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

278 NOTES
medal recognizes a contribution to a particular ministry or
department. In An’s case, this would have been either military
intelligence (Tong Cuc II, TC2) or the People’s Army
of Vietnam (PAVN). A Third Class medal recognizes achievement
at the regional level, popular acclaim, or a contribution
to one’s military group. For An, this would have been the
Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN), military intelligence
unit H.63, or some other military entity.
As we learned from the official eulogy delivered at his funeral,
An won two Battle Exploit medals, First Class. These
were awarded for warning COSVN in advance of Richard
Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia in 1970, thereby allowing the
Communist military commanders to escape being bombed
or captured, and for obtaining the battle plans for Lam Son
719. This attempt by the South Vietnamese army to invade
Laos and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail resulted in a crushing
military defeat for the south in 1971. An’s First Class medals
represent major feats of tactical intelligence. They undermine
his story—his ultimate cover—that he did only strategic
intelligence, after-action reports, and long-range
planning.
An won his first military medal in the 1950s for opposing
France after the signing of the Geneva Accords. The
cease-fire agreement of 1954, which marked the end of the
First Indochina War, would be followed by preparations for
what would become the Second Indochina War. An, at the
time, was working in the psychological warfare department
of the newly formed South Vietnamese general staff. This
medal is a Chien Thang, a Battle Victory medal, Third Class.
An’s second medal was awarded for his work during the
battle of Ap Bac in 1963. The Communists’ ability to set a
trap and inflict serious damage on South Vietnam’s better
equipped forces resulted in An receiving a Chien Cong, a
Battle Exploit medal, Second Class.