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Nguyen Ngoc Loan

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (December 11, 1930-July 14, 1998)
    Born in New York
    Former Brigadier General for South Vietnam
    National Police Chief
    Photographed shooting a captured prisoner during the Tet Offensive (February 1, 1968), which became one of the most famous images from the Vietnam War
    Died of cancer in Burke, Virginia

Why he might be annoying:

    While defending Saigon during the Tet Offensive, he diverted his troops from the American Embassy to the Presidential Palace, angering the US.
    The summary execution of his prisoner violated South Vietnamese law.
    The executed prisoner may have been Le Cong Na, a minor political operative.
    According to a NBC cameraman, after the execution he said, 'These guys kill a lot of our people and I think Buddha will forgive me.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He claimed that the prisoner was Nguyen Van Lem, the head of a Viet Cong 'revenge squad' that had killed dozens of civilians.
    After he was wounded in battle, an Australian hospital refused to treat him because of his controversial reputation.
    He operated a pizzeria in Virginia until publicity about his past led to a sharp decline in business.
    Vandals scrawled, 'We know who you are' on the walls of his restaurant.
    Photographer Eddie Adams apologized for taking the photo, saying 'The general killed the Vietcong. I killed the general with my camera.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 35 Votes: 62.86% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 60 Votes: 68.33% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 41 Votes: 68.29% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 68 Votes: 72.06% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 83 Votes: 74.70% Annoying