Arrest and Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem - Arrest in Cholon

Arrest in Cholon

After Minh had ordered the rebels to search the areas known to have been frequented by the Ngo family, Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo was informed by a captured Presidential Guard officer that the brothers had escaped through the tunnels to a refuge in Cholon. Thảo was told by Khiêm, his superior, to locate Diệm and prevent him from being killed. When Thảo arrived at Ma Tuyen's house, he phoned his superiors. Diệm and Nhu overheard him and fled to the nearby Catholic Church of St. Francis Xavier. Tho drove them to the church which they had frequented over the years. Lieutenant Tho died a few months later in a plane crash, but his diary was not found until 1970. Tho recorded Diệm's words as they left the house of Ma Tuyen as being "I don't know whether I will live or die and I don't care, but tell Nguyễn Khánh that I have great affection for him and he should avenge me". Soon after the early morning mass celebrating All Souls' Day (the Day of the Dead), the congregation emptied from the building. The Ngô brothers walked through the shady courtyard and into the building wearing dark gray suits. It was speculated that they were recognised by an informant while they walked through the yard. Inside the church, the brothers prayed and received Communion.

A few minutes later, just after 10:00, an armoured personnel carrier and two jeeps entered the narrow alcove housing the church building. Lieutenant Thơ, who had earlier urged Diệm to surrender, saying that he was sure that his uncle Ðỗ Mậu, along with Đính and Khiêm, would guarantee their safety, wrote in his diary later "I consider myself responsible for having led them to their death".