Madame Nhu, wife of Diem's powerful brother, publicly accuses the Buddhists of being infiltrated with communist agents. Later on the same day, Truehart protests Mme. Nhu's remarks to Diem and threatens to dissociate the U. At noon in the middle of a downtown intersection, a Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, is immersed in gasoline and sets himself afire.
His fiery protest is photographed and is front page material in the world's newspapers. Shock and indignation are universal. Nhu subsequently refers to it as a "barbecue. Truehart sees Diem again to protest his lack of action on the Buddhist problem and says that Quang Duc's suicide has shocked the world. If Diem does not act, the U. Under U. A joint GVN-Buddhist communique is released as a product of the negotiations that outlines the elements of a settlement, but affixes no responsibility for the May 8 Hue incident.
Buddhists protest activities intensify as leadership passes from the discredited moderate, older leaders to younger militants. The Saigon press corps is actively cultivated. Ambassador to South Vietnam, effective in September. Vice President Tho's committee announces that a preliminary investigation of the May 8 incident has confirmed that the deaths were the result of an act of VC terrorism. At a State Department briefing for the President it is generally agreed that Diem will not voluntarily remove Nhu.
A discussion of the likely consequences of a coup reveals divergent views. Having cut short his vacation to return to Washington for consultations, Nolting confers with Under Secretary of State George Ball and voices the fear that an attempt to overthrow Diem would result in a protracted religious civil war that would open the door to the Viet Cong.
We should not abandon Diem yet. While in Washington he also sees Secretary McNamara. This special intelligence estimate notes coup rumors in Vietnam and warns that a coup would disrupt the war effort and perhaps give the Viet Cong the opportunity for gains they had been hoping for. It concludes, however, that if Diem does nothing to implement the June 16 agreements, Buddhist unrest will continue through the summer and increase the likelihood of a coup attempt.
Nolting returns to Vietnam with Washington's blessing to make one last attempt to persuade Diem to conciliate the Buddhists. The hope is to draw on the good will that Nolting has built up in his two years of service.
At a special meeting for all senior generals, Nhu attacks their loyalty to the regime for not having thwarted the numerous coup plots that had been reported. The meeting apparently forestalls any immediae threat to the family. Deeply resentful of Truehart's tough pressure tactics, Nolting meets with Diem and attempts to mollify him. He convinces Diem to make a nationwide radio address with concessions to the Buddhists.
Complying with the letter but not the spirit of Nolting's request, Diem delivers a brief cold radio address that makes only very minor concessions to the Buddhists and asks for harmony and support of the Government.
At a press conference, Secretary McNamara says the war is progressing well and the Buddhist crisis has not yet affected it. A second Buddhist monk commits suicide by burning himself to death in the continuing protest against the Diem regime.
In their final meeting before Nolting's departure from Vietnam, Diem promises to make a public statement repudiating Mme Nhu's inflammatory denunciations of the Buddhists. Nolting left the next day. Diem's promised public statement takes the form of an interview with Marguerite Higgins, conservative correspondent of the New York Herald Tribune. Diem asserts that conciliation has been his policy toward the Buddhists all along and the family is pleased with Lodge's appointment.
Ten senior Army generals meet and decide that in view of the deteriorating political situation, they will ask Diem for a declaration of martial law to permit them to return monks from outside Saigon to their own provinces and pagodas and thus reduce tensions in the capital. A small group of generals meets first with Nhu and then with Diem to propose that martial law be decreed forthwith.
Diem approves the proposal and the decree takes effect at midnight. Under the cover of the military martial law, shortly after midnight, forces loyal to Nhu and under his orders attack pagodas throughout Vietnam, arresting monks and sacking the sacred buildings. Over 30 Buddhists are injured and over arrested.
The attack is a shattering repudiation of Diem's promises to Nolting. The Embassy is taken by surprise. He is dispatched immediately to Vietnam. At a. But first intelligence places the blame for them on the Army, not Nhu. After a brief stop in Tokyo, Lodge arrives in Saigon at p. The situation still remains confused. General Don, armed forces commander under the martial law decree, has contacted a CAS officer and asked why the U. Nhu's special forces were responsible.
A separate contact by another general with a member of the mission had brought another inquiry as to the U. The query is clear. Large student protest demonstrations on behalf of the imprisoned Buddhists take place at the faculties of medicine and pharmacy at the University of Saigon. They are a dramatic break with the tradition of student apathy to politics in Vietnam. The regime reacts with massive arrests. Lodge lays the blame for the raids at Nhu's feet and states that his influence is significantly increased.
But, in view of the loyalty of Saigon area commanders, a coup attempt would be a "shot in the dark. Subsequently known as the "Aug 24 cable," this controversial message acknowledges Nhu's responsibility for the raids and says that U.
If Diem is unable or unwilling to remove him, the generals are to be told that the U. Lodge's permission is requested for a VOA broadcast exonerating the Army of responsibility for the Aug 21 raids. Lodge approves the proposed course of action but sees no reason to approach Diem first.
