SOUTH VIET NAM : THE NEW REGIME FOR A WHILE, SAIGON LOOKED 
LIKE A CITY LIBERATED . VIETNAMESE G.I.S GUARDING PUBLIC BUILDINGS MUNCHED 
ORANGES, BANANAS AND CANDY, SHOWERED ON THEM BY CIVILIANS GRATEFUL FOR 
THE OVERTHROW OF THE REGIME . PRETTY GIRLS EMBRACED SOLDIERS, DRAPED 
TANK TURRETS WITH GARLANDS, SCRAMBLED SQUEALING ABOARD ARMY JEEPS . WITH 
THE LIFTING OF A TEMPORARY CURFEW AND MME . NHU'S BAN 
ON DANCING, SAIGON'S LONG-REPRESSED NIGHT LIFE FLOWERED AS NEVER BEFORE . 
IN BARS AND CABARETS, THE B-GIRLS SHUCKED THE WHITE, HOSPITAL-LIKE SMOCKS 
THEY HAD BEEN FORCED TO WEAR UNDER THE MORALITY LAWS, WRIGGLED 
BACK INTO THEIR TRADITIONAL SLIT SKIRTS, OR INTO U.S.-STYLE SLACKS, TO 
TWIST AND TANGO WITH VIET AND AMERICAN SOLDIERS INTO THE SMALL 
HOURS . SHOPS REOPENED, REPAIRMEN RESTRUNG POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN BY 
BATTLE, AND SAFFRON-ROBED BUDDHIST MONKS EMERGED FROM JAIL OR HIDING (AMONG 
THEM : TOP BUDDHIST THICH TRI QUANG, WHO HAD SOUGHT ASYLUM 
TEN WEEKS AGO IN THE U.S . EMBASSY) . AT XA 
LOI PAGODA, PRINCIPAL SCENE OF LAST AUGUST'S GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN, THOUSANDS PRAYED 
. FROM POULO CONDORE PRISON ISLAND AND OTHER JAILS, 150 POLITICAL 
PRISONERS WERE FREED, TELLING BITTER TALES OF TORTURE . TWO CORPSES 
. BEHIND THE FIRST EUPHORIC REACTION TO THE COUP THERE WAS 
SOME FAIRLY GRIM POLITICAL BUSINESS FOR THE CROWD OF GENERALS WHO 
HAD ACCOMPLISHED IT . THE OFFICERS UNDER LIEUT . GENERAL DUONG 
VAN ( " BIG " ) MINH FIRST MOVED TO CONSOLIDATE 
THEIR VICTORY . REPORTEDLY THEY EXECUTED THE CAPTURED COMMANDER OF DIEM'S 
ELITE SPECIAL FORCES, COLONEL LE QUANG TUNG, HIS BROTHER, THE SPECIAL 
FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF, MAJOR LE QUANG TRIEU, AND A FORMER 
LEADER OF DIEM'S REPUBLICAN YOUTH . THEY ALSO PLACED UNDER " 
PROTECTIVE CUSTODY " SEVERAL FORMER DIEM OFFICIALS . IN HUE, THE 
REBELS HAD NO DIFFICULTY LAYING THEIR HANDS ON NGO DINH CAN, 
50, DIEM'S BROTHER AND TOUGH OVERLORD OF CENTRAL VIET NAM . 
WEARING TATTERED CLOTHES BUT CARRYING A VALISE CONTAINING CASH, CAN SOUGHT 
REFUGE IN THE U.S . CONSULATE, ONLY TO BE TURNED OUT 
AFTER THE STATE DEPARTMENT RECEIVED ASSURANCES THAT THE GENERALS WOULD ALLOW 
HIM " DUE PROCESS OF LAW . " THE NEW REGIME'S 
MOST EMBARRASSING PROBLEM WAS TWO CORPSES THOSE OF DIEM AND HIS 
BROTHER, NGO DINH NHU . THE OFFICIAL TALK OF SUICIDE WAS 
OBVIOUSLY PHONY (SEE FOLLOWING STORY) . AT THE BEGINNING, THE GENERALS 
APPARENTLY TRIED TO SPARE THE BROTHERS' LIVES, BUT AFTER DIEM ESCAPED 
FROM THE PALACE, THE JUNTA EVIDENTLY FELL BACK ON THE PHILOSOPHY 
OF 19TH CENTURY BRITISH POET ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH : THOU SHALT 
NOT KILL ; BUT NEED'ST NOT STRIVE OFFICIOUSLY TO KEEP ALIVE 
. DIEM'S ELDEST BROTHER, NGO DINH THUC, 66, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP 
OF HUE, WAS IN ROME ATTENDING THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL . ANOTHER 
BROTHER, NGO DINH LUYEN, 49, WAS IN LONDON, WHERE HE RESIGNED 
AS AMBASSADOR TO THE COURT OF ST . JAMES'S . DIEM'S 
92-YEAR-OLD MOTHER REMAINED IN SAIGON, UNMOLESTED . THREE STRONGMEN . FOR 
THE LIVING, THERE REMAINED THE TASK OF PUTTING TOGETHER A GOVERNMENT 
. PREMIER NGUYEN NGOC THO, DIEM'S LONGTIME VICE PRESIDENT, APPOINTED NINE 
CIVILIAN MINISTERS MOSTLY NONPOLITICAL CIVIL SERVANTS IN THE OLD REGIME . 
