Đại Tá (Colonel) Trần Ngọc Châu was an officer in both the Viet Minh and later the ARVN (QLVNCH). He also served in several executive positions in the Republic of Viet Nam, notably Province Chief of Kiến Hòa province (two separate times) under both President Ngô Đình Diệm and the later military governments; and also Mayor of Đà Nẵng. It was his work as a Province Chief that made his reputation as an innovative practitioner of counterinsurgency. In 1966, after retiring from the army, Châu ran for the new National Assembly, and was elected Senator. While serving as a Senator he became outspokenly critical of the Nguyễn Văn Thiệu administration, despite the fact that he and Thiệu had been friends for many years. In 1970 he was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason, apparently due to that criticism. Châu was imprisoned for several years, then was under house arrest until the fall of Saigon in April 1975. Later in 1975 he was again arrested, and held in a "re-education" camp by the new communist regime. He was released in 1978, and fled Viet Nam with his family as "boat people". In 1979, with the help of legendary reporter Keyes Beech and other friends, Châu and his family arrived as refugees in the U.S. and settled in California. Châu eventually became a U.S. citizen, and ultimately reconciled with his old friend Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, who had persecuted and imprisoned him. He published his memoirs in 2013.
