Overview and Lessons from Hilaire du Berrier’s “Background to Betrayal”
A crucial book recently republished on a dark chapter of US foreign policy and its true ideological alignment during the Cold War
Fifty years ago, the Vietnam War came to an end. The capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, surrendered to the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and its pro-communist Vietcong insurgent forces. Twenty years of conflict between the two Vietnams with their allies on both sides of the Cold War claimed the lives of an estimated total of 1 to 3 million which included as of the latest report 58,281 Americans soldiers who served. The war and its effects both on foreign and domestic history of our country are controversial to say the least. Especially as they relate to the changes going on during the mid 20th century. When thou hearest about the American involvement in Vietnam, what comes to thy mind are images of Huey Helicopters with the song “Fortune Son” in the background carrying troops or providing cover fire, the 7.5 million tons of bombs dropped, miles of underground tunnels used by the Vietcong, jungle fighting with intense fog of war, the anti-war protests going on back at home, the turbulent 1960’s and the general heating up of the Cold War.
The historiography debates on whether it should be considered a war the United States lost is still contentious. It is similar to how perception of the Tet Offensive in 1968 changed as well. A military victory for South Vietnam and America but a political victory for North Vietnam because of the televised fighting souring support for continuing the war effort. There is a common view that it was not necessarily a military defeat but one that was politically lost as South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos came under control of communist forces by the end of 1975. It was not a “unwinnable” war as the latter half of the conflict past 1969 had seen the American change tactics which were successful in bringing the North Vietnamese to the Paris Peace Accords by 1973.
One might also conclude that the US was losing the Cold War in general at the time and came close to collapsing first before the Soviets did. Yet, the events that also led to escalation of American involvement in the South Indochina Wars from the 1950’s have not been covered as extensively. I aim to bring forth previously unheard of events that will change how we example this period of time. With an in depth analysis of a book that was once out of print until recently; The republished Background to Betrayal: The Tragedy of Vietnam by Hilaire Du Berrier. Who brings the perspective different from previous historical point of views that went unconsidered for so long. Namely, the quagmire we entered in Vietnam was destined to be a failure because of what was decided previously by the early Cold War politics that no amount of military success could counteract.
I have heard that this book was talked about quite a bit in the last couple of years and wanted to read it. Especially when I listened in on a two part podcast who reviewed it along with it spoken with high praise as a necessary read for understanding 20th century history. Being able to acquire a physical copy of this book was once a very difficult task. But thanks to the JBS store republishing it, the book will now become more widely available to the public. Prior to this republishing, the book was out of print whither used physical copies would run from 2,000 to 3,000 dollars1 from places like Amazon. While the book also exists on The Internet Archive as well, recent events like the Oct 2024 hack and data breach as well as legal troubles like being sued for hundreds of millions of dollars by music publishers just as they lost the previous case against book publishers bold not well for its preservation in the digital space. Thence, I would recommend getting the physical copies if it were to ever be removed.
About The Author
Historical revisionism of the 20th century is starting to gain more traction online and in the public. One example it is reexamining WWII with books like Stalin’s War that a great colleague of mine has started a read through series with me and other friends covering the book chapter by chapter. Books and conversations about them are challenging many of the popular perceptions which have come to exist as tools of the “Post-War Consensus” civic religion that came into fruition after 1945. Following on good advice by reading older books, I present to thee one such book that was written in 1965 by an author who should be recognized more as writing one of the most compounding yet easy to understand histories of the disastrous series of policies and decisions made by our “expert” ruling class back then which necessitated the sending of troops to prop up a floundering South Vietnam.
