Đỗ Kiếm, writing as Kiem Do (

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, 1933) is a former officer of the Republic of Vietnam Navy, who was serving as Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) when Saigon fell in 1975. He secretly organised the evacuation of over 30,000 refugees aboard 32 naval ships. Kiem's efforts were ultimately successful, preventing those 32 vessels and everyone aboard from falling into the hands of North Vietnamese forces. After transferring the Republic of Vietnam's last naval vessels to the control of the U.S. Navy, Kiem moved to the United States where he has resided since, having been granted citizenship after requesting political asylum. He worked as a teacher and cost engineer before his retirement in 1997.

Early life

Kiem was born in

, and by the age of 13 was a scout for the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

, fighting for Vietnam's independence from French colonial rule. Following the end of the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, Kiem was sent to France to be trained at the ''

École Navale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

'' in Brest.

Career

Kiem was the commander of the

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

''Van Don'' (HQ-06) during the 1963 coup. He later served as the Commandant of the Vietnamese Midshipman’s School, Chief of Staff of the Mobile Riverine Force, District Commander of the IV Naval Zone, and Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations). With the help of Richard L. Armitage, Kiem secretly organised the evacuation of the Republic of Vietnam Navy fleet of 32 ships accompanied by several cargo ships and fishing boats with over 30,000 naval personnel and their families aboard. This fleet left Saigon on 30 April 1975, and the next day rendezvoused with off

Côn Sơn Island Côn Sơn ( ), also known as Côn Lôn is the largest island of the Côn Đảo archipelago, off the coast of southern Vietnam.Kelley, p 116 Other names Its former French name, Grande-Condore was popularly used during the times of French ...

to be escorted to the Philippines. After settling in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

after receiving

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

, Kiem taught high school math and science, studied in the MBA program at the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

, and worked as a cost engineer for the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

utility company Entergy for more than twenty years.

Retirement

Since retirement in 1997, he has been active as a leader in the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese community and has lectured frequently on the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

at local universities and before veterans groups. Kiem's wartime memoirs, co-authored with Julie Kane, was published in May 1998 and entitled ''Counterpart: A South Vietnamese Naval Officer's War''.

Family

He and his wife of thirty-nine years Thom Le Do, have five children, and six American-born grandchildren.

References

External links

The Paracel Islands (Hoang-Sa) Sea Battle
by Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng {{DEFAULTSORT:Do, Kiem South Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War Vietnamese anti-communists American people of Vietnamese descent Vietnamese politicians 1933 births Living people People from Hanoi Vietnamese democracy activists