Um Savuth
Um Savuth (? – 1972) was a
Savuth was largely paralyzed down one side of his body, walked with the aid of a cane, and was, reputedly, continually drunk to numb the pain of his condition.[1] This had come about due to an incident earlier in his career in which he had drunkenly insisted that a subordinate shoot a live cat off his head, stating that it was a direct order when the soldier resisted. The shot missed, and part of Savuth's head was blown away: nevertheless, he continued his military career.[1][3][4]
Under Sihanouk's regime, Savuth (along with a fellow officer,
Subsequent to the Khmer Republic's declaration, Savuth rose to the rank of Brigadier-General. Despite assurances, from the Republic's US backers, that Savuth was "better drunk than most Cambodian officers sober",[3] his most prominent campaign (Operation Chenla I) was a military disaster.
In 1971, Savuth wrote to US President
Savuth was killed in a car accident in November 1972,
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-671-23070-8, pp.202-203
- ^ a b Corfield, J. and Summers, L. Historical dictionary of Cambodia, 2003, p.437
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7326-0565-0, p.61
- ^ A number of other versions of the story state that the object was a tin of condensed milk, rather than a cat.
- ^ Ahern, T. Good Questions, Wrong Answers Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, declassified CSI study on arms shipments through Sihanoukville during Vietnam War
- John S. McCain, Jr., she retorted that "giving away captured elephants brings good luck". Savuth's men commented that the small, fat Khaat was a "funny elephant".(Kann, ibid.)
- ^ FBIS Daily Report: Asia & Pacific, 8-11-72, p.227 ("Traitorous Gen. Oum Savouth was killed suddenly as a result of a courageous attack by the CPNLAF along Route 5")
- ^ DCCAM list of films Archived 2010-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, Documentation Center of Cambodia