To a hawk-nosed French colonel in his sandbagged command post came an unexpected message from Washington. "In common with millions of my countrymen," wrote President Eisenhower last week, "I salute the gallantry and stamina of the commander and soldiers who are defending Dienbienphu." Eisenhower also had a notion about a promotion (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS) with which the colonel was in unabashed agreement.
In five years of campaigning in Indo-China, Dienbienphu's Commanding Colonel Christian de Castries, 51, has fretted and shouted for more chances to fight. "Be patient, Christian," Commanding General Henri Navarre would advise him. "You're not the only one around here...
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