The Death of a Fighting General

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Born into a wealthy landowning family in Tay Ninh province. Tri choppered daily between the battlefield and his sumptuous villa, complete with swimming pool, on the river at Bien Hoa. There, Tri reveled in the role of host, bon vivant and raconteur. He was something of a zoo keeper as well, with ducks, pigeons, a deer, an ox and a pig roaming the grounds. Tri was devoted to his wife and six children; he taught economy to the younger ones by using their allowances to buy animal feed for the pig, then letting them split the profit when the pig was sold. But his style of living was so lavish that suspicions of corruption were continually raised against him, and in 1965, during a government investigation of his wealth, he attempted suicide. One of the sponsors of the inquiry was Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky, then head of the air force. The two men became bitter enemies, and though they often saw each other at official functions after Tri resumed military command in 1967, they never shook hands.

Tri often said that he was happiest when he was with his soldiers in the field. Last week, while a soldier held a bunch of roses bound with a ribbon that read DADDY—WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH, Tri's casket was lowered into a grave in Bien Hoa's military cemetery. Fastened to the coffin's lid were his dress hat, his gloves, his sword and his baton.