Major General Le Minh Dao was the Commander of the 18th Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN).

At Xuan Loc, he became the Ground Commander during the final Battle for Sai Gon. A highly respected offficier, known for his dogged determination, he held off the North Vietnamese for three weeks in April of 1975, before the ultimate fall of Sai Gon on April 30th. Dao was captured and spent 17 years in so-called  "re-education" camps, before being released in 1992 and then given poilitical asylum in the United States in 1993.