U Minh Thượng National Park

It was established according to decision number 11/2002/QĐ-TTg, dated 14 January 2002, signed by then^{[clarification needed]} Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. This decision turned the U Minh Thuong Nature Reserve into U Minh Thuong National Park.

The park covers approximately 80.53 km² (30 square miles) with the nearest city being Rạch Giá^{[clarification needed]}

U Minh Thuong National Park is widely considered the richest region of the Mekong delta in terms of plant and animal biodiversity.^[3] It boasts of over 243 plant species.^[2] The park has a rich and varied mammalian population, totaling an impressive 32 species, including hairy-nosed otters and fishing cats. U Minh Thuong National Park is a haven for rare and endangered birds. A total of 187 species of birds has been recorded here, including the oriental darter, spot-billed pelican, black-headed ibis, glossy ibis, greater spotted eagle and Asian golden weaver.^[4] There are also a total of 39 amphibian species and 34 species of fish in the park. Both the saltwater crocodile and the Siamese crocodile were once found here, but a 2002 study concluded that both species were extinct in the park.^[5]

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  Hairy-nosed otter
• 
  Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)
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  Oriental darter
• 
  A male Asian golden weaver

During the First Indochina War the U Minh Forest was a Viet Minh stronghold. In 1952, 500 French paratroopers dropped into the U Ming forest to attack Viet Minh and were never heard from again.^[6] During the Vietnam War it was a Vietcong base area.^[7] Officers Humbert Roque Versace and James N. Rowe of the United States Army were captured by the Vietcong during a battle in the U Minh Forest in October 1963. Versace was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by American Military and Rowe escaped five years later.^[8] American politician John Kerry commanded a Swift boat in the area during the Vietnam War, known as the American War in Vietnam.

• Factsheet on U Minh Thuong National Park Archived 2016-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
• YouTube: Footage ARVN Rangers of the South Vietnamese Army patrolling in the U Minh Forest (1970)