After communist troops took control of the base, Lém arrested Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Tuan with his family and forced him to show them how to drive tanks.
[6] When Lieutenant Colonel Tuan refused to cooperate, Lém killed Tuan, his wife and six children and his 80-year-old mother by cutting their throats. There was only one survivor, a seriously injured 10-year-old boy.
[7]
Lém was captured near a mass grave with 34 civilian bodies. Lém admitted that he was proud to carry out his unit leader's order to kill these people.
[8] Having personally witnessed the murder of one of his officers along with that man's wife and three small children in cold blood,[
citation needed] when Lém was captured and brought to him, General Loan summarily executed him using his sidearm, a
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