Biography

Director-General Chief of the National Police of Republic of Vietnam - Colonel Pham Van Lieu

Colonel Phạm Văn Liễu (1928–2010) was a prominent figure in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (ARVN) and government. His career spanned key roles in the South Vietnamese Marine Corps, the National Police, and the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) Academy, as well as political activism during and after the Vietnam War.

Early Life and Military Service

Born in 1928, Phạm Văn Liễu was commissioned into the South Vietnamese armed forces in the 1950s.

South Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC)

As an officer in the infantry and amphibious operations branch, he rose to the rank of Major in the early 1960s. He served as the Chief of Staff for the Marine Corps during its formative developmental period under General Lê Nguyên Khang.

Leadership in the National Police and Intelligence

Following the turbulent political shifts after the 1963 military coup against Ngô Đình Diệm, Colonel Liễu transitioned into senior national security roles:

Director-General of the National Police

In February 1965, during the administration of General Nguyễn Khánh and Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương, Colonel Liễu was appointed Director-General of the National Police (TCCS QG). During his tenure, he reorganized the force, addressed urban security issues (including youth delinquency and gang activity in Saigon), and led anti-subversion programs against Viet Cong networks.

Central Intelligence Organization (CIO)

During the mid-1960s, Colonel Liễu also served in senior leadership roles within the Central Intelligence Organization (Phủ Đặc ủy Trung ương Tình báo), managing domestic security, counter-insurgency, and political intelligence operations.

Political Conflicts and Later Service

As the political landscape reshaped around Generals Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ in the mid-to-late 1960s, Colonel Liễu became aligned with key reformist military figures:

NCO Academy Command

He was reassigned from internal security to military education, serving as the Commandant of the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy (Trường Hạ sĩ quan) in Nha Trang.

1967 Election Detainment

Prior to the 1967 South Vietnamese presidential elections, Colonel Liễu faced brief detention by the government due to political friction over literature supporting opposition candidate Phan Khắc Sửu.

Post-1975 Activity and Exile

Following the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, Colonel Liễu went into exile in the United States.

Anti-Communist Resistance Organizations

During the late 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded and coordinated operations for overseas Vietnamese resistance movements, including the National United Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Mặt Trận Quốc Gia Thống Nhất Giải Phóng Việt Nam) alongside former Admiral Hoàng Cơ Minh.

Memoirs (Trả Ta Sông Núi)

In his later years, he authored a three-volume Vietnamese-language memoir titled *Trả Ta Sông Núi* ("Give Us Our Country Back"), documenting the political and military history of South Vietnam from 1928 through 1975 and the exile period.

Trả Ta Sông Núi ("Give Us Our Country Back") - a comprehensive, three-volume political and military memoir written by Phạm Văn Liễu

Trả Ta Sông Núi ("Give Us Our Country Back")

Trả Ta Sông Núi ("Give Us Our Country Back") is a comprehensive, three-volume political and military memoir written by Phạm Văn Liễu, a prominent former Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam (RVNAF) who served as the first commander of the Vietnamese Marine Corps and later as the Director General of the National Police.

Published by Van Hoa Publishing between 2002 and 2004, the trilogy offers a highly detailed, insider perspective on the internal power struggles, military campaigns, and political shifts that shaped South Vietnam before and after its fall.The work is divided chronologically across three distinct volumes:

Volume I (1928–1963): Covers his early life in Northern Vietnam, his entry into the nationalist Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng party, and his military training. It provides vital details on the early formation of the marine branch and the chaotic web of early anti-Diệm coup factions. As noted in the historical discussion list hosted by the University of Washington, Liễu “conveys vividly the amateur multiplicity of coup sub-groups, mostly led by majors and Lt.colonels, with colonels and generals being approached late in the game.”

Volume II (1963–1975): Focuses heavily on the turbulent post-Diệm era, detailing the frequent leadership changes in Saigon, his close ties to key military figures like Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, and his leadership of the National Police. Historians frequently cite this volume for its extensive detail; as highlighted by George J. Veith in Drawn Swords in a Distant Land, American embassy officials remarked that Liễu possessed “an ‘encyclopedic’ [knowledge of South Vietnamese politics].”

Volume III (1975–1985): Documents the immediate aftermath of the fall of Saigon, his journey into exile, and the subsequent political organizing and anti-communist resistance movements attempted by the overseas Vietnamese diaspora during the late 1970s and 1980s.