Nguyễn Văn Kiệt
Nguyễn Văn Kiệt (born March 23, 1945) is a former petty officer third class in the Republic of Vietnam Navy and, alongside Trần Văn Bảy, one of only two South Vietnamese and the only South Vietnamese Navy member to be awarded the United States Navy Cross for actions during the Vietnam War.

In April 1972, United States Navy SEAL Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris was one of the few remaining SEALs in Vietnam. When Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Hambleton was shot down behind enemy lines, aerial combat search and rescue operations failed, leading to the loss of five additional aircraft and the death of 11 or more airmen, two captured, and three more down and needing rescue. Norris was tasked with mounting a ground operation to recover Hambleton, Lieutenant Mark Clark, and Lieutenant Bruce Walker from behind enemy lines. Kiệt was one of five Vietnamese commandos to accompany Norris, and when the others refused to pursue the mission further, volunteered to assist Norris. They successfully brought out two of the three downed airmen from more than behind enemy lines.
Q7179403
petty officer third class
MEDIA
Q649920
Republic of Vietnam Navy
ORG
Q7833330
Trần Văn Bảy
PER
Q180573
South Vietnamese
LOC
Q833465
Navy Cross
Concept
Q8740
Vietnam War
EVE
Q178033
United States Navy SEAL
Concept
Q7793366
Thomas R. Norris
PER
Q14598940
Iceal Hambleton
PER
Q2714077
combat search and rescue
Concept
Q7023129
Nguyễn Văn Kiệt
PER
1945-03-23T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
March 23, 1945
DATE
1972-04-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
April 1972
DATE
+11^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
11
NUMBER
military branch
allegiance
award received
conflict
date of birth
conflict
conflict
participant