Office of the Historian

XIII. U.S. Response to the Governmental Crisis In South Vietnam, December 8–31

471. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, December 26, 1964—1:05 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL US–VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Drafted by Forrestal, cleared with McGeorge and William Bundy, and initialed by Rusk. Reported to CIA, the Department of Defense, the White House, and CINCPAC.

472. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, December 28, 1964—9 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Repeated to CIA, the Department of Defense, the White House, and CINCPAC.

473. Telegram From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wheeler) to the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland)

Washington, December 28, 1964–16:43 p.m.

Source: Johnson Library, Westmoreland Papers, Message File, 1964. Secret. Also sent to CINCPAC for Sharp.

474. Paper Prepared by the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)

Washington, December 28, 1964.

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Aides File, McGeorge Bundy, Memos to the President. Top Secret. The source text bears the handwritten notation: “This package went w/Mr. B to Texas 12/29/64.” Also published in Declassified Documents, 1979, 108A.

475. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, December 29, 1964—5:36 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Exdis; Ivory. Drafted by William Bundy, cleared with Bromley Smith, and initialed by Ball. Repeated to CIA, the Department of Defense, the White House, CINCPAC, Bangkok, and Vientiane.

476. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, December 30, 1964—10 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Exdis. Repeated to CIA, the Department of Defense, the White House, and CINCPAC for POLAD. Received at 12:20 p.m. and transmitted to the Texas White House as CAP 64378.

477. Telegram From the President to the Ambassador in Vietnam (Taylor)

Washington, December 30, 1964—11:15 a.m.

Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, T–157–69. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted in Texas and sent to Washington for transmission to Taylor during the morning of December 30. Sixteen corrections were phoned to Bromley Smith for inclusion, all but two of which were of one or two words. The two of substance were the addition of “if not by air…target 36” in paragraph 3 and “and I want you to know…overseas” in paragraph 8. A list of the corrections and a marked-up draft are in the Johnson Library, National Security File, Vietnam Country File, Pres/Taylor Nodis Clores and Codeword Messages.

478. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, December 31, 1964—8 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Saigon Embassy Files: Lot 68 F 8. Top Secret; Priority; Exdis. Drafted by Taylor and Johnson. Repeated to CIA for McCone, to the Department of Defense for McNamara, to the White House for Bundy, and to CINCPAC for Admiral Sharp.

479. Telegram From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wheeler) to the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland)

Washington, December 31, 1964—2:53 p.m.

Source: Johnson Library, Westmoreland Papers, Message File, 1964. Secret. Also sent to CINCPAC for Admiral Sharp.