Office of the Historian

281. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson1

Washington, May 1, 1965.

In the attached cable2 Max Taylor reports that he has relayed to Quat our basic decisions on the May deployments to Vietnam. His current plan is that there will be a joint announcement from Saigon on Monday,3 very early in the morning, our time. This timing may slip somewhat if the planned schedule is not met. The text of the announcement is at the second page in the marked paragraph.4

McG. B.
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. X. No classification marking.↩
  2. Telegram 3606 from Saigon, May 1. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S)↩
  3. May 3.↩
  4. The text of the announcement reads as follows: “As a continuation of the GVN’s efforts to assure security of key installations and to press the war effort against the Viet Cong more vigorously, the GVN has requested and the United States Government has agreed to furnish three battalions of United States airborne forces for deployment in South Viet-Nam. This contingent of United States forces will augment the security forces assigned to the vital Bien Hoa-Vung Tau military base complex. An advance party arrived on 3 May and the movement will be completed within the next few days.”↩