Đặng Sỹ Major Matthew Sy Dang , ( ; born July 29 , 1929 – died November 11 , 2006 ) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He acquired a degree of infamy for ordering his soldiers to open fire on a crowd of Buddhists demonstrating against a ban on the Buddhist flag , leading to the Huế Vesak shootings in which nine people died . This sparked the Buddhist crisis and downfall of Ngô Đình Diệm . Early life . Born in the province of Thừa Thiên , Huế , Sy Dang came from a long line of devout Roman Catholics , including Michael Dinh - Hy Ho , one of the " Vietnamese Martyrs " . He attended a Lasallian school , graduated from National Military Academy of Da Lat as first Lieutenant . His father was a captain for the local national guard unit . At age 14 , Sy Dang ventured as an interpreter for the local French garrison . He tried the prospect of being a Christian Brother , like his mother ' s brother , but found out he was not suited for a pious , teaching life . He decided to follow a military career . He married Cam De Nguyen at age 21 . She converted to Roman Catholicism ; the couple had 10 children . Military career . After his graduation from Vietnamese National Military Academy of Da Lat and attended U . S . Infantry Center & School at Fort Benning , Sy Dang quickly progressed to the rank of major , assigned to the First Infantry Division and was named as deputy Governor and Security Chief , in charge of Thừa Thiên and Huế city . While in this position , he was embroiled in the midst of political unrests such as the Huế Vesak shootings . He ordered his men to open fire on the demonstrators , and nine died in the ensuing chaos . . The trial of Dang Sy . As Deputy Governor in charge of Huế ' s security , Major Sy Dang was held responsible for the deaths of nine Buddhists . Many accounts , which included official CIA reports and U . S . State Department Weekly reports , indicated that Major Dang took direct actions that caused these deaths . There are other minority accounts , which suggested Major Dang was at the right time and place for a set - up by third party with interests in seeing the Diệm regime fall . Journalists Arthur Dommen and Ellen Hammer speculated that an American serviceman and a handful CIA operatives orchestrated the entire affair . Marguerite Higgins and an independent United Nations investigative team reported on May 8 , 1963 at 8 : 00 p . m . that a large crowd , under the leadership of Thích Trí Quang , besieged Huế radio station demanding religious rights . The station director refused their demands and barricaded himself . He called on the local fire station and government security forces for help . The firemen were unable to disperse the crowd with fire hose . Dang ' s security forces arrived , with armored vehicles , to negotiate with the venerable and the station director . An agreement was reached and the venerable was working to disperse the crowd . A series of explosions blasted exterior of the radio station while Dang and Quang were inside , causing a massive stampede . In defense against possible Việt Cộng attack in darkness , Dang signaled his men , with three shots to the air , to use MK3A2 concussion grenades to subdue the crowd and secure the area . After the crowd dispersed , there were 8 people dead and 1 person dying . The Diệm government dismissed charges of misconduct . Later , however , the South Vietnamese military junta tried and Dang and sentenced him to death in 1964 for charges including shooting into an unarmed crowd , having armored vehicles ran over protesters , and using dangerous , high explosives for crowd control . Dang , primarily on his own , maintained his and his men ' s innocence . When the military tribunal pronounced sentence , thousands lined the streets in protest , prompting some international observers to speculate that an internal civil war was about to erupt . Facing internal unrest and U . S . government disapproval , Khánh commuted Dang ' s death sentence to life with hard labour at Con Son with payments to victims ' families . Post - military career . In 1967 , the Thiệu civilian government repealed the life sentence and restored his rank . Dang chose to resign to civilian life and worked at Bank of America in Saigon . From 1969 until the Fall of Saigon , he was the chairman of the executive board for an import - export company , South Asia Facilities . After April 1975 , Dang was imprisoned for his military career with the former regime . In March 1980 , Dang was released and escaped to Indonesia by boat . He was reunited with his family in December of the same year . Subsequently , he worked with Baltimore County Department of Social Services and U . S . Catholic Charities to help Vietnamese refugees until his retirement . Death . Sy Dang died on November 11 , 2006 , aged 77 , at his home in Maryland .