Our author of the book was born on the 1st of November in 1906 in the town that his parents help found of Flasher, North Dakota. He lived to the age of 96 before passing away on the 12th of October in 2002. Seeing the end of the old world of the long 19th century and outliving the short 20th century, Hilaire2 du Berrier’s life is one of adventure, danger, espionage and living during moments of history that changed the world. He had lived his life as a pilot, spy, correspondent, diplomat and writer by the time this book came out which provides a brief bibliography of himself after the main narration finishes. Identifying as monarchist and later an anti-communist, he grew up fascinated by aviation and was trained as a barnstormer pilot for a circus after he graduated from the University of Journalism in Chicago. In 1931, he travelled to France to be with his uncle and began his career as a pilot and spy for the next sixteen years in places like Ethiopia, Spain, China and what was the colony of French Indochina. Thou mayest find similarities with another noteworthy man by the name of Peter Kemp. The books covering his experiences from the Spanish Civil War and World War II were also republished after spending years out of print.
During these years of war in the 1930’s and 40’s, he would offer his services to defend the Ethiopian Empire from Italian invasion, spy for Franco and later be part of an espionage ring operating in Shanghai helping Chiang Kai-Shek during Japanese occupation. But du Berrier was less fortunate than his British counterpart. During this time he was captured thrice, nearly executed twice and horrifically tortured by the Japanese Kampetai (憲兵隊 “Military police/Gendarmerie”) to the point that the injuries he sustained would prevent him from ever flying an aircraft again. He took up a job at Newsweek Magazine after his rescue along with his position as a civilian agent of the OSS in Asia. A series of events that happened at home and abroad motivated him to write this book. First was when his friend Lieutenant de Riencourt was gunned down by a Vietminh sniper, second was the objections to the policies of weakening French control perused by US leadership for the chaos it unleashed, third were his associations with exiled Vietnamese leaders, fourth was his dissenting views on them being made public costing him his positions, fifth was the learning of a file compiled against him which blocked his passport from being renewed and finally deciding to start his own private news letter from the information gathered on several Indochina actors to uncover the truth.
Much of the book is also written from information gathered from his personal archives that provide incalculable insights into some of the biggest events and previously unconsidered perspectives to understand what has transpired. One can also find his work that originated from the publications and work of The John Birch Society. Their namesake comes American Missionary and Solider John Birch who was killed by communists in China after the end of WWII. They would rise to prominence during this time for their publications on communist infiltration domestically amidst various political advocacy for rightist causes. While often smeared as “far-right” and spreading “conspiracies”, their beliefs on communists or pro-communist forces influencing our politics have been vindicated by the release of The Verona Documents in the 1990’s showing such infiltration by the Soviets as early as the 1930’s in the Roosevelt administration. Alas, when thou readest books like Garet Garetts “The Revolution Was”, thou wouldest be familiar with the same feeling of being vindicated but still lamenting the state of affairs.
With this introduction finished, we shall now begin the overview into what I consider to be one of the best books needed to truly learn what had happened from 1954 to 1963 in South Vietnam. In the 60 years since it first was printed, it aged incredibly well considering the mistakes and examples presented in the book have been repeated in some form with interventions in places like Middle East and Eastern Europe in the 21st century.
French Colonial Vietnam, The Leaders We Supported and the Common Ideological Alignment of the US and USSR
The book beings and ends on the commentary following the military coup that deposed Ngo Dinh Diem and ended the “democracy” set up in South Vietnam that was being supported by United States funding and intelligence. People at home were shocked at what had transpired because they had been given the impression that Diem was a successful anti-communist leader. But in fact the opposite was true. The main point du Berrier spells out is that true anti-communist forces has been swept aside and the resolve to fight against the North Vietnamese since open hostilities was at its lowest. The true “betrayal” in the title of the book was the genuine anti-communist people of the Southern Vietnamese, Americans and their allies being set up for failure by their governments who were more ideologically anti-anti-communist more often than not as combating the communist threat often took a secondary priority to remaking the world in the aftermath of WWII.
There is a common narrative to view the Cold War was simply capitalism vs communism as the two superpowers of the United States and Soviet Union faced off in the battles for hearts, minds behind various proxy conflicts in all continents. Instead, du Berrier describes a different picture of a United States that was more focused on spreading a form of “social democracy” with a coalition of liberals, progressives, capitalists and even non-Soviet socialists which was not that different that the Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet Union. Especially after it had its puppet governments installed in Eastern Europe and spread its influence in Asia. There was one point of common ground between the two that was decided when Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the Tehran Conference in 1943: The European colonial empires must be dismantled.
