301. Editorial Note
At 1 p.m. on August 7, former Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge met with President Johnson and agreed to undertake a trip to Europe as the personal representative of the President and Secretary of State “to acquaint our allies with conditions in Viet-Nam and seek their support.” (Johnson Library, President’s Daily Diary, and Department of State, Rusk Papers: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations) Preparations for the trip began immediately, and on August 12 the Department of State sent a circular telegram to the missions that Lodge would visit describing it as follows:
“Major purpose of his trip, although this will not be indicated publicly, will be to enlist support for increased economic and technical assistance from third-countries to Government of South Vietnam, notably as regards getting more third-country personnel out into the field. For public consumption it will be stated that purpose Amb Lodge’s trip is to explain to leaders of various foreign governments in Europe the current situation and US policies in Vietnam.” (Ibid., Central Files, POL 7 US/Lodge)
Lodge left Washington on August 16 and during the next 2–1/2 weeks addressed the North Atlantic Council and discussed Vietnam with government officials in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom before returning to Washington on September 2. Lodge’s reports on the individual discussions are ibid., and in Johnson Library, National Security File, Vietnam Country File, Vol. XVI, Cables. A discussion of the forthcoming trip by the Vietnam Coordinating Committee on August 12 is in the Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD/ISA Files: FRC 68 A 306, Box 41, Country Files.