One criticism brought against President Ngo Dinh Diem was that he kept some of his best officers in noncombat jobs for political reasons. One promise made by Diem's successors was to appoint aggressive new commanders and give them a free hand. Last week the first such new commander found him self sacked and ordered to a desk exile that even Diem had not thought ofmilitary attache in Formosa.
Five days after the coup, Colonel Pham Van Dong, 44, was placed in command of the 7th Division, responsible for two provinces south of Saigon. In his first twelve days on the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