Such anti-colonialism is described by du Berrier as one of the main reasons for what set up the future disaster in the region. The French had been in charge of the Indochina region since the mid-19th century and the country of Vietnam came from the acceding of the three separate regions of Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China. It had a monarchy along with Laos and Cambodia who were in the French Indochina sphere of influence. The Nguyen Dynasty’s emperor, Bao Dai (born Nguyen Phuc Vinh Thuy) had nominal rule over the country under French suzerainty in which elements like the Latin alphabet to write the Vietnamese language and Catholicism were introduced. The area still remained predominantly Buddhist with Taoism, Confucianism or some folkish mix of syncretic beliefs. During WWII, the Japanese would come and rule with cooperation with the Vichy France government until forcibly taking power in 1945 and using Bao Dai as a puppet ruler to declare “independence” with the “Empire of Vietnam”. Several anti-Japanese and anti-French parties formed in opposition with Indochina Communist Party founder Ho Chi Minh leading the Viet Minh faction made up of communists and nationalists. Once the Japanese surrendered, Bao Dai abdicated and the colony came back under French control. Ho Chi Minh declared that Vietnam would be truly independent and began an insurgency in the Tonkin region which escalated into the First Indochina War.
The French tried to restore order by reorganizing the Indochina colonial government into a regional confederation of states and even brought Bao Dai back to power. But they were sabotaged from the anti-colonial support from the US, China and the Soviet Union with a hostile leftist government elected at home. After their defeat at the climactic battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the Geneva conference a couple months later, they were forced to relinquish of the colony within a year and Vietnam would be split in two along a demilitarized zone across the 17th Parallel into two countries. Refugees who feared persecution by the communists would flock to the southern region soon after.
While Ho Chi Minh set up the “Democratic Republic of Vietnam” in the north to rebuild his army, the southern “Republic of Vietnam” was still divided between various armed factions and syncretic religious-political groups like the Hoa Hao, Cao Dai and Binh Xuyen. The United States wanted to pick a leader that could lead a kind of social leap forward into the present age that would not be a communist revolution and not someone who came off as too traditional. So this is when they turned to Ngo Dinh Diem. He was the son of court officer in Bao Dai’s inner circle and one of the few Vietnamese to have traveled aboard in America and France to be educated and find audiences to convince them that he was the right choice. The warnings that du Berrier had regarding his background in the international labor movement and even his brother’s socialistic tendencies were ignored or even preferred by the US State Department, prominent senators and other congressmen. They would soon set up Diem with his family to become the leader of South Vietnam with taxpayer money, organizational lobbying and all kinds of similar sounding operations that thou wilt likely find in more recent times.
Diem Takes Power, Who Supported Him and the Suppression of the Anti-Communist Opposition
In the pivotal year of 1954, several moving parts were all working in tandem to help put Diem and several of his family in charge of the newly formed government in South Vietnam under the guise that it would become an success story of “democracy”.
Who were some of Diem’s main backers that convinced Eisenhower that he was the right man? du Berrier wastes no time in letting the reader know who they were: Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana, Army General John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’ Daniel who filed pro-Diem reports to Eisenhower’s administration, figures like Jospeh Buttinger and Angier Biddle Duke who lead the group “American Friends of Vietnam” to support politicians who backed the regime (they had also supported Ho Chi Minh in the 1940’s), and Edward Lansdale, who agitated the Vietnamese population against the French on behalf of the anti-colonialist directives of Washington. Many more names of important regarding the journalists, intelligence service against and prominent Vietnamese figures are also listed in the appendix of the book which also includes a timeline of events. Especially when Diem’s brother Ngo Dinh Nhu entered the country to help consolidate power with his Can Lao political party sending its members to various institutions and villages to ensure loyalty to him. Nhu would also help rig the 1955 referendum on whether South Vietnam would be a republic or a constitutional monarchy in favor of the former. Thus, finalizing the permanent disempowering of the emperor and his exile.
