Colonel Lê Quang Tung was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngô Đình Nhu. Nhu was the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngô Đình Diệm. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage.
Ngô Đình Nhu (right), shaking hands with then US Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1961