Diem will not remove the Nhus and it would merely tip off the palace to the impending military action. Lodge, Harkins, and Richardson meet and agree on an approach to the generals with the information in State's It also broadcast press speculation that the U. Later the same morning, Lodge presents his credentials to Diem, after an early morning meeting with Harkins and Richardson, at which they agree on the details of the approach to the generals.
The Aug 24 cable of instructions had been drafted, cleared and sent on a weekend with McNamara, McCone, Rusk and the President all out of town. The NSC meeting on Monday morning reveals that these top advisors have reservations about proceeding hastily with a coup when we lack so much basic information about its leadership and chances. Lodge is asked for more details. Khiem tells Conein that other participants are Generals Minh, Kim, Thieu and Le, and that General Don was aware of the plot and approved, but was too exposed to participate.
Lodge gives an optimistic appraisal of the balance of forces for a coup and expresses confidence in the identified leaders. At the now daily NSC meeting in Washington, the State Department participants generally favor going ahead with the coup, while the Defense Department, both civilian and military, prefers another try with Diem. Harkins goes on record with doubts about the line-up of forces for the coup and sees no reason for our "rush approval. Concerned by the differing views of Lodge and Harkins, as well as the division of opinion in Washington, the President asks the Ambassador and MACV for their separate appraisals.
At this meeting, arranged by Minh, he asks for clear evidence that the U. He is unwilling to discuss the details of his plan. When asked what would constitute a sign of U.
Lodge replies to the Presidential query that the U. He recommends showing the CAS messages to them to establish our good faith and if that is insufficient, he recommends a suspension of economic aid as they requested. Harkins reply to Taylor suggests that one last effort be made with Diem in the form of an ultimatum demanding Nhu's removal.
Such a move he feels will strengthen the hand of the generals, not imperil them. Another inconclusive meeting is held with the division of opinion on a U. The result is to leave policy making in Lodge's hands. Lodge is authorized to have Harkins show the CAS messages to the generals in exchange for a look at their detailed plans. He is further authorized to suspend U. Harkins meets with Khiem who tells him that Minh has called off the coup. Military was unable to achieve a favorable balance of forces in the Saigon area and doubts about whether the U.
A future attempt is not ruled out. With the demise of the coup plot confirmed, the NSC without the President meets to try to chart a new policy for Vietnam.
The discussion reveals the divergence between the military desire to get on with the war and repair relations with Diem, and the State Department view that continued support for Diem will eventually mean a loss of the war as more and more of the South Vietnamese are alienated from it.
No decisions are taken. This can be done, he feels, "with change in policy and perhaps with personnel. Avoiding any contact with Diem, Lodge nonetheless meets with Nhu who announces his intention to quit the Government as a sign of the progress of the campaign against the VC.
Mme Nhu and Archbishop Thuc, another of Diem's brothers, are to leave the country on extended trips shortly. Robert Kennedy speculates that if the war can be won neither with Diem nor in the event of a disruptive coup, we should perhaps be considering a U. They leave later the same day. With the intercession of the Vatican and the Papal Delegate in Saigon, Archbishop Thuc leaves the country for Rome on an extended visit.
Mme Nhu departs from Saigon to attend the World Parliamentarians Conference in Belgrade and then to take an extendedtrip through Europe and possibly the U. Appearing on the inaugural program of the NBC Huntley-Brinkley News, the President says he does not believe an aid cut-off would be helpful in achieving American purposes in Vietnam at present.
Krulak and Mendenhall return from Vietnam after a whirlwind four day trip and make their report to the NSC. Krulak's report stresses that the war is being won and, while there is some dissatisfaction in the military with Diem, no one would risk his neck to remove him. A continuation of present policies under Diem will yield victory. Mendenhall presents a completely contradictory view of the situation. A breakdown of civil administration was possible and a religious civil war could not be excluded if Diem was not replaced.
The war certainly could not be won with Diem. Phillips and Mecklin support Mendenhall with variations. Nolting agrees with Krulak. All the disagreement prompts the President to ask the two emissaries, "You two did visit the same country, didn't you? Lodge reverses himself in suggesting a complete study of kinds of economic aid suspension that might be used to topple the regime.
White House decides to hold economic aid renewal in abeyance pending a complete examination of how it might be used to pressure Diem. With White House approval, Senator Church introduces a resolution in the Senate condemning the South Vietnamese Government for its repressive handling of the Buddhist problem and calling for an end to U. Two alternative proposals for dealing with Diem are considered. The first would use an escalatory set of pressures to get him to do our bidding.
The second would involve acquiescence in recent GVN actions, recognition that Diem and Nhu are inseparable, and an attempt to salvage as much as possible from a bad situation. A decision is taken to adopt the first as policy, and also to send Secretary McNamara and General Taylor on a fact-gathering mission.
The White House instructions for the mission ask the two men to 1 appraise the status of the military effort; 2 assess the impact on the war effort of the Buddhist crisis; 3 recommend a course of action for the GVN to redress the problem and for the US.