The American media back home also did their part to write hit pieces on Diem’s opponents like the soon to be deposed Bao Dai. They were also involved in setting up special offices set up in New York and Washington to act as the propaganda outlets for Diem and give the impression that his rule was more popular than it was on the ground. The labor unions under the direction of the AFL-CIO were also big supporters of Diem and Nhu given the connections from international ties. Hast thou heard of that name before? Well in recent times, the AFL-CIO played a pivotal role in the “fortification” of the 2020 election.
With Diem President of South Vietnam, he still had to deal with the previously mentioned factions who had united in opposition to this point since he could no longer rely on scapegoating the French3 or the former emperor. All of these groups had battle communist influence in South Vietnam and were quite successful with large followings. Instead of doing what Francisco Franco did by merging them into an anti-communist front, Diem spent the next couple of years purging them either by executions, imprisonment or exile. Chapters of the book are dedicated to each sect, their leaders and what happened to them. Seeing him take out the monarchist and anti-communist forces while ignoring the reconstituting communist threat, this was when du Berrier’s support for Diem had ended. Le Van Vien, the former pirate turned leader of the Binh Xuyen who controlled the city of Cholon near Saigon and still felt loyalty to Bao Dai, was hit first. Then the Hao Hoa and Cao Dai sects were next. The leader of the former, Le Quang Vinh/Bacut, was executed after agreeing to meet under a flag of truce. The “pope” of the Сao Dai sect, Pham Cong Tac, was exiled to Cambodia. Military officers and other bureaucrats were forced to show loyalty by either converting to the same religion of Diem (Roman Catholicism) or getting ahead to take out others to avoid being purged first. With Diem’s regime becoming increasingly strict, the political repression and unpopularity was covered up by the American backers within the State Department in order to sell the story to the public that all was going well and Diem’s leadership was an example of successful nation-building.
The Kind of Government South Vietnam Became, The Diem Family’s Positions and First Revolts to Their Rule
With the image back in the States as portraying him as a nationalistic anti-communist, most Americans were unaware that something might have been going terribly wrong with the leader their country had been supporting financially and soon militarily. The reality on the ground was quite different. Diem had actually increased communist subversion and influence with his previous purges. He put his some of his family and their relatives in the following positions:
Ngo Dinh Nhu: leader from the International Labor Organization. He would form his own party that also included a secret police force outside of the official government.
Ngo Dinh Thuc: brother of Nhu. Became a bishop and directed the Addie’s of the Catholic Church in South Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Can: another brother of Nhu. He would set up a covert trade route with North Vietnam and handled the rice fields near the border.
Ngo Dinh Luyen & Tran Van Chuong: controlled funds and managed the embassies while being ambassadors operating in the capital cities of foreign countries.
Madam Ngo Dinh Nhu (neé Tran Le Xuan): wife of Nhu. Known as the First Lady of Vietnam. Her outwardly appearances obscured a hidden side whither she directed her own paramilitary group and lucrative business interests.
Tran Van Khiem: brother of Madam Nhu. Became head of police in Saigon once the Binh Xuyen had been dealt with.
Madame Ca-Le: Sister of Diem. Managed the rice traffic in central Vietnam and head of the Company of Cereal Traders.
If the nepotism spotlighted had been causing thine eyebrows to raise in suspicion, du Berrier also revealing that former Vietminh members like Tran Chanh Thanh had also been given positions within the government would certainly cause thee to be taken aback at just how contradictory this image of Diem being an zealous anti-communist was. As a matter of fact, the previously mentioned opposition groups were the traditional elements of Vietnamese society that were mislabeled as the “communist factions” that Diem had successfully defeated. Even other Catholics like Nguyen Ton Hoan, head of the Dai Viet party, were slandered as “far-left” politicians when in fact he would have been the best man to replace Diem considering his successful party and genuine popular support if the US had acted earlier.
