Transcript of Conversation Between President Diem and Ambassador Lodge
11/1/1963
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In this meeting with U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam, said "I have tried to do my duty." Lodge urged Diem to flee, but Diem responded: “I am trying to reestablish order.”
Later that day, Diem was overthrown by a group of generals in a coup d’état. They received the green light for their plan from the Kennedy Administration via Ambassador Lodge. Kennedy was ambivalent about abandoning Diem, and knew it would anger members of Congress, but said they would "be madder if Vietnam goes down the drain."
A flood of American resources from the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s had appeared to buoy South Vietnam against the North Vietnam forces. But in the spring of 1963, photographs of protests against the U.S.-supported Diem regime stunned observers around the world.
President Ngo Dinh Diem promised to enact reforms but was undermined by his brother and chief advisor, Ngo Dinh Nhu. Protests continued and escalated when Nhu responded with violent raids on Buddhist pagodas. Violence and unrest in Saigon made Washington tense. Diem ignored the Kennedy administration’s increasingly adamant calls for reform.
Later that day, Diem was overthrown by a group of generals in a coup d’état. They received the green light for their plan from the Kennedy Administration via Ambassador Lodge. Kennedy was ambivalent about abandoning Diem, and knew it would anger members of Congress, but said they would "be madder if Vietnam goes down the drain."
A flood of American resources from the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s had appeared to buoy South Vietnam against the North Vietnam forces. But in the spring of 1963, photographs of protests against the U.S.-supported Diem regime stunned observers around the world.
President Ngo Dinh Diem promised to enact reforms but was undermined by his brother and chief advisor, Ngo Dinh Nhu. Protests continued and escalated when Nhu responded with violent raids on Buddhist pagodas. Violence and unrest in Saigon made Washington tense. Diem ignored the Kennedy administration’s increasingly adamant calls for reform.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of State .
Full Citation: Transcript of Conversation Between President Diem and Ambassador to South Vietnam Lodge; 11/1/1963; POL 26 Rebellion Coups. Insurgence S. Viet Folder #4; Central Foreign Policy Files, 1963; General Records of the Department of State , Record Group 59; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/diem-lodge-conversation, April 17, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.