The disagreement between Harkins and Lodge about the situation in-country and the progress of the war surfaces immediately in this first conference. McNamara spends several subsequent days touring various parts of Vietnam to appraise the war first hand and talk with U. As announced earlier, and at the end of a pro forma one week campaign, the GVN holds nation-wide elections for the National Assembly with predictably high turnouts and majorities for Government candidates.
In their protocol call on Diem, and after his two-hour monologue, McNamara is able to pointedly stress that the political unrest and Government repressive measures against the Buddhists were undermining the U. Diem seems unimpressed, but does ask Taylor for his appraisal, as a military man, of the progress of the war. Tho stresses to the two visitors the gravity of the political deterioration and the negative effect it was having on war.
He questions the success of the strategic hamlet program. After a day in Honolulu to prepare a report, McNamara and Taylor return to Washington and present their findings and recommendations to a morning NSC meeting. Their long report represents a compromise between the military and the civilian views. It confirms the progress of the war, but warns of the dangers inherent in the current political turmoil and recommends pressures against Diem to bring changes. Militarily, it calls for greater GVN effort, especially in the Delta and in clear and hold operations, and a consolidation of the strategic hamlet program.
It proposes the announcement of the plans to withdraw 1, American troops by year's end. To put political pressure on Diem to institute the reforms we want, it recommends a selective aid suspension, an end of support for the special forces responsible for the pagoda raids, and a continuation of Lodge's aloofness from the regime.
It recommends against a coup, but qualifies this by suggesting that an alternative leadership be identified and cultivated. The recommendations are promptly approved by the President. A statement following the meeting is released as recommended by McNamara and Taylor that reiterates the U. It does not, however, announce the aid suspensions. Don asks him to come to Nha Trang that evening. With Embassy approval Conein keeps the appointment. Don states that there is an active plot among the generals for a coup, and that General Minh wants to see Conein on Oct 5 to discuss details.
The President approves detailed recommendations of the McNamara-Taylor mission for transmission to Lodge. President today approved recommendation that no initiative should now be taken to give any active covert encouragement to a coup. There should, however, be urgent covert effort. With Lodge's approval, and probably before receipt of foregoing message, Conein meets with General Minh. Minh says he must know the U. The GVN's loss of popular support is endangering the whole war effort.
Three possible plans are mentioned, one involving assassination. Conein is noncommital. Lodge recommends that when Conein is contacted again, he be authorized to say that the U. His identity having been compromised in recent press stories about internal policy struggles in the U.
Washington clarifies its views on a coup by stating that the U. Security and deniability of all contacts is paramount. Diem speaks mainly of Vietnam's past progress under his rule, playing down the current political crisis and making only scant reference to U. Mme Nhu arrives in the U. She immediately launches into vituperative attacks on the U. The UN General Assembly, after a strong debate with many voices denouncing Diem's anti-Buddhist policy, votes to send a fact-finding team to Saigon to investigate the charges of repression.
The State Department publishes a controversial research memorandum which takes issue with the Pentagon's optimistic reading of the statistical indicators on the progress of the war. The memo states that certain definitely negative and ominous trends can be identified.
General Harkins sees General Don, and in a conversation whose interpretation is subsequently disputed, tells him that U. Don takes it as U. General Don renews contact with Conein to ask for clarification of U. Conein repeats Washington guidance, which relieves Don. Conein asks for proof of the existence of the coup and its plan; Don promises to provide politi.
Diem extends an invitation to Lodge and his wife to spend Sunday, Oct 27, with him at his villa in Dalat. Truman defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, by just over two million popular votes. In the days preceding the vote, political analysts and polls were Martin Luther King, Jr.
He received a The Hughes Flying Boat—at one time the largest aircraft ever built—is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight. Built with laminated birch and spruce hence the nickname the Spruce Goose the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox.
The letter would eventually become He was shocked to find out that instead of support he was told to surrender. At this point he realized that he had no options and agreed to surrender in return for safe passage out of the country. The generals in charge of revolt sent an armored car to retrieve Diem. On the way back to army headquarters Diem and his brother were murdered. To this day it is not known who killed him and why.
September 1, Diem Overthrown. But his success dealing with internal threats gave many hope that he would prove to be a reliable ally, so the United States invested time and money in supporting his regime. By , however, the Kennedy administration faced a dilemma. After government forces cracked down on Buddhist monks that spring, Kennedy pressed Diem for reforms.
Instead, Diem imposed martial law, and special forces directed by his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, launched raids against Buddhist pagodas. When rumors of a possible coup began to spread in August, many in the administration wondered whether the United States should acquiesce, or indeed support the plotters.
Others dissented, seeing the regime, with all its faults, as the best path to success against the southern Vietnamese Communists—derisively labeled the Viet Cong—who were supported and directed by the North Vietnamese. Inside South Vietnam, those seeking to overthrow the regime contacted US officials to ensure continued American support. In this August 26, , conversation, the president discusses Diem and Nhu with senior national security officials.
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