TO COUNSEL THO'S GOVERNMENT, THE BRASS NAMED A 15-MAN " COUNCIL 
OF SAGES, " INCLUDING BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LEADERS . BUT IT 
IS THE MILITARY THAT IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY . LIEUT . 
GENERAL TRAN VAN DON, 46, THE POLISHED, FRENCH-SCHOOLED STAFF OFFICER WHO 
HELPED MASTERMIND THE COUP, WAS APPOINTED DEFENSE MINISTER . MAJOR GENERAL 
TON THAT DINH, 36, THE AGGRESSIVE, VAIN COMMANDER OF THE SAIGON 
DISTRICT, WAS NAMED MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY, WHICH GIVES HIM CONTROL 
OF NGO DINH NHU'S SECRET POLICE . OVER BOTH THE CABINET 
AND THE " SAGES " IS THE REBEL OFFICERS' 23-MEMBER " 
MILITARY REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE, " WHICH LAST WEEK DECREED THAT " THE 
LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE POWERS ARE CENTRALIZED " IN ITSELF, AND NAMED 
GENERAL " BIG " MINH CHIEF OF STATE . WITHIN THE 
COMMITTEE IS A TWELVE-MAN INNER COUNCIL, WITH BIG MINH AS CHAIRMAN, 
DON AND DINH AS VICE CHAIRMEN OBVIOUSLY THE RULING TRIUMVIRATE . 
THE GENERALS PROMISED THAT WHEN " ALL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS HAVE BEEN 
SET UP, " THE REBELS WILL " TRANSFER ALL THE POWERS 
BACK TO OUR ENTIRE PEOPLE, " HINTED AT ELECTIONS WITHIN A 
YEAR . IN THE MEANTIME, AS MANY POLITICAL SHADES AS POSSIBLE 
WILL BE REPRESENTED IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT, BUT, SAID DEFENSE MINISTER 
DON, " WE DON'T WANT ANY NEUTRALISTS . " BEFORE THE 
WEEK WAS OUT, THE REGIME LIFTED MARTIAL LAW AND CENSORSHIP . 
FIRST TO RECOGNIZE SOUTH VIET NAM'S NEW GOVERNMENT WERE MALAYSIA AND 
THAILAND, FOLLOWED BY GREAT BRITAIN AND THE U.S., WHICH ALSO PREPARED 
TO RESTORE A $12 MILLION-A-MONTH IMPORT AID PROGRAM SUSPENDED UNDER DIEM 
. FOUR TIGERS . THE MOST SERIOUS DANGER TO THE NEW 
GOVERNMENT IS POTENTIAL RIVALRY AMONG THE GENERALS . THE FIRST HINTS 
OF THIS WERE ALREADY APPEARING AS LITTLE MAJOR GENERAL TON THAT 
DINH INJECTED HIMSELF INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH AMAZING SPEED . IN 
THE FIRST WEEK OF VICTORY, SECURITY MINISTER DINH CONDUCTED SEVERAL PRESS 
CONFERENCES OF HIS OWN, AND DURING ONE INTERVIEW, WHILE PROTESTING THAT 
" WE MUST STAY AS ONE, " DINH INSINUATED THAT BIG 
MINH WAS REALLY ONLY HIS " FRONT MAN . " BUT 
THE U.S . IS BETTING THAT, FOR AT LEAST HALF A 
YEAR OR SO, THE GENERALS WILL STAND TOGETHER, AND THERE ARE 
HIGH HOPES FOR A MORE VIGOROUS, MORE EFFICIENT PURSUIT OF THE 
WAR AGAINST THE COMMUNISTS, WITH MORE AUTONOMY FOR LOCAL COMMANDERS THAN 
ALLOWED BY DIEM . SAID BIG MINH : " OUR MAIN 
PROBLEM IS TO MAKE THE POPULATION HAPPY . THIS AND THE 
MILITARY PROBLEM ARE INTERTWINED . IF THE POPULATION DOES NOT FEEL 
PROTECTED, IT WILL GO OVER TO THE VIET CONG . " 
IN THE WAR, THE COMMUNIST VIET CONG STEPPED UP PROBING ACTIONS, 
BUT BIG MINH & CO . ORDERED A NEW CORPS COMMANDER 
INTO THE MEKONG DELTA, ALSO REPLACED THREE DIVISION CHIEFS . SAID 
ONE PLEASED AMERICAN ADVISER : " THEY ARE PUTTING SOME YOUNG 
TIGERS OUT THERE . " RED NORTH VIET NAM'S RADIO CHARGED 
THAT " U.S . IMPERIALISTS SCHEMED THROUGH THE RECENT COUP TO 
REPLACE THE INEFFICIENT NGO DINH DIEM CLIQUE BY OTHER HENCHMEN WHO 
CAN SERVE MORE EFFECTIVELY THEIR AGGRESSIVE WAR . " IT WAS 
A HANDSOME TESTIMONIAL FROM THE ENEMY . ON THE PHONE . 
