The Spy Who Loved Us_ The Vietnam War and Pham Xuan An's Dangerous Game ( PDFDrive )

The Spy Who Loved Us 129
throughout his life, nor was she a member of the Communist
Party. It was not until a month after they were married that An
told his wife a few things about his secret life. Thu Nhan was not
the designated agent charged with destroying An’s affairs were
he to be captured. This role was reserved for two other female
spies, Tam Thao and her sister, Chin Chi, who had previously
declined An’s offer of marriage. Le Duc Tho, founder of the Indochina
Communist Party and Pham Xuan An’s marriage counselor,
played an unknown role in An’s family life, but the
wedding was undoubtedly discussed by the Party at the highest
levels.
“My wife knew a little bit, but she thought I worked for the
revolution. She didn’t know anything about intelligence,” An
told an interviewer in 2004. According to An, everyone in his
family was sympathetic to the revolutionary cause, but for security
reasons they were kept in the dark about his work. His
middle brother, Pham Xuan Hoa, four years younger than An,
had been trained in France as a helicopter mechanic. He was
flying on President Diem’s helicopter during a stormy night
flight in 1962 when the craft hit the mountains north of Saigon
and all thirteen people on board were killed. Diem was not on
the flight. An’s youngest brother, Dinh, trained as a lawyer, got
in trouble defending political prisoners and was himself imprisoned
briefly. He was drafted into the army as a porter carrying
munitions into battle until An used his family connections
to get him reassigned to Diem’s staff. “Everyone in the family
knew I was working for the Communists,” An says. “My brother
Dinh wanted to join, but I said no.”
Tam Thao, Chin Chi, and An were in the same political
cell. He taught the girls English and visited their house to court
the beautiful Chin Chi. They waved good-bye at the airport
when he flew to America, and they welcomed him back to
Saigon on his return. After An had lain low for several months,
Tam Thao took him to the tunnels northwest of Saigon and
reintroduced him to the intelligence network, which had been