American Valor Quarterly Issue 4 - Autumn 2008 | Page 23

Why Vietnam Matters by Rufus Phillips can be
purchased at bookstores nationwide and online at
The damaging effect of such highly destructive tactics came to a www.whyvietnammatters.com.

head in Saigon during a second Vietcong offensive called “Mini-

AVQ

AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY - Autumn 2008 - 23

Top: Rufus Phillips Book cover: U.S. Naval Institute Press

To find out whether we were winning the war, President Kennedy Tet,” in the spring of 1968, after the major Tet Offensive in January.
sent two emissaries to Saigon, one from the State Department, General Lansdale had been back in Saigon since 1965 as a State
Joseph Mendenhall, and one from the Pentagon, Major General Department civilian in our Embassy trying to implement
Victor Krulak, to report back on the “true” state of affairs. Their pacification and political development and was still there. I had
reports were so at variance that President Kennedy asked, “The been coming out periodically to help. In May, as part of minitwo of you did visit the same country, didn’t you?” I was in Tet, a small Vietcong unit invaded a heavily populated, poor but
Washington because my father was gravely ill and was called into pro-government area, on the south side of the Saigon River called
the same meeting and asked to report directly to the President District Eight and began lobbing mortar shells into Saigon. Under
right after Mendenhall and Krulak. I told him every thing I knew Westmoreland’s orders U.S. forces replied with intense shelling
about the current situation and recommended he send my old and bombing. Through Lansdale’s intercession the bombardment
boss, General Lansdale, the only American Diem really trusted, was stopped, but not before destroying over five thousand
to see if Diem could be persuaded to send his brother Nhu out dwellings, killing two hundred civilians, wounding two thousand
of the country so relations could be patched up with the army and creating forty thousand refugees. Incredibly, some of the
and the Buddhists. Kennedy thanked me about
Vietcong were still there until arms were given
recommending Lansdale but then asked what I
to the local population who drove them out. I
thought of the military situation. I responded
visited District Eight in June to see what had
that I had just been in Long An Province south
happene