"IT WAS A GREAT SHOCK TO EVERYBODY"

SOUTH VIETNAM PRESIDENT & BROTHER KILLED IN MILITARY COUP

Saigon, South Vietnam (JFK+50) On November 2, 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam, was killed in a military coup along with his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu.

The pair were captured at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church after escaping the presidential palace through an underground tunnel.  They then were both shot to death. 

The United States State Department denied involvement in the overthrow the the Diems.

President John F. Kennedy was informed of the deaths at a cabinet meeting.  JFK rushed out of the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face.

Assistant Secretary of State Averell Harriman said, "It was a great shock to everybody."

JFK+50 NOTE

According to a dictabelt recording made by JFK on Nov 4 1963, talk of a coup in SV had taken place over a 3 month period.  Ultimately the topic divided the Kennedy administration with generally the Dept of State supporting the coup and the Dept of Defense opposing it.  

The question was what was most beneficial for U.S. interests in the region, continuing to support a flawed SV government under Diem or supporting a coup which might or might not result in an improved situation.  Although JFK felt the situation in SV had worsened recently, he admired Diem's leadership in preventing a communist takeover during his tenure.

JFK admits on the recording that his government bore "a good deal" of responsibility for the coup.  He was especially disturbed by the manner in which the Diem brothers died.  Ironically, this was just weeks before JFK himself would be the victim of assassination.

SOURCES

"JFK and the Diem Coup," by John Prados, The National Security Archive, 2003. 

"The Diem Coup," UVA, Miller Center, www.millercenter.org/

 

 

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

Photo by Bui Thuy Dao Nguyen

2008

 

"JFK RUSHED OUT OF THE CABINET ROOM WITH A LOOK OF SHOCK ON HIS FACE"

DIEM EXECUTED IN SOUTH VIETNAMESE MILITARY COUP

Saigon, South Vietnam (JFK+50)  On November 2, 1963,  Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam, and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were executed as part of a military coup supported by the Kennedy administration and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The brothers had escaped the Palace by an underground tunnel, making it safely to a refuge in Cholon, but they were captured at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church just after 10 a.m.

Diem and Nhu were then placed in the back of a personnel carrier where they were beaten and shot to death.   As a Catholic, Diem's authoritarian rule was opposed by South Vietnam's Buddhist population.

The State Department denied any involvement by the United States in the coup, but evidence uncovered a decade ago proves otherwise.  Documents show that while the Kennedy administration "had a considerable role in the coup," there was no evidence to show that JFK or his advisers planned for the executions.

According to General Maxwell Taylor, President John F. Kennedy learned of the deaths of Diem and Nhu at a cabinet meeting.  Taylor said...

"Kennedy leaped to his feet and rushed out of the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face...." 

SOURCE

"JFK and the Diem Coup" by John Prados , The National Security Archive, 2003
www.2gwu.edu/

Ike, JFK Dules & Ngo Dinh Diem

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WE'RE UP TO OUR HIPS IN MUD OUT THERE

JFK CONSIDERS SUPPORTING COUP IN SOUTH VIETNAM

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy met with his advisers at the White House regarding his administration's  policy in South Vietnam.

Audio tapes made at the meeting, declassified and released in December 2009, reveal the specific topics discussed including possible support of an overthrow of the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem.* 

According to The National Security Archive, JFK acted as a "moderator," asking questions and listening to answers from his various advisers. At one point the President said... "We're up to our hips in mud out there."

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and CIA director John McCone opposed supporting the coup while several others were in favor of supporting it.

Senior officials told JFK that there was "no chance of success" in the war in Vietnam with Diem as president of South Vietnam.  The President and a majority of his advisers concluded that, at the very least, Ngo Dinh Nhu**, Diem's younger brother and chief political adviser, had to go.

JFK sent McNamara and Taylor to South Vietnam to attempt to convince Diem of the necessity of removing Nhu.  During their mission, the United States terminated military aid to the South Vietnam Special Forces which was controlled by Nhu.  The National Security Archives says that this action indicates that JFK was prepared to support Diem's overthrow if he didn't cooperate.

*Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963), president of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-1963, was born in Quang Binh and graduated 1st in his class at the French School of Public Administration and Law in 1921.  

**Ngo Dinh Nhu (1910-1963) was born in Phu Cam, French Indochina.  He graduated from an archivists school in Paris and worked at Hanoi's National Library.  In 1943, he married Tran Le Xuan.^

^Tran Le Xuan, a.k.a. Madame Nhu, (1924-2011) served as 1st Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963 as her brother-in-law, President Diem, was unmarried.

SOURCE

"Kennedy Considered Supporting Coup in South Vietnam, August 1963." The National Security Archive, December 11, 2009, www.2.gwu.edu/

Madame Nhu and LBJ

May 12, 1961

LBJ Library Photo

JFK CONSIDERS SUPPORT FOR COUP IN SOUTH VIETNAM

August 29, 2013

JFK MET WITH ADVISERS ON SUPPORT FOR COUP IN SOUTH VIETNAM 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The day following the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Thursday, August 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was meeting with his advisers at the White House regarding US policy in South Vietnam.

Thanks to audio tapes made at the meeting, declassified and released in December 2009, we now know the specifics of this meeting in which possible support of an overthrow of the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem* was discussed.

*Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963), president of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-1963, was born in Quang Binh and graduated 1st in his class at the French School of Public Administration and Law in 1921.  

                       Ngo Dinh Diem
       President Republic of Vietnam
                         May 8, 1957
                        NARA Image

According to The National Security Archive, President Kennedy acted as a "moderator," asking questions and listening to answers from his various advisers.

In the President own words, "We're up to our hips in mud out there."

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and CIA director John McCone opposed supporting the coup while several others were in favor of US backing of the overthrow.

Senior officials told JFK that there was "no chance of success" in the war in Vietnam with Diem as president of South Vietnam.

The President and a majority of his advisers concluded that, at the very least, Ngo Dinh Nhu**, Diem's younger brother and chief political adviser, had to go.

**Ngo Dinh Nhu (1910-1963) was born in Phu Cam, French Indochina.  He graduated from an archivists school in Paris and worked at Hanoi's National Library.  In 1943, he married Tran Le Xuan who was later known as 'Madame Nhu.'***

                Madame Nhu and LBJ
                          May 12, 1961
                    LBJ Library Photo

***Tran Le Xuan, a.k.a. Madame Nhu, (1924-2011) served as 1st Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963 as her brother-in-law, President Diem, was unmarried.

She converted from Buddhism to Catholicism and as 1st Lady opposed abortion, adultery, beauty pageants, brothels and opium dens.

Madame Nhu was sometimes called the Dragon Lady because of her fiery attitude.  She was with one of her daughters in California when her husband and brother-in-law were killed.  She blamed the U.S. for the coup saying...

"Whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies."

JFK would dispatch McNamara and Taylor to South Vietnam to attempt to convince Diem of the necessity of removing Nhu.

During the McNamara-Taylor mission, the United States terminated military aid to the South Vietnam Special Forces which was controlled by Nhu.

The National Security Archives says that this action indicates that JFK was prepared to support Diem's overthrow if he didn't cooperate.

SOURCE

"Kennedy Considered Supporting Coup in South Vietnam, August 1963." The National Security Archive, December 11, 2009, www.2.gwu.edu/

      Rick Ryan's "Childhood's End"