270. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Kissinger and the Ambassador to Vietnam (Martin)1

K: Hello.

M: Hello, Henry. I think the personnel security is disintegrating at Tan Son Nhut, more than the enemy action and they tried to load a VNAF C 130 and got considerable interference from the ARVN. So I think the only thing to do is to go for execute on . . . (frequency wing)?

K: Okay, how much time do you need?—Well, you handle it from out there.

M: Yeh, okay.

K: Don’t you think?

We’ll give you the approval back which you will have within 15 minutes, and then you schedule it, but then you do it during your daylight hours.

M: I’m not sure we can complete it all today, but we’ll sure try.

K: Okay, no you better complete it today.

M: Okay.

K: Okay, Graham, you did your best and it was excellent.

M: I don’t like much A for effort, but—

K: Well that’s what all of us are getting. That’s all we are going to get out of this.

M: Yeh, I know that.

K: Okay, we’ll be back to you within 20 minutes.

Thank you.

  1. Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 388, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File. No classification marking. Kissinger was in Washington; Martin was in Saigon.