U.S . ADMIRAL HARRY FELT KEPT AN APPOINTMENT WITH DIEM IN 
SAIGON ON THE DAY SET FOR THE COUP, A VISIT SCHEDULED 
AT LEAST A MONTH PREVIOUSLY . HE AND U.S . AMBASSADOR 
HENRY CABOT LODGE STEPPED INTO DIEM'S OFFICE AT 10 A.M., APPARENTLY 
UNAWARE THAT HALF AN HOUR BEFORE KEY TROOPS HAD BEGUN MOVING 
INTO POSITION FOR THE COUP . THEY STAYED WITH DIEM UNTIL 
WELL PAST 11 A.M . AS LODGE, WHO WAS TO LEAVE 
FOR WASHINGTON THE FOLLOWING DAY, TOOK HIS FINAL DEPARTURE, DIEM REMARKED 
: " EVERY TIME THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR GOES AWAY, THEY TRY 
TO PULL A COUP . " GENERAL DON SAW ADMIRAL FELT 
OFF AT THE AIRPORT A LITTLE ANXIOUSLY, FOR THE AIRPORT ITSELF 
WAS SCHEDULED TO BE SEIZED IN JUST 90 MINUTES . DON 
THEN WENT ON TO THE GENERALS' LUNCH . AT 1 : 
30 P.M . SHARP, THE INSURGENT FORCE STRUCK, WITH RED-KERCHIEFED GENERAL 
DINH BARKING THE ORDERS . DON WAS ASSIGNED TO KEEP LODGE 
INFORMED, WHILE BIG MINH SUPERVISED THE WHOLE SHOW . THE GENERALS 
DELIBERATELY KEPT PHONE LINES OPEN TO THE PALACE AND TO THE 
U.S . EMBASSY . THE PALACE SWITCHBOARD (SAIGON 21584) AND PARTICULARLY 
DIEM'S DIRECT LINE (23126) BUZZED WITH TELEPHONIC FRUSTRATION . WITH THE 
GUARD BARRACKS AND THE PALACE BOTH UNDER SIEGE, DIEM AT 4 
: 30 P.M . CALLED LODGE TO ASK FOR U.S . 
HELP AGAINST THE INSURGENTS . LODGE REPLIED : " I'M CONCERNED 
FOR YOUR SAFETY, " ASKED IF DIEM AND HIS BROTHER WOULD 
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE INSURGENTS' OFFER OF SAFE-CONDUCT OUT OF VIET 
NAM . " I SHALL DO WHAT DUTY AND GOOD SENSE 
INDICATE MUST BE DONE, " DIEM REPLIED STIFFLY . " I 
SHALL TRY TO RESTORE ORDER . " HE HUNG UP . 
