Reaction To The 1963 South Vietnamese Coup - Popular Reaction

Popular Reaction

The removal from power of the Ngô family was greeted with widespread joy by the public of South Vietnam. Large and spontaneous street demonstrations occurred and the offices of the Times of Vietnam, the propaganda mouthpiece of Nhu and his wife, were burned. Young men wielding acetylene torches cut off the feet of the statues of the Trung sisters before the statues were hauled down with a cable around their necks. The Trung sisters were a 3rd century AD pair who are venerated in Vietnam for their role in driving Chinese occupiers from the country, but Madame Nhu had modeled their features on her own as she fancied herself as a modern day reincarnation. Elsewhere, crowds smashed windows and pulled down government flags from buildings and ransacked any building associated with Nhu. The tension released by the downfall of the regime sparked off celebrations rivaled only by Tet New Year celebrations.

American officials were treated and received with great enthusiasm and Lodge was mobbed by the Saigon public. A joke which circulated in Saigon in the aftermath of the coup was that Lodge would win any Vietnamese election by a landslide. Lodge recommended immediate recognition of the new regime by Washington, asserting that the popular approval of the Vietnamese for the coup warranted it. Lodge reported: "Every Vietnamese has a grin on his face today". The crowds swarmed onto the grounds of Gia Long Palace in the midst of what U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission William Trueheart called a "Mardi gras" atmosphere. The atmosphere was punctuated by the sound of celebratory ARVN gunfire as a sea of Buddhist flags flew throughout the city. As Lodge traveled from his residence to the US embassy, the crowds cheered his convoy. According to Mrs. Lodge, the atmosphere was "extraordinary". She further observed "I had not realized how feared and hated the government was…". As Lodge walked past the Xá Lợi pagoda adjacent to the US Operations Mission building, he was warmly received. Xá Lợi had been at the heart of violent government raids by Nhu's Special Forces on 21 August 1964 which had left an estimated three-figure death toll across the country. Lodge and his wife were greeted by cries of "Vive Capa Lodge" and was ushered into the pagoda by the Buddhists. According to Mrs. Lodge, "they were so excited that they nearly squashed us". Lodge reported that the populace had "lionized" by the soldiers, giving them fruit, flowers and garlands of roses.

Madame Nhu, who was in the United States at the time, denounced the coup and accused the U.S. of orchestrating it. When asked about whether the US was involved, she replied "definitely", elaborating that "no coup can erupt without American incitement and backing" and declaring that she would not seek asylum "in a country whose government stabbed me in the back". She said "I believe all the devils of hell are against us" and that "whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies".