Norodom Chantaraingsey
Prince Neak Ang Mechas Norodom Chantaraingsey (1924 - ?1976) was a member of the Cambodian royal family who became a general in the Khmer National Armed Forces during the Cambodian Civil War.
Biography
Norodom Chantaraingsey, a grandson of Norodom of Cambodia, was born in 1924 in Phnom Penh. Under French colonial rule he was a prominent member of the Khmer Issarak, though he aligned with the government after Cambodia achieved independence under the regime of King Norodom Sihanouk. After conspiring, along with other former members of the Issarak, to stage a coup against Sihanouk, Chantaraingsey was stripped of his military rank and royal title, but suffered no other serious punishment.[1]
After the successful 1970 coup against Sihanouk, Lon Nol appointed Chantaraingsey commander of FANK's 13th Brigade; he became a popular and respected commander during the subsequent civil war.
After the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, Chantaraingsey is thought to have retreated with his men to the area around Kiriom, where he had considerable support. Chantaraingsey was still known to be alive, and continuing resistance against the Khmer Rouge, in May or June 1975, at which point he was commanding some 2000 men in the Cardamom Mountains. The FANK's 13th Brigade was still fighting as late as 1977.[2] The exact date of Chantaraingsey's death is still unknown; other accounts suggest he may have been killed in 1976.
The poet and journalist James Fenton was invited by Chantaraingsey to lunch on a battlefield in 1973; Fenton used the surreal experience in one of his most famous poems, Dead Soldiers.
References
- ^ Savoeun, H.A Biography of Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey, accessed 22-05-08
- ^ Corfield, J. A History of the Cambodian Non-Communist Resistance 1975-1983, Monash University, 1991.
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