Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume III, Vietnam, January–August 1963

151. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State¹

Saigon, June 4, 1963, 7 p.m.

1104. CINCPAC for POLAD. Embtel 1100.² Thuan asked me to come to his house at 3 PM to inform me of following decisions taken at just-concluded meeting with President:

1. Re alleged blister gas, Thuan said authorities in Hue certain that tear gas only employed but thought it possible that individuals very close to exploding canister might have received skin burns. In any event, investigative commission had been appointed and had already left for Hue by air. Commission headed by General Don, head of ARVN, and includes Surgeon General and Chief of Ordnance Lt. Col. Liem of Thuan’s office. GVN does not plan to announce appointment this commission unless and until there is some public charge that agents other than tear gas employed.³

2. President has appointed commission to study and find solution to over-all Buddhist problem. Commission headed by Vice President Tho with Thuan and Minister of Interior Luong as members. Appointment of commission has already been publicly announced and first. meeting will be held this afternoon. In addition GVN already has “unofficial emissaries” in contact with Buddhist leaders and meeting of Nhu with leaders from Hue will proceed.

3. Mayor of Tourane (Danang), whom Thuan described as politically inept, has been replaced by Col. Chau, presently Province Chief in Kien Hoa. Chau is outstanding Province Chief, a Buddhist from Central Vietnam, who has demonstrated excellent political touch in Kien Hoa.

4. Authorities in Hue have been instructed to use “peaceful action” in dealing with crowds.

5. Thuan said that the President had taken no decision on whether to visit Hue himself but had at least not ruled it out.

Above strikes me as somewhat more than a half a loaf and action satisfyingly swift. I expressed appreciation to Thuan on both counts. He expressed hope that we would be reassured and asked that we now give Vice President’s commission a chance to see what it could do about finding a solution.

I recommend that we do so.⁴

Trueheart

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, SOC 14-1 S VIET Secret; Operational Immediate; Limit Distribution. Repeated to CINCPAC. A note on another copy of this telegram indicates that the President was briefed on its contents. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, 6/63)
2. Document 149.
3. On June 6, the Embassy reported in telegram 1118 from Saigon that General Don’s commission had determined that the gas involved was a tear gas dispensed in glass ampoules as a liquid which became a gas on being released. The tear gas used was taken from old stocks left behind by the French. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 27-10 S VIET) On June 18, U.S. Army chemists at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland confirmed, from samples supplied, that the gas used was a tear gas of the type used by the French during World War 1. (Telegram 182130Z from CG USA Edgewood Arsenal to the Department of State, June 18; Ibid.)
4. In telegram 1176 to Saigon, June 4, 3:22 p.m., the Department responded as follows: “Agree on holding off further demarches for next 24 hours. Can barbed wire be removed from in front of the pagodas?” (Ibid., SOC 14-1 S VIET) The Embassy replied, in telegram 1109 from Saigon, June 5, that there was no barbed wire in front of the pagodas in Hue. There were barbed wire barriers on the streets leading to the pagodas, but they were used only to control rather than to block traffic. (Ibid.)