Execution of Lê Quang Tung

Date: November 1, 1963 • Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Lê Quang Tung, loyalist head of the South Vietnam Special Forces, was executed in a U.S.-backed coup against president Ngô Đình Diệm following a period of religious unrest.

Colonel Lê Quang Tung was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngô Đình Nhu. Nhu was the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngô Đình Diệm. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage.