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U.S. News Headlines 1963-66
During the Trial of Dang Sy, many newspapers in the United States provided coverage. Some of the headlines were:
- Letters to The Times; Diem Regime Assailed Religious Favoritism, Intolerance and Persecution Charged. New York Times (August 2, 1963)
- Terror Stalks Vietnam After Nine Years. Associated Press (September 2, 1963)
- Viet Plot to Libel Archbishop Revealed. The Tidings (May 8, 1964)
- Khanh Honors Americans. New York Times (May 14, 1964)
- South Viet Nam: Again, the Buddhists. Time. (June 1964)
- Start Trial For Murder. Gettysburg Times (June 2, 1964)
- Vietnamese Major Enters Innocent Plea. Eugene Register-Guard (June 2, 1964)
- Viet Major Put On Trial for Shootings. The Tuscaloosa News (June 3, 1964)
- Saigon Trying Officer As Slayer of Buddhists. New York Times (June 3, 1964)
- Major Asked to Blame Bishop. Chicago Tribune (June 3, 1964)
- Viet Officer Gets Life For Killing Buddhists. Hartford Courant (June 7, 1964)
- Religious-political Furor In Viet Nam Sparks Noisy March. Gadsden Times (June 8, 1964)
- VIETNAM OFFICER DRAWS LIFE TERM; Convicted of Killing Eight. New York Times (June 7, 1964)
- Justice Loser in Viet Court. WCWC News Service (June 12, 1964).
- Vietnam Priests ask Review of Major's Trial. WCWC News Service (June 20, 1964).
- U.S. Must Correct Vietnam Error. Associated Press (June 25, 1964)
- Religious Tension Builds. New York News (June 25, 1964)
- Premier Refused to Review Conviction. The Tidings (July 10, 1964)
- Upheaval Jolts Vietnam. The Tidings (September 4, 1964)
- Protest Against Military Rule, 100,000 marched. Keesing's World News (December 1, 1964)
- Buddhist. Associated Press (December 5, 1965)
- State Woman Fights for Major's Freedom. Owosso Owosso Argus-Press (March 1966)
- Nine Diem Backers Released. New York Times (October 1966)
- Major Dang Sy Was Released from Jail. The Tidings (June 6, 1967)
- The Vietnam history you haven't heard - Christian Science Monitor (January 2007).
Beginning of the Buddhist Crisis, May 9-June 16, 1963: Incident in Hue, the Five Buddhist Demands, Use of Tear Gas in Hue, Self Immolation of Quang Duc, Negotiations in Saigon To Resolve the Crisis, Agreement on the Five Demands
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v03/ch3
Telegram From the Consulate at Hue to the Department of State, May 10 report
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v03/d112
Vietnam, August–December 1963
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04
Reassessment in Washington and Inaction in Saigon, August 28-September 7, 1963: The Coup Stalls, President Kennedy's Public Statement, Attempts To Negotiate Nhu's Removal and Change South Vietnam's Policies
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/ch1112
Telegram From the Consulate at Hue to the Department of State - Nguyen Van Dang announce to 800 youths that May 8 incident was https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v03/d112
Period of Interlude, September 7-October 22, 1963: Assessment of the Progress of the War, U.S. Efforts To Reform the Diem Government, The McNamara-Taylor Mission to Vietnam and Report, U.S. Policy on Coup Plotting in Vietnam
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/ch2
The Coup Against the Diem Government, October 23-November 2, 1963: Differing Interpretations of U.S. Policy Toward Coup Plotting, Efforts To Obtain Information on a Potential Coup, Lodge-Diem Discussions, U.S. Assessments of a Coup, The Coup, The Deaths of Nhu and Diem (Documents 209-278)
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/ch3
U.S. Relations With the Provisional Government of Vietnam, November 2-22, 1963: U.S. Recognition of the Provisional Government, The Fate of Remaining Ngo Family Members and Tri Quang, U.S. Advice to the New Government, Rejection of a Neutralized South Vietnam, The Special Honolulu Meeting
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/ch4
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Published Books
Supports for Major Dang's testimony |
Allegations against Major Dang and his troops. |
Prados, John. Lost Crusader: the Secret Wars of CIA director William Colby. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates, Volume 114, Part 17 (1967).
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. Pratt, John Clark. Vietnam Voices: Perspectives on the War Years, 1941-1975. University of Georgia Press, 2008.
Bates, Milton J. and Just, Ward. Reporting Vietnam: American journalism, 1959-1975, Volume 1. South Vietnam: a political history, 1954-1970. Keesing's Publications.
Maitland, Terrence and Weiss, Stephen . Raising the stakes? Boston Publishing Company, 1982.
Braley, Russ. Bad News: the Foreign Policy of the New York Times. Regnery Gateway, 1984.
McCabe, Robert Karr. Storm over Asia: China and Southeast Asia: Thrust and Response. New American Library 1967.
Critchfield, Richard. The Long Charade: Political Subversion in the Vietnam War? Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968.
Pan, Chao-ying and Lyons, Daniel. Vietnam Crisis. Twin Circle Publishing Co., 1967.
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Vietnamese ViewPoints
| Title | Highlights |
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| Truong Vinh. Vietnam War: The New Legion. Trafford Publishing, 2010. |
Maintained that Military Junta's records showed live munition were issued to Major Dang who ordered his troops to deploy them. The casualties were raised again from 8 dead with no wounded, to the 9 dead and 25 wounded. The stampede, reported by the government, was caused by skirmishes between Catholic and Buddhist college students. |
| Lịch Sử Vẩn Còn Đây (English: Our History Unforgotten).
Nguyên Lữ, (2006) |
Maintained the 8 casualties were caused by powerful, unknown explosives, not the concussion grenades used by government forces. While the media, in Vietnam and United States, favored the version provided by Dr. Errich Wulff and radical Buddhists,
Thich Tri Quang declined to testify at the Trial of Dang Sy on the grounds that he was not there. The stampede, immediately followed the explosions, was started by Buddhist faithfuls who concerned that harms had fallen on Thich Tri Quang who was still inside the radio station.
After the fall of the First Republic, Thich Tri Quang wielded great influence on the incomings and outgoings of government appointees in Hue.
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| Công và Tội: Những Sự Thật của Lịch Sữ (English: Credit and Sin : Our Historical Truths).
Trân Nguyên, (1991) |
Maintained that a crowd, of various religions, was gathering at radio station to protest the ban of the Buddhist flag when unknown explosions shook the grounds. The 8 casualties were caused by powerful, unknown explosives, not the concussion grenades used by government forces. |
| Bên Giòng Lịch Sử (English: Riding Our History Currents).
Cao Văn Luận, (1991) |
Maintained the 8 casualties were caused by powerful, unknown explosives. Hypothetically caused by:
- an errand grenade thrown by Major Dang's troops,
- an unknown party hidden among the South Vietnamese troops,
- the radicals who infiltrated Thich Tri Quang's rowdy crowd.
Father Cao Van Luan concluded the first theory was not possible since the court accepted the fact that Major Dang and his troops did not have such powerful explosive in their arsenal.
The German professors who witnessed the incidents were not reliable. One was influenced by anti-American sentiments while the other two only lived in South Vietnam from 1959 to 1961.
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| Làm Thế Nào Để Giết Một Tổng Thống (English: How to Remove a President).
Cao Thế Dung, Lương Khải Minh |
Maintained that even though Saigon Headquarters telegraphed orders to ban all religious flags, save the national flag, Ngo Dinh Can ordered Major Dang Sy to announce to
the public that the law would apply after the Buddhist holiday. Unknown to the administration, some policemen started tearing down the Buddhist flags while Thich Tri Quang gathered people at the radio station to protest the ban.
As the crowd congregated, Thich Tri Quang arrived and demanded his recorded sermons to the Buddhists attending his pagoda, to be played over the radio.
The Director refused,barricaded himself and waited for the police when the crowd got rowdy and tried
to push in. The police and local firemen were unable to disperse the crowd with their authority and firehose. The military was summoned as last resort. As Major Dang and his contingence entered the radio station at 10:30PM,
two large explosions, about 50 meters from Major Dang, fatally wounded the young bystanders, including a grown woman.
The bystanders were of various religions. The explosions were caused by an American serviceman, who later admitted to the South Vietnamese army investigators. |
| Cuộc Tranh Đấu của Phật Giáo (English: The Struggle of the Vietnam Buddhism: from the Celebration of the Birthday of Buddha),
Quốc Tuệ (1964, reprinted 1987) |
Maintained Buddhist faithfuls were gathering outside the radio station to protest the government ban on unfurling Buddhist flag on the single largest Buddhist holiday.
When facing civil protest, government troops opened fire and threw grenades into crowd, causing the 9 deads and 21 wounded. |
| Cuộc Tranh Đấu của Phật Giáo (English: The Struggle of the Vietnam Buddhism),
Kiếm Đạt (1981) |
Maintained that at 9:30PM, Major Dang ordered tanks, with the inscription "Ngô Đình Khôi", to fire powerful shells and mortars
around the crowd, causing the 7 deads and 1 mortally wounded. Ngo Dinh Khoi was President Diem's older brother, a Viet Minh member who died during the Communist party
violent purge of nationalists out of the Viet Minh coalition. |
Websites
- Incident of Buddhist flag - US involvement - Coup Generals
- Mark Moyar
- Vietnam Center and Archive
Graduate Papers
Case Study - Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu
E-mail: webmaster@ourvnhistory.info
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