751G.5/3–2754: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France1
3361. Verbatim text. Please deliver following message from President Eisenhower to President Coty.2 White House releasing text to press noon Sunday3 Washington time.
[Page 1179]“My dear Mr. President:
In common with millions of my countrymen, I salute the gallantry and stamina of the commander and soldiers who are defending Dien Bien Phu. We have the most profound admiration for the brave and resourceful fight being waged there by troops from France, Viet Nam, and other parts of the French Union. Those soldiers, true to their own great traditions, are defending the cause of human freedom and are demonstrating in the truest fashion qualities on which the survival of the free world depends. I would be grateful if you would convey to the commander of the gallant garrison of Dien Bien Phu this expression of my admiration and best wishes. Dwight D. Eisenhower.”4
- Telegram drafted by William R. Tyler of the Office of Western European Affairs. Repeated to Saigon as 1789.↩
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In telegram 3239 to Paris, Mar. 19, repeated for information to Saigon as telegram 1724, the Department requested comment on the advisability of a message from President Eisenhower to President Coty of France paying tribute to the heroism of the defenders of Dien Bien Phu. The Department expressed awareness of the danger of such a message being interpreted as pressure by the United States to keep the French fighting in Indochina. (751G.5/3–1954) Ambassador Dillon responded in telegram 3462 from Paris, Mar. 22, that such a message would have a “highly salutary effect at this time.” He suggested basic points which might be embodied in the communication. (751G.5/3–2254) In telegram 1770 from Saigon, Mar. 23, Ambassador Heath agreed that a carefully phrased Presidential message would have a heartening effect, but suggested that any communication be addressed separately and simultaneously to President Coty and Bao Dai. (751G.5/3–2354)
Proposed statements were transmitted by Assistant Secretary Merchant to Secretary Dulles by memorandum of Mar. 23. A handwritten notation on the memorandum indicated that the Secretary discussed the matter with President Eisenhower, who dictated another message. (751G.00/3–2354) The final text, dictated by the President on Mar. 27, was a slightly revised version of the State Department draft. (Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file)
The same message, mutatis mutandis, was transmitted to Saigon for delivery to Bao Dai in telegram 1790 of Mar. 27.
↩ - Mar. 28.↩
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In a message of Mar. 30, President Coty responded as follows:
“My dear Mr. President: I have transmitted without delay, to the fighting men of Dien Bien Phu and to their Chiefs the message you sent to me. The expeditionary corps and the national armies of the Associated States are fighting in Indochina not only for the safeguard and the independence of the Associated States but also for the common ideal adopted by the whole free world, as our American friends know so well. Our soldiers will proudly welcome this testimony by the former Commander in Chief, who led the allied troops to victory in the fight against oppression.” This translation was sent to the Department of State by the White House on Mar. 31. (Presidential Correspondence, lot 66 D 204)
On Apr. 16, the exchange of messages was released at Augusta, Georgia, where the President was on vacation. The texts made public at that time included the following reply to the President’s message by Bao Dai:
“At moment when all who here participate in battle for dignity of man are bound by anxiety and animated by hope your message is a precious comfort.
“The moving battle of Dien Bien Phu symbolizes the determination of communism to impose its rule without regard for the suffering of the people. Also opens all eyes to reality of force and wills which refuse to bow before the Red despotism.
“Before this dramatic circumstance, the Vietnamese people unite in determination and recognizing the disinterested aid given them by the great American nation address to it the expression of their gratitude and friendship.” (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954, pp. 399–400)
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