A secret cable from 1954 shows a government on the brink, where a single refused order could have turned the South Vietnamese premier into a "rebel" and triggered a military stroke.
By Roy Castellano ·
Marked Top Secret, this record captures the moment US officials decided Ngo Dinh Diem was a liability, weighing the evacuation of thousands of civilians against a betrayal of a longtime ally.
By Harlan Pryce ·
Bound hands and bullet holes marked the end of the South Vietnamese presidency, a scene transmitted via "Secret; Flash" telegram to Washington in November 1963.
By Desmond Okafor ·
This Top Secret memo from the Eisenhower White House shows how US officials urged the Vietnamese leader to curb his kin's influence while Communist guerrillas moved into Tay Ninh
By Roy Castellano ·
Top Secret plans from August 1963 show Washington weighing the use of combat forces and the destruction of a palace to ensure the fall of the Ngo family.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Army attachés and the CIA watched as Saigon burned in 1960, leaving a paper trail across three government archives that stayed hidden for years
By Desmond Okafor ·