Independence Palace contractor wanted for 2 million USD after Tet Mau Than

Mrs. Dang Thi Thiep left her two young children with an acquaintance on the afternoon of the 28th of Tet Mau Than 1968. Following her husband's instructions from Phu Nhuan district, she went to a secret house on Tran Quy Cap street - now Nguyen Dinh Chieu street, district 3.

Waiting for her husband at the door in the twilight, Mrs. Thiep felt anxious because according to the plan, the weapons shipment should have been delivered the day before. Only when she saw Mr. Tran Van Lai (Nam Lai) driving a pickup truck loaded with baskets of bamboo into the yard did she breathe a sigh of relief. All around, the neighbors were Chinese families busy preparing for Tet, no one paid any attention to her and her husband.

Together with his wife, carrying baskets of tomatoes, cucumbers... and a pot of apricot blossoms into the house, Mr. Lai whispered that after this battle, they would have a big Tet. He took out the top layer of fruits and vegetables, revealing a pile of guns, grenades, and detonators underneath.

"This is my last trip, I'm just looking forward to the day I go to war," he said as he lifted the lid of the thick iron-cast cellar, which fit 6 tiles tightly, in the middle of the living room. He quickly crawled down and signaled for her to move each weapon inside.

Nam Lai had gone through many life-and-death battles during the 10-year resistance war against the French. After 1954, he was ordered not to regroup to the North, but to stay in Saigon to build a base. He married special forces soldier Phan Thi Phan Chinh (Phan Thi Chinh).

With his resourcefulness and talent, Mr. Lai became a contractor, specializing in interior decoration for the Independence Palace and then changed his name to Mai Hong Que. With his business talent, in a short time, Mr. Lai became one of the wealthy tycoons in Saigon, with relationships with high-ranking officials of the old regime.

In 1964, after bailing two high-ranking officials at Con Dao prison to Saigon, then secretly taking them to the base, Ms. Chinh was arrested and tortured by the Republic of Vietnam government, causing her to become seriously ill and die at the end of that year.

Suppressing his grief, Mr. Nam Lai gradually bought more than 30 houses scattered in many places, building a communication base. More than a year later, Mr. Lai had a chance to meet Mrs. Thiep at Cu Chi base. With absolute trust in the daughter of a revolutionary family, he brought her to the inner city.

From 1965 to 1968, Ms. Thiep worked as a strong rear base, working with Mr. Lai to dig tunnels, transport and gather weapons, and hide leaders.

Using the cover of a wealthy contractor, Mr. Lai chose more than 10 houses with favorable locations to design and dig tunnels with different functions such as storing people, weapons, secret letters... Notably, three adjacent houses (number 287/70 Nguyen Dinh Chieu today) all have large, interconnected tunnels and secret escape routes.

Mr. Nam Lai stayed up many nights thinking about how to dig a tunnel that would not be flooded; not suffocated; and that would keep weapons and explosives for a long time without rusting. Every night, with the help of his wife, he meticulously dug, scooped up each cartful of dirt, and then dumped it far away to get rid of the evidence.

Helping the couple was special forces soldier Ba Bao - for many years he shuttled hundreds of weapons from the base to supply the 12 bunkers.

Late 1967,A total of more than 2 tons of weapons with TNT explosives, detonators, flares, B40, B41, AK guns, grenades, and AK bullets from the outskirts of Cu Chi were "lying still" in Nam Lai's secret basement.

Contractor wanted for $2 million

The general offensive order took place on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Only a few hours before, Saigon special forces were informed to attack specific targets such as: the US Embassy, ​​Independence Palace, Radio Station, General Staff, Navy Command, Capital Special Zone, Police Headquarters...

15 commando soldiers of Team 5, commanded by Ba Thanh, gathered at Mr. Nam Lai's house, received weapons and attacked the Independence Palace. At the G hour, Mr. Nam Lai drove his teammates closer to the target and then returned to the bunker to reinforce other targets.

After the general offensive, the special forces sacrificed and suffered great losses.Nam Lai's weapons cache was quickly discovered, he escaped and was hidden by the facility. The Republic of Vietnam government then wanted him, offering a reward of 2 million USD for anyone who would report him. All of his house, property and vehicles were confiscated.

For many years in hiding, Nam Lai found his way to the North and was arrested twice, tortured but he refused to reveal anything. His wife wholeheartedly protected him and ransomed him from prison, absolutely not revealing his identity.

After liberation, he and his wife sold balut eggs and pennywort, raising their children like any other normal family. It was not until 2015, 13 years after his death, that he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Armed Forces.

Currently, his family has been searching for and redeeming the vehicles used to transport weapons to donate to the museum. Two of the three adjacent houses with secret tunnels on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street were persuaded by Mr. Tran Vu Binh (son of Mr. Nam Lai) to buy them back from the people, restore them to their original state and become national historical and cultural relics.

Opened in 2005, the armory welcomed a special visitor, General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Recently, Mr. Tran Vu Binh continued to restore another house of his father on Dang Dung Street (District 1) - where there are many small cellars storing documents.

On January 31, during the 50th anniversary of the Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1968, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited Mr. Nam Lai's weapons bunker. The General Secretary praised the tradition of Mrs. Thiep's family and encouraged efforts to promote and preserve this unique and heroic relic site.

The General Offensive of the Saigon Special Forces in particular and of the liberation army in the South in general, although suffering great losses in forces, resonated in the US and around the world.

The campaign was considered a great tactical victory of the Vietnam People's Army, creating an important premise for the US to de-escalate the war and negotiate at the Paris Conference in 1973. That was the premise leading to the general offensive and uprising in the Spring of 1975, unifying the country.