AT CHURCH . HALF AN HOUR LATER, THE INSURGENT GENERALS CALLED 
DIEM TO THE PHONE . ONE BY ONE, IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES, THEY 
ASKED HIM TO RESIGN AND SURRENDER . FINALLY, BIG MINH DELIVERED 
AN ULTIMATUM : " GIVE UP IN FIVE MINUTES OR THE 
PALACE WILL BE BOMBED . " DIEM STOOD FIRM, AND THE 
GENERALS, STILL RELUCTANT AT THAT POINT TO RISK KILLING HIM, HELD 
THEIR FINAL BLOW . AT 8 : 13 P.M., DIEM AND 
NHU LEFT THE PALACE NOT THROUGH ESCAPE TUNNELS, AS WIDELY RUMORED 
. THEY SIMPLY WALKED OUT, EACH WITH AN AIDE, AND GOT 
INTO INCONSPICUOUS SEDANS . AT THAT POINT THE REBELS HAD NOT 
YET SEALED OFF THE PALACE, WERE STILL PASSING CIVILIANS WHO LIVED 
ON THE GROUNDS, AND SO THE BROTHERS MANAGED TO DRIVE THROUGH 
UNNOTICED . THEY RENDEZVOUSED AT A VILLA IN SUBURBAN CHOLON OWNED 
BY BUSINESSMAN MA TUYEN, LEADER OF THE LOCAL CHINESE COMMUNITY . 
DIEM AND NHU SPENT THEIR LAST NIGHT IN THE CHINESE BUSINESSMAN'S 
VILLA, ACTUALLY TOOK CALLS THROUGH THE PALACE SWITCHBOARD SO THAT THE 
INSURGENT GENERALS WOULD THINK THEY WERE STILL THERE . LATE FRIDAY 
NIGHT OR EARLY SATURDAY, THE GENERALS CALLED AGAIN AND TOLD DIEM 
THAT HIS LAST HOPE OF BEING RESCUED BY LOYAL TROOPS FROM 
OUTSIDE SAIGON WAS GONE ; GENERAL HUYNH VAN CAO, COMMANDER OF 
IV CORPS IN THE MEKONG DELTA AND THE LAST TO HOLD 
OUT, HAD COME OVER TO THE REBELS . WHEN DIEM AGAIN 
REFUSED TO SURRENDER, THE REBEL GENERALS MOUNTED THE FINAL ASSAULT . 
THE PALACE FELL, WITH NEITHER DIEM NOR NHU INSIDE . SATURDAY 
MORNING, ALL SOULS' DAY, THE BROTHERS WENT TO CHOLON'S ST . 
FRANCIS XAVIER CHURCH, ARRIVING AT 8 : 45 . THEY WALKED 
IN, KNELT AND TOOK COMMUNION . THE JUNTA WAS TIPPED OFF 
BY AN INFORMER . MINUTES LATER AN M-113 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER 
ROARED UP TO THE CHURCH AND THE CAPTAIN IN CHARGE ORDERED 
THE BROTHERS TO GET IN . AT HEADQUARTERS . SAIGON STILL 
HUMS WITH RUMORS THAT DIEM AND NHU WERE ASSASSINATED IN THE 
ARMORED CAR . ACCORDING TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT, WHICH HAS DISCARDED 
THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF SUICIDE, NHU PROVOKED THE CAPTAIN BY INSULTING 
HIM, AND IN AN ENSUING SCUFFLE OVER A GUN, BOTH BROTHERS 
WERE KILLED . THE GOVERNMENT NOW CALLS THIS " ACCIDENTAL SUICIDE, 
" AND IT IS INTERESTING TO SPECULATE WHAT U.S . REACTION 
WOULD HAVE BEEN IF DIEM HAD PUT OUT SUCH A STORY 
ABOUT THE DEATH OF SOME PRISONERS OF HIS OWN . ACCORDING 
TO THE MOST RELIABLE ACCOUNT, THE BROTHERS DIED QUITE DIFFERENTLY . 
THEY WERE DRIVEN DIRECTLY TO JOINT GENERAL STAFF HEADQUARTERS, WHERE THEY 
WERE TAKEN INTO A ROOM WITH " SEVERAL GENERALS . " 
DIEM WAS HANDED A TAPERECORDER MICROPHONE AND TOLD TO MAKE A 
STATEMENT THAT HE WAS RESIGNING THE PRESIDENCY . DIEM THREW THE 
MICROPHONE DOWN AND SAID : " I WILL NOT RESIGN . 
I AM THE PRESIDENT . YOU ARE GUILTY OF TREASON . 
" AT THIS POINT, NHU LEAPED INTO THE ARGUMENT, CURSING . 
ONE OF THE GENERALS BACKED AWAY, DREW A PISTOL AND BEGAN 
SHOOTING . THE BULLET-RIDDLED BODIES WERE PUT BACK IN THE ARMORED 
CAR AND TAKEN OFF TO ST . PAUL'S HOSPITAL . LAST 
WEEK THE BODIES WERE CLAIMED BY A RELATIVE OF DIEM'S, PLACED 
IN HERMETICALLY SEALED METAL CASKETS, AND TAKEN BACK TO COUP HEADQUARTERS 
. 