With a bill of about 2.1 billion dollars of taxpayer money given from 1954-1963, the government under Diem used the funds to set up what du Berrier described as a “police state” with camps, prisons with frequent arrests and even executions. He did eventually try to combat communist and subversive elements within South Vietnam, but his heavy handed approach and frequent arrests started to erode whatever support he had. Even the positives from his economic policies and land development was immediately countered when in 1958 for example, his decision to ban foreigners from partaking in trade caused a brief economic crisis and alienated much of his non-communist neighbors who started to see Diem as less of a sovereign ruler and more of America’s “parachuted in” leader. An assassination attempt by a student the previous year further gave justification for more crackdowns.
In 1959, after an invasion of Cambodia and subsequent raids had taken out much of the communist infiltration, Ho Chi Minh authorized an armed confrontation and the “official” start of the Second Indochina War was underway. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), even with American military advisers and support, struggled to keep back the North Vietnamese army. Their proxy insurgent group the Vietcong was formed and started to gain support from disaffected civilians who were feed up with Diem’s rule.
By the end of the Eisenhower and beginning of the Kennedy administrations, Washington DC had finally realized Diem and his family’s rule was going to be a problem and various efforts to pull away from supporting his government started to occur as du Berrier titled one of his final chapters: “The Scramble to Get Out From Under”.
The Demise of the First Republic of Vietnam, Fallout of Diem’s Overthrow and Assassination
The years 1960-1963 would contain a series of events and decisions that would eventually determine the fate of Diem. North Vietnam had invaded its Southern counterpart, secured routes to supply and transport troops for its Vietcong across Laos and Cambodia and battlefield failures continued to put stress on Diem’s government. There was a revolt in 1960 by paratrooper divisions who attempted to coup Diem and his presidential palace was strafed by two of his own South Vietnamese Air Force pilots in 1962. Both incidences showed that mass discontent was at a near critical level despite his electoral win in 1961. Not even initiatives like the Strategic Hamlet Program could win over the more remote areas to sway villages where Vietcong sympathies were present.
Kennedy’s attention towards Vietnam would increasingly occupy much of his time after seeing the letters and reports on the ground monitoring the deteriorating position. One of the most common narratives I have heard since the release of the JFK files was that Kennedy’s assassination was related to his reluctance to get involved further in the conflict of Vietnam. But this is false as du Berrier writes on how he increased military aid and advisors even as letters came back showing the corruption and graft that the money was being spent on. He also accelerated the decolonization process that was going on in Africa and once again the French would find themselves halted from victory over the war in Algeria from United States pressure to give up more of their colonies.
The focus of the final parts of the book was the various attempts on the part of Diem’s supporters in the State Department and elsewhere to either wash their hands clean or retain a degree of plausible deniability to the reports of the corruption and repression going on in South Vietnam. Kennedy and his advisors were exploring all possible leads to find someone to replace Diem by 1961. But they ran into the same dilemma that du Berrier had spelled out earlier as the anti-communist were demoralized and lacking direction because of the earlier purges of many more popular leaders.
In 1963, as a sign of wanting to try and salvage in the South Vietnamese state’s collapsing support with a new leader, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr replaced Fredrick Nolting as ambassador to South Vietnam. Just after the Hue shootings by the government in which Diem blamed the Vietcong for doing it. Lodge Jr was demanding more accountability as the Buddhist Crisis had begun. Fed up with the discrimination and banning of their flag on the holiday that celebrated the birthday of Gatauma Buddha, protests by Buddhists erupted across the country. The now infamous photograph taken by Malcom Browne of Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation in protest of the government’s policies had drawn worldwide condemnation on South Vietnam. The relationship between the United States and Diem’s government became more strained following the raids on the pagodas authorized by Nhu They chose to ignore the list of reforms demanded by the public regarding corruption and religious freedom for the Buddhist majority. Some of Diem’s family members who controls the rice production had also been trading secretly with North Vietnam on the side as well. Which gave the Americans another reason to see that this family no longer be fit to run the country.
