DEAN RUSK RECOMMENDS DAVID NES FOR DCM
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 10, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson discussed the appointment of David G. Nes* as Deputy Chief of Mission in Saigon with Secretary of State Dean Rusk**.
Dean Rusk, LBJ, Bob McNamara
February 9, 1968
Photo by Yoichi Okamoto
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 10, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson discussed the appointment of David G. Nes* as Deputy Chief of Mission in Saigon with Secretary of State Dean Rusk**.
The recorded telephone conversation, available at the Miller Center, indicates that Mr. Rusk recommended David Nes as "the best man for the job."
Dean Rusk told the President...
"If we have a new job, (David Ness) ought to take a part in building it."
LBJ would later say...
"I hope Nes is the kind of guy who goes for the jugular because that's what we need out there."
David Ness arrived in Saigon as DCM under Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in 1964. At that time, there were 25,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.
Ness's daughter, Nancy Nes Knowlton, said of her father...
"He would thrive in a crisis. He was calm and unflappable."
*David Gulick Nes was born in York, PA & graduated from Princeton University with a BA in history. DGN became a division assistant in the State Dept in 1942. He helped evacuate 500 Americans from Egypt during the Six Day War in 1967 & received the Superior Honor Award.
**Dean Rusk (1909-1994) was born in Cherokee County, GA & was educated at Davidson College, University of California Berkely, & the University of Oxford. DR served as Secretary of State under JFK & LBJ 1961-1969.
"I hope Nes is the kind of guy who goes for the jugular because that's what we need out there."
David Ness arrived in Saigon as DCM under Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in 1964. At that time, there were 25,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.
Ness's daughter, Nancy Nes Knowlton, said of her father...
"He would thrive in a crisis. He was calm and unflappable."
*David Gulick Nes was born in York, PA & graduated from Princeton University with a BA in history. DGN became a division assistant in the State Dept in 1942. He helped evacuate 500 Americans from Egypt during the Six Day War in 1967 & received the Superior Honor Award.
**Dean Rusk (1909-1994) was born in Cherokee County, GA & was educated at Davidson College, University of California Berkely, & the University of Oxford. DR served as Secretary of State under JFK & LBJ 1961-1969.
SOURCES
"Conversation With Dean Rusk, December 10, 1963," Secret White House Tapes, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidency, UVA, www.millercenter.org/
"David Gulick Nes, 89, career State Department officer," by Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun, June 1, 2006.
"David Gulick Nes, 89, career State Department officer," by Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun, June 1, 2006.
Dean Rusk, LBJ, Bob McNamara
February 9, 1968
Photo by Yoichi Okamoto
