position of Regiment Commander of the 12th Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 20, 1963, after the coup of President Diệm, he moved back to the administrative field to be the major of a newly re-established Gò Công province. In February