Trinh Minh The
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Trinh Minh The (Trịnh Minh Thế/郑明世) (1922 - May 3 1955) was a Vietnamese nationalist and military leader during the end of the First Indochina War and the beginning of the Vietnam War.
The was born in Tay Ninh province and raised in the Cao Dai religion. He may have been trained by the Japanese Kempeitai when Japan began using Cao Dai paramilitary troops. By 1945 he was an officer in the Cao Dai militia.
In June 1951, The broke from the Cao Dai hierarchy and took about two thousand troops with him to form his own militia, the Lien Minh, devoted to combating both the French and the Viet Minh. The's father and four of his brothers served under him in the Lien Minh and were later killed in combat.
The's forces were implicated in a series of terrorist bombings in Saigon from 1951 to 1953—which were blamed on Communists at the time—and may also have been responsible for the assassination of the French General Chanson in 1951.
In 1954, United States military advisor Edward Lansdale, charged with propping up the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, negotiated with The to use his militia to back up Diem and the ARVN. On February 13, 1955, The's troops were officially integrated into the South Vietnamese army, where he assumed the rank of general. He led the Lien Minh on a triumphal march into Saigon.
Through Lansdale, the U.S. continued to fund The and other Caodaist groups. However, as the South Vietnamese government faltered, many of the militia leaders declared their open opposition to Diem and began an attempted coup. The's loyalties at this point were unclear, and it was also unclear whether the U.S. intended to support Diem against the rebels; some said that The might be a realistic replacement for Diem. However, when the Lien Minh entered Saigon again it appeared to be in response to Lansdale's last-minute call for them to protect Diem.
On May 3, 1955, while driving in an open vehicle, The was shot in the back of the head by a sniper. The murder was unsolved, with some blaming the French (who had vowed to kill The for years) and others blaming the South Vietnamese government.