As stated above, Kennedy had been willing to overthrow Diem much earlier than previously believed. Working with other top advisers in the CIA, Lodge Jr and dissident South Vietnamese generals, a coup was planned well in advance in the months before those two days in the beginning of November. The last phone conversation between Diem and Lodge Jr is chilling yet quaint as both men knew his time was over. He and his brother Nhu would be arrested and then assassinated4 in the back of a military police car. The rest of the family would go into exile or likewise be arrested and charged for their corruption and the First Republic of Vietnam was dissolved into a military junta. Kennedy would be assassinated himself just twenty days later in a case of grim irony. Even Ho Chi Minh was shocked that his counterpart was taken out in such a manner but he capitalized on a narrative of “American Colonialism” revealing itself as the true ruler of their country. The same anti-colonialism that has once served the US foreign policy had now boomeranged back on them.
While the politicians and officials back home were giving different answers as to what was the cause of the downfall of Diem’s regime and pointed fingers at each other for the corruption and sagging morale of the South Vietnamese, du Berrier spends the last chapter holding all those involved accountable. Not only in the disastrous outcome, but also lamenting the coming escalation as he hopes that what he has written can get out there so the truth could get out in the public discourse as to why the troops would be to fight in the jungles were doomed from the start to save the country of South Vietnam. Which never again had a stable government that changed control between military rule or an “managed democracy” and lost legitimacy by the time the conflict ended ten years later.
Final Thoughts and What the Book Teaches Us Today
I hope that when thou finishest the review and the book if acquired after reading it, thou wilt realize that the common story thou wast given regarding the events of the Vietnam were incomplete as now the crucial period from 1954-1963 were now added to thy memory to fully appreciate the significance of the much more complex events. This republishing of the book came at just the right time as fifty years have gone by and more Vietnam Veterans age or pass away.
So what conclusions couldest thou get from the book that we have gone through at this point? The main takeaway that du Berrier makes clear is that one of the reasons for the series of mistakes in Indochina was that countering the threat of communism was not always the priority of the United States during the Cold War. The belief of “self-determination” and “nation building”, which necessitated the destruction of any vestiges of “undemocratic” rule or colonialism practiced by the European powers, was a big factor with regards to Vietnam and other countries in our sphere of influence. Even certain “authoritarian” regimes that sided with us like in Spain and Portugal were hamstrung when it came to possession of their colonies in Africa. The cutting back of programs involved in influencing other countries as well as comments by JD Vance expressing that it was wrong to go against the British and French during the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956 is probably the first time that such “anti-colonialism” positions that the US held back then was looked at as an error.
There will be a feeling of frustration and familiarity considering the same kind of hubris and cluelessness has been on display since the entirety of the “War on Terror” since 2001. Despite the even larger sum of 2.3 trillion dollars , the Taliban defeated the US backed regime and we left countless amounts of military gear, hardware and equipment behind in an embarrassing display of defeat. The war’s course and how similar it was to Vietnam had similar causes and even more wasteful expenditures. Iraq nearly collapse into a civil war twice and Syria is now headed by of a man who was once led an Al Qaeda offshoot group with the toppling of the Ba’athist Assad-led government in Damascus. Did we go from “We do not negotiate with terrorists” to tacit endorsements? Considering the existence Operation Timber Sycamore , I would agree with the assessment that Peter Nemets made in saying we had either lost or switch sides and then the security apparatus focused on domestic political enemies. A similar point made by astute commentators about the stated goals of stopping “radical Islam” often being secondary to establishing domination, with a narrative of bringing “democracy” to a backward and benighted region that needed it this time around. It sounds not too dissimilar to what du Berrier described as “stopping communism” often was secondary if said ally started to have second thoughts about supporting us even if they were anti-communist. Like when Lee Kwan Yew once exposed a CIA operation to bribe him via a takeover of his country’s intelligence agency.
The recent political trends also reflect a change in attitudes towards such “nation building”. One of the main reasons for Trump’s rise in 2016 was the repudiation by his supporters of ideologies like interventionism and neo-conservatism which once had a tight hold in the Republican base. In contrast, support for counting aid to Ukraine instead of ending the conflict is found more enthusiastically amongst the left side of the spectrum and their progressive base. Whence, as stated earlier, is not an anomaly considering that supporting a “non-communist left” was a main platitude of the CIA and State Department of the time.
