Joseph Mendenhall
Encyclopedia
Joseph A. Mendenhall was U.S. State Department official, known for his advisory work during the Kennedy administration on policy towards Vietnam
and Laos
. He is best known for his participation in the Krulak Mendenhall mission
to South Vietnam
in 1963 with General Victor Krulak. Their vastly divergent conclusions led U.S. President John F. Kennedy
to ask if they had visited the same country. Mendenhall continued his work in the Indochina region after Lyndon B. Johnson
assumed the presidency in wake of Kennedy's assassination.
. Nine Buddhists were gunned down by the Catholic regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem
after defying a government ban on the flying of Buddhist flag
s on Vesak
, the birthday of Gautama Buddha
and marching in an anti-government protest. Following the shootings, Buddhist leaders began to lobby Diem for religious equality and compensation and justice for the families of the victims. With Diem remaining recalcitrant, the protests escalated. The self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc at a busy Saigon intersection was a public relations disaster for the Diem regime, and as protests continued, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces
loyal to his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu
, raided pagodas across the country
on August 21, killing hundreds and causing extensive damage under the declaration of martial law. Universities and high schools were closed amid mass pro-Buddhist protests. In the meantime, the fight against the Vietcong insurgency had begun to lose intensity as rumours spread of sectarian infighting among Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) troops. This was compounded by coup plotting by various ARVN officers which distracted attention from fighting the Vietcong insurgency. In the aftermath of the pagoda raids, the Kennedy administration sent Cable 243
to the US Embassy, Saigon, ordering it to explore alternative leadership possibilities.
in early September 1963. The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate the progress of the war by South Vietnam and the American military advisers against the Vietcong insurgency. The mission was led by U.S Marine Corps
Major General Victor Krulak and Mendenhall. The four day whirlwind trip was dispatched on the same day of a National Security Council
meeting on September 6 and came in the wake of increasingly strained relations between the United States
and South Vietnam
. Civil unrest gripped that nation as Buddhist demonstrations
against the religious discrimination of President Ngo Dinh Diem
escalated. Following the raids on Buddhist pagodas
on August 21 which left an estimated triple figure death toll, the US had authorised investigations into a possible coup
in a cable
to US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
as South Vietnam descended into chaos. The report of the conclusion was that Krulak presented an extremely optimistic report on the progress of the war, while Mendenhall presented an extremely bleak picture of military failure and public discontent. The divergent reports led US President John F. Kennedy
to famously ask his two advisers whether they had visited the same country. The inconclusive report saw a follow-up mission sent to Vietnam, the McNamara Taylor mission
, led by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Maxwell Taylor.
(USAID) Mission in Laos, then the second largest such agency in the world. In 1968, he returned to Washington as deputy director, and later head of the USAID Vietnam Bureau. Mendenhall served as American ambassador to Madagascar from 1972 to 1975.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. He is best known for his participation in the Krulak Mendenhall mission
Krulak Mendenhall mission
The Krulak Mendenhall mission was a fact-finding expedition dispatched by the Kennedy administration to South Vietnam in early September 1963. The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate the progress of the war by the South Vietnamese regime and their US military advisers against the...
to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in 1963 with General Victor Krulak. Their vastly divergent conclusions led U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to ask if they had visited the same country. Mendenhall continued his work in the Indochina region after Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
assumed the presidency in wake of Kennedy's assassination.
Background
In May, civil unrest broke out in South Vietnam following the Hue Vesak shootingsHue Vesak shootings
The Huế Phật Đản shootings refer to the deaths of nine unarmed Buddhist civilians on May 8, 1963, in the city of Huế in South Vietnam, at the hands of the army and security forces of the government of Ngô Đình Diệm...
. Nine Buddhists were gunned down by the Catholic regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
after defying a government ban on the flying of Buddhist flag
Buddhist flag
The Buddhist flag is a flag designed in the late 19th century to symbolise and universally represent Buddhism. It is used by Buddhists throughout the world.-History:...
s on Vesak
Vesak
Vesākha is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia...
, the birthday of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
and marching in an anti-government protest. Following the shootings, Buddhist leaders began to lobby Diem for religious equality and compensation and justice for the families of the victims. With Diem remaining recalcitrant, the protests escalated. The self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc at a busy Saigon intersection was a public relations disaster for the Diem regime, and as protests continued, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces
Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces were the elite military units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . Following the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam in October 1955, the Special Forces were formed at Nha Trang in February 1956...
loyal to his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
, raided pagodas across the country
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
on August 21, killing hundreds and causing extensive damage under the declaration of martial law. Universities and high schools were closed amid mass pro-Buddhist protests. In the meantime, the fight against the Vietcong insurgency had begun to lose intensity as rumours spread of sectarian infighting among Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(ARVN) troops. This was compounded by coup plotting by various ARVN officers which distracted attention from fighting the Vietcong insurgency. In the aftermath of the pagoda raids, the Kennedy administration sent Cable 243
Cable 243
DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high-profile message sent on August 24, 1963 by the United States Department of State to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US ambassador to South Vietnam...
to the US Embassy, Saigon, ordering it to explore alternative leadership possibilities.
Expedition
A fact finding expedition dispatched by the Kennedy administration to South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in early September 1963. The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate the progress of the war by South Vietnam and the American military advisers against the Vietcong insurgency. The mission was led by U.S Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Major General Victor Krulak and Mendenhall. The four day whirlwind trip was dispatched on the same day of a National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
meeting on September 6 and came in the wake of increasingly strained relations between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Civil unrest gripped that nation as Buddhist demonstrations
Buddhist crisis
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963 characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist monks....
against the religious discrimination of President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
escalated. Following the raids on Buddhist pagodas
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
on August 21 which left an estimated triple figure death toll, the US had authorised investigations into a possible coup
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
in a cable
Cable 243
DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high-profile message sent on August 24, 1963 by the United States Department of State to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US ambassador to South Vietnam...
to US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
as South Vietnam descended into chaos. The report of the conclusion was that Krulak presented an extremely optimistic report on the progress of the war, while Mendenhall presented an extremely bleak picture of military failure and public discontent. The divergent reports led US President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to famously ask his two advisers whether they had visited the same country. The inconclusive report saw a follow-up mission sent to Vietnam, the McNamara Taylor mission
McNamara Taylor mission
The McNamara-Taylor mission was a 10-day fact-finding expedition to South Vietnam in September 1963 by the Kennedy administration to review progress in the battle by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and its American advisers against the communist insurgency of the National Liberation Front of...
, led by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
Maxwell Taylor.
Later career
In January 1964, Mendenhall became director of the State Department's Vietnam Working Group and in July he became the director of the Office of Far Eastern Regional Affairs. In 1965, he was named director of the U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID) Mission in Laos, then the second largest such agency in the world. In 1968, he returned to Washington as deputy director, and later head of the USAID Vietnam Bureau. Mendenhall served as American ambassador to Madagascar from 1972 to 1975.