[3], Diệm kept the control of the nation firmly within the hands of his brothers and their in-laws and promotions in the ARVN were given on the basis of religion and loyalty rather than merit. In August 1963 U.S. ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge(see entry) reported that an influential faction in the South Vietnamese military wanted to overthrow He put a bullet into his head too. [24] Lieutenant Thơ, who had earlier urged Diệm to surrender, saying that he was sure that his uncle Đỗ Mậu, along with Đính and Khiêm, would guarantee their safety, wrote in his diary later "I consider myself responsible for having led them to their death". and Robert Shaplen. This left only the Presidential Guard to defend Gia Long Palace. Diem, assisted by U.S. military and economic aid, was able to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees from North Vietnam in the south, but his own Catholicism and the preference he showed for fellow Roman Catholics made him unacceptable to Buddhists, who were an overwhelming majority in South Vietnam. In 1954 Diem began serving as prime minister in what would become the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). This was taken to be an order to kill both brothers. Those actions finally persuaded the United States to withdraw its support from Diem, and his generals assassinated him during a coup d’état. Diem was born into one of the noble families of Vietnam. [39] This was interpreted as a Vietnamese way of expressing contempt for the two despised leaders. The brothers sought asylum from the embassy of the Republic of China, but were turned down and stayed in Ma Tuyen's house as they appealed to ARVN loyalists and attempted to negotiate with the coup leaders. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Minh's army colleagues and US officials in Saigon agreed that Minh ordered the executions. Diệm won the rigged referendum and proclaimed himself the President of the newly created Republic of Vietnam. [14] Soon after the early morning mass was celebrated for All Souls' Day (the Catholic day of the dead) and after the congregation had left the building, the Ngô brothers walked through the shady courtyard and into the church wearing dark grey suits. Do you need more troops? While no formal inquiry was conducted, the responsibility for the deaths of the Ngô brothers is commonly placed on Minh's bodyguard, Captain Nguyễn Văn Nhung and on Major Dương Hiếu Nghĩa, both of whom guarded the brothers during the trip. One officer asked to shoot Nhu, but Xuân turned him down. Diệm's pictures were taken down and his statue was covered up. His ancestors had been converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries in the 17th Century. Lắm had joined the coup once a rebel victory seemed assured. Their hands were tied. In 1945 he was captured by the forces of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh, who invited Diem to join Ho’s independent government in the newly declared Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), hoping that Diem’s presence would win Catholic support. Halberstam wrote to the US Department of State that "extremely reliable private military sources" had confirmed that the brothers were ordered to be executed upon their return to military headquarters. [30] This drew immediate skepticism from David Halberstam of The New York Times, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his Vietnam reporting. "[20] Another story holds that Diệm said "We have always been together during these last years. The generals initially attempted to cover up the execution by suggesting that the brothers had committed suicide, but this was contradicted when photos of the Ngôs' corpses surfaced in the media. [24] Đôn charged Nhu with convincing Diệm to reject the offer. Diệm frequently refused to follow American advice and was known for his personal integrity, in contrast to Thiệu, who was infamous for corruption and regarded as being too close to the Americans. By our complicity, we Americans were responsible for the plight in which the South Vietnamese found themselves". [24], After the arrest, Nhung and Nghĩa sat with the brothers in the APC, and the convoy departed for Tân Sơn Nhất. [30] Neil Sheehan of UPI reported a similar account based on what he described as "highly reliable sources". If the generals decide to exile Diệm, he should also be sent outside Southeast Asia. The coup went smoothly as the rebels quickly captured all key installations in Saigon and sealed incoming roads to prevent loyalist forces from entering. Ngo Dinh Diem was born on January 3, 1901, in Quang Binh, French Indochina. He was on friendly terms with the Vietnamese imperial family in his youth. With Diệm remaining intransigent in the face of escalating Buddhist demands for religious equality, sections of society began calling for his removal from power. According to Jones, "when decisions regarding postcoup affairs took priority, resentment over the killings meshed with the visceral competition over government posts to disassemble the new regime before it fully took form. Diệm refused, vowing to reassert his control. [43] According to General Maxwell Taylor, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, "there was the memory of Diệm to haunt those of us who were aware of the circumstances of his downfall. He/She was born in Hue, Quang Binh province on 3 January 1901 and died in Saigon on November 2, 1963. The generals knew very well that having no talent, no moral virtues, no political support whatsoever, they could not prevent a spectacular comeback of the president and Mr. Nhu if they were alive. The CIA employees responded that "They had to kill him. [7], In May 1963, a law against the flying of religious flags was selectively invoked; the Buddhist flag was banned from display on Vesak while the Vatican flag was displayed to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục, Diệm's elder brother. ISBN 0-8223-3440-2. [19] Nhu's secret agents had fitted the home with a direct phone line to the palace, so the insurgent generals believed that the brothers were still besieged inside Gia Long. The name-calling grew passionate. That event was the Nov. 2, 1963, coup that resulted in the murders of Ngo Dinh Diem, the president of South Vietnam and long an American-supported despot, and Ngo Dinh Nhu, his … He returned to the embassy and submitted his report to Washington. "[24], Đôn ordered another general to tell reporters that the Ngô brothers had died in an accident. C: Well, if by chance one of a million of the people believe you that they committed suicide in church and I see that they have not committed suicide and I know differently, then if it ever leaks out, I am in trouble. Thảo was told by Khiêm, his superior, to locate Diệm and prevent him from being killed. Conein asserted that "I have it on very good authority of very many people, that Big Minh gave the order", as did William Colby, the director of the CIA's Far Eastern division. The United States did not want Diệm and Nhu to form a government in exile and wanted them far away from Vietnam. [25], Diệm requested that the convoy stop at the palace so that he could gather personal items before being exiled. The key turning point came shortly after midnight on 21 August, when Nhu's Special Forces raided and vandalised Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands of monks and causing a death toll estimated to be in the hundreds. [32], According to historian Howard Jones, the fact "that the killings failed to make the brothers into martyrs constituted a vivid testimonial to the depth of popular hatred they had aroused. "[28], Kennedy's reaction did not draw sympathy from his entire administration. Around 20:00 on the night of the coup, with only the Presidential Guard to defend them against mutinous infantry and armor units, Diệm and Nhu hurriedly packed American banknotes into a briefcase. They did the best they could for their country. Stay with me and I will protect you. Minh: They committed suicide. Diem, like previous generations of his family, was educated in French Catholic schools. "[14] He further went on to anticipate what he termed a "Götterdämmerung in the palace". [12] Not all of the senior officers attended the meeting, with having already left to make arrangements for the arrival of Diệm and Nhu at JGS headquarters. Kennedy was skeptical about the story and suspected that a double assassination had taken place. Several members of the Kennedy administration were appalled by the killings. Lodge later concluded, "Once again, brother Nhu proves to be the evil genius in Diệm's life. U.S.-backed generals in Saigon overthrew and assassinated South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem … • Le Thiti'S bachelor uncle, Ngo Dinh Diem, was presi-dent of South Vietnam and was killed with her father, Diem's closest political as-sociate, in a coup November 1, 1963. Minh was astounded and told Conein that the generals could not hold Diệm for that period. The loyalists traveled through narrow back streets in order to evade rebel checkpoints and changed vehicles to a black Citroën sedan. Ngo Dinh Diem, (born January 3, 1901, Quang Binh province, northern Vietnam—died November 2, 1963, Cho Lon, South Vietnam [now in Vietnam]), Vietnamese political leader who served as president, with dictatorial powers, of what was then South Vietnam, from 1955 until his assassination. According to one account, Diệm was reported to have turned down Nhu, reasoning that "You cannot leave alone. The partition was intended to be temporary, with national elections scheduled for 1956 to create a government of a reunified nation. The caption below a picture published in Time read "'Suicide' with no hands. Lucien Conein had left the rebel headquarters as the generals were preparing to bring in the Ngô brothers for the press conference which announced the handover of power. [34], One Vietnamese Diệm loyalist asked friends in the CIA why an assassination had taken place, reasoning that if Diem was deemed to be inefficient, his deposal would suffice. Tung was later forced at gunpoint to order his loyalist Special Forces to surrender. He was the son of Ngo Dinh Kha, a Catholic mandarin to Emperor Thanh Thai in Hue. Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950–1963. [8] Numerous coup plans had been explored by the army before, but the plotters intensified their activities with increased confidence after the administration of US President John F. Kennedy authorised the US embassy to explore the possibility of a leadership change. One general broke down and wept while Minh's assistant, Colonel Nguyễn Văn Quan, collapsed on a table. Banners proclaimed Diệm as a saviour of the south, with some mourners having walked into Saigon from villages outside the capital carrying portraits of Diệm. "[27], Kennedy learned of the deaths on the following morning when National Security Council staffer Michael Forrestal rushed into the cabinet room with a telegram reporting the Ngô brothers' alleged suicides. "[34] Conein described Minh as a "very proud man" who had lost face at turning up at the palace for his moment of glory, only to find an empty building. They were dressed in the robes of Roman Catholic priests with their hands tied behind their backs. Xuân said that it was selected to protect them from "extremists". Authoritative reports detailed both the Viet Cong’s campaign of terror against government officials in the south and widespread discontent over Diem’s corrupt and…. And so, 50 years ago this month, Kennedy let loose the CIA. If they committed suicide at that church and the priest holds mass tonight, that story won't hold water. [12] Conein reported that the generals had never indicated that assassination was in their minds, since an orderly transition of power was a high priority in achieving their ultimate aim of gaining international recognition. [20], The loyalists reached the home of Ma Tuyen in the Chinese business district of Cholon. Nhu agreed to remain with his brother. Orthodox scholars argue that Diem as a corrupt tyrannical puppet, while revisionists believe Diem was an independent leader who knew what was necessary to allow his young country to survive. How could we separate during these last years? Neither the rebels nor the loyalist Presidential Guard had any idea that at 21:00 they were about to fight for an empty building. If you do, ask Đính to send more troops – and do it quickly because after taking the palace you will be made a general. 1963: Ngo Dinh Diem. Where are they? Upon his return, the ambassador offered Diệm and Nhu asylum, but would not arrange for transportation to the Philippines until the next day. His ancestors in the 17th century had been among the first Vietnamese converts to Roman Catholicism. [24] Xuân ordered the brothers' hands be tied behind their backs before shoving them into the carrier. [1], Diệm refused to hold the reunification elections, on the basis that the State of Vietnam was not a signatory to the Geneva Accords. [23], A few minutes later, just after 10:00, an armoured personnel carrier and two jeeps entered the narrow alcove housing the church building. "[37], At around 16:00 on 2 November, the bodies of Diệm and Nhu were identified by the wife of former Cabinet minister Trần Trùng Dung. Lodge showed no alarm in public, congratulating Đôn on the "masterful performance" of the coup and promising diplomatic recognition. However, he resigned that same year in frustration at French unwillingness to countenance his legislative reforms. Diem had five brothers, including Ngo Dình Nhu, who was his political advisor and an archivist. [30] Father Leger of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church asserted that the Ngô brothers were kneeling inside the building when soldiers burst in, took them outside and into the APC. Diem was America's hope to bring legitimate rule to South Vietnam following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. Diệm and Nhu were aware of the coup plan, and Nhu responded by planning a counter-coup, which he called Operation Bravo. The photos were taken at about 10:00 on 2 November and showed the dead brothers covered in blood on the floor of an APC. Corrections? Lieutenant Thơ died a few months later in a plane crash, but his diary was not found until 1970. [20] After the coup, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam General Paul Harkins, inspected the tunnel and noted that it "was so far down that I didn't want to go down to walk up the thing". Diệm's political career began in July 1954, when he was appointed the Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam by former Emperor Bảo Đại, who was Head of State. "[18], In the meantime, Minh left the JGS headquarters and traveled to Gia Long Palace in a sedan with his aide and bodyguard, Captain Nguyễn Văn Nhung. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Ellen Hammer disputes the tunnel escape, asserting that the Ngo brothers simply walked out of the building, which was not yet under siege. If the family is taken alive, the Nhus should be banished to France or any other country willing to receive them. Thơ recorded Diệm's words as they left the house of Ma Tuyen as being "I don't know whether I will live or die and I don't care, but tell Nguyễn Khánh that I have great affection for him and he should avenge me". The Catholic primate, Ngo Dinh Thuc, was Diem's brother and advisor. [16] It was also revealed that Conein had phoned the embassy early on the same morning to inquire about the generals' request for a plane to transport Diệm and Nhu out of Saigon. General Lê, a former police chief under Diệm in the mid-1950s, strongly lobbied for Diệm's execution. In this recording, made on the evening of Monday, November 4, 1963, less than three weeks before he himself would eventually be assassinated, Kennedy reflected upon the tumultuous events that had transpired in Saigon over the previous weekend, the overthrow and murder of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu. Never disclosed by the American embassy attacked by Nhu 's workers have made of! 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