The book is very well sourced with an appendix listing all the articles referenced, photos and names of important figures in the middle and back of the book with maps of Vietnam for the time period. Given the year of when the book was written, there may be some more archaic names for places like how “Formosa” is what we now call “Taiwan/ Republic of China” and “Siam” is “Thailand”. It is also very much a non-partisan book as well despite what people assume it might be considering its affiliation with the John Birch Society. Throughout the book, du Berrier takes both the liberals and conservatives of that time to task for believing the media reports that were contrary to the situation on the ground. If any biases are shown, it is his preferences for monarchy and counterfactuals that were unlikely to happen. Like if Bao Dai had taken the stand to emerge as the leader to counter both Ngo Dinh Diem and Ho Chi Minh’s claims of legitimate representation or wishing that we had been on the side of the French more by relieving the besieged men holding out at Dien Bien Phu with air support destroying Ho Chi Minh’s army that had sustained massive losses in their critical yet pyrrhic victory.
There have been some interesting developments related to this book’s themes and main points as well. In 2015, a new book written by Geoffrey Shaw sought to rehabilitate Diem’s image with a Catholic perspective in mind and putting more emphasis on the successful work he did and the treachery of the factions in the Kennedy’s Administration and the media who wanted him gone. While I do not hold Diem as solely responsible for the situation which led to his demise, the facts and presented in du Berrier’s work do not totally absolve him completely of his culpability of the corruption and failures that caused him to be overthrown. Vietnam has recently acknowledged the full amount of PLA troops provided by China (who have also provided them since the 1980’s) amidst the parades alongside Laotian and Chinese forces celebrating the victory fifty years later. The relations have been complicated since the Third Indochina War saw both countries fight a border conflict and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia being overthrown by Vietnamese forces. Vietnam has moved to be more market friendly country while still retaining the character of a state influenced by Marxist-Leninist principles. It is one of the five “official” communist states remaining alongside Laos, China, North Korea and Cuba. Relations between Hanoi and Washington were established in 1995. There has been a relatively calm and cordial relationship between the two countries despite the past. The country was amongst the first to agree to drop all tariffs on the United States after on a phone call between Trump and To Lam. Will there be anymore truly communist states by the end of the 21st century? Who knows. At the end of the day, the call of the subversiveness is coming from inside the house as that is where the threat truly lies as expressed by the Birchers today.
This concludes the overview of one of the best books once obscured for so long on what was considered the longest war America ever got involved in before the 21st Century. I dedicate it to the memory of those who served those years despite being set up to complete a mission that was made impossible by no fault of your own. I give my thanks to those who kept the book in discussion, those who republished it, and to all who help support me with mine endeavors. The motivation given by you is always appreciated.
To you, O Vietnam veterans, ye served with distinction and will be remembered. Your names are inscribed on the memorials across the land despite the frequent mistreatment that once befall you when returning back home. Ye are honored.
May Your Memory Be Eternal
As of the time of this writing, it has gone down to 75 dollars on Amazon.
His birth name was Harold du Berrier. He changed it while in France to be more connected to his French heritage and took the namesake of one of Napoleon’s most famous and revered generals in his army: Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire.
The anti-French sentiment that Diem exploited may seem odd at first considering he had also spent a considerable amount of time in France preparing to become the South Vietnamese leader. But du Berrier has written that it may have came from the that an arrest warrant was issued by French Admiral Decoux for his collaboration with the Japanese Empire. Ho Chi Minh had also worked covertly with them considering a sizable number of deserters of the Imperial Japanese Army made up his Viet Minh supporters.
At the time of writing the book, du Berrier was not aware of who had pulled the trigger. Subsequent investigations and reports implicated officer Nguyen Van Nhung as the executioner acting on order of General Duong Van Minh who acted as ruler until he was overthrown in a bloodless coup.
Excellent article, the paragraphs are too long. You need a short paragraph inserted between every 2-3 paragraphs in the future to make your work more readable and digestible.