From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing

1964 Brinks Hotel bombing

1964 Brinks Hotel bombing combat troops, while Johnson preferred the
existing strategy of training the Army of the
Republic of Vietnam to protect South Viet-
nam from the Vietcong. In the end, Johnson
prevailed and no retaliatory action was
taken.

Background and
planning
Following World War II, the communist-dom-
inated Vietminh fought the French colonial
forces in an attempt to gain Vietnamese inde-
pendence. After the French defeat at the
The aftermath of the bombing Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Vietnam was
Location Saigon, South Vietnam partitioned at the 17th parallel, pending na-
tional reunification elections in 1956.[3][4]
Date December 24, 1964
The elections were canceled, resulting in the
Attack type Bombing long-term existence of communist North Viet-
nam and anti-communist South Vietnam as
Deaths 2
separate states. In the late-1950s, South Viet-
Injured 53–63 namese guerrillas known as the Viet-
cong—covertly supported by North Viet-
Perpetrator(s) Vietcong
nam—began an insurgency with the aim of
forcefully reunifying the country under com-
The Brinks Hotel in Saigon was bombed by
munist rule.[5] With the Cold War at its
the Vietcong on the evening of December 24,
height, the United States—the main backer of
1964, during the Vietnam War. Two Vietcong
South Vietnam[6]—sent military advisers into
operatives detonated a car bomb underneath
the country to help train and guide the Army
the hotel, which housed United States Army
of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in their
officers; the explosion killed two American of-
fight against the Vietcong.[7] By 1964, there
ficers and injured approximately 60, includ-
were 23,000 American military personnel in
ing military personnel and Vietnamese
the country. The communists viewed the
civilians.
Americans as colonizers and the South Viet-
The Vietcong commanders had planned
namese as their puppets, and attacked both
the venture with two objectives in mind.
with force.[1]
Firstly, by attacking an American installation
The bombing was planned and performed
in the center of the heavily guarded capital,
by two Vietcong agents who escaped un-
the Vietcong intended to demonstrate their
injured and were never captured. Nguyen
ability to strike in South Vietnam should the
Thanh Xuan recollected his involvement to
United States decide to launch air raids
historian Stanley Karnow after the war had
against North Vietnam. Secondly, it demon-
ended. In late-November, Xuan and his com-
strated to the South Vietnamese that the
rade received orders from a Vietcong inter-
Americans were vulnerable and could not be
mediary to bomb the Brinks Hotel.[1] The
relied upon for protection.[1][2]
building housed United States Army officers,
The bombing prompted debate within the
including lieutenant colonels and majors,[8]
administration of United States President
and attracted off-duty personnel with its
Lyndon Baines Johnson. Most of his advisers
highly-regarded food and drink, rooftop seat-
favored retaliatory bombing of North Viet-
ing areas and movie screenings.[9] It was a
nam and the introduction of American

1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
six-story building and had 193 bedrooms.[10]
The Vietcong duo observed their target over
the next month, mixing with the crowds in
the busy street outside. Noting that South Vi-
etnamese officers mingled freely with Amer-
icans, they obtained ARVN uniforms from
Saigon’s black market, enabling them to get
closer. Xuan disguised himself as a military
chauffeur, while his partner dressed as a
South Vietnamese major. They mingled with
the real officers so that they could copy their
mannerisms, speaking style and even their
way of smoking. The Vietcong pair then pro-
cured the two cars and explosives needed for
the operation.[1][2]
The Vietcong commanders had planned
the venture with two aims in mind. Firstly, by
attacking an American institution in the heart
of the heavily guarded capital, the bombing
would demonstrate the Vietcong’s ability to
strike against the Americans in Vietnam,
should the United States decide to launch air
raids against North Vietnam. Secondly, the
attack would demonstrate to the South Viet-
namese public that the Americans were vul-
nerable and could not be relied upon for pro-
tection.[1][2] Xuan added that "all the crimes
committed by the Americans were directed
from this nerve center".[11] He recalled that
the number of American officers at the
Brinks Hotel had swelled on Christmas Eve
because they were using the building to co-
ordinate their celebrations, and that the at-
tack would therefore cause more casualties
than on a normal day.[11]
Execution
The bombers stashed explosives weighing ap-
proximately 90 kilograms (200 lb)[10] in the
trunk of one of the cars, and set a timing
device to trigger the bomb at 17:45, during
the happy hour in the officers’ bar at the
hotel. The pair drove their vehicles into the
hotel’s grounds. Knowing from their intelli-
gence that a certain American colonel had re-
turned to the US, the "major" lied and told
the hotel clerk that he had an appointment
with the American officer, claiming that the
colonel would be coming from Da Lat. The
clerk correctly replied that the colonel had
left the country, but the "major" insisted that
the clerk was mistaken. The "major" then
parked his vehicle in the car park beneath
the hotel, before ordering his chauffeur to
leave and fetch the American with the other
2
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing
vehicle. He then left the hotel grounds, ask-
ing the guard to tell the American colonel to
wait for him. The "major" claimed that he had
not eaten all day and was going to a nearby
café.[1][2]
While the "major" was at the eatery, the
bomb detonated, killing two American of-
ficers.[1][2][10] The first and highest ranking
officer killed was Lieutenant Colonel James
Robert Hagen, who had served in the army
for 20 years and was working for the
MACV.[12] The second victim was Benjamin
Beltra Castaneda, a Staff Sergeant serving
with the MACV and an army veteran of 20
years, who died of his wounds on January 23,
1965.[13]
The injury reports are conflicting. Karnow
reported that 58 people (military and civilian)
were injured,[1] Mark Moyar reported that
38 American officers were wounded along
with 25 Vietnamese civilians,[10] while journ-
alist A. J. Langguth reported that 10 Americ-
ans and 43 Vietnamese were injured.[2] Apart
from the steel girders, which supported the
building, the explosion completely destroyed
the ground floor. The bottom four floors were
all punctured by the blast and sustained sig-
nificant damage. The damage was accentu-
ated because several trucks were in the un-
derground car park, with gas canisters ready
for delivery. As a result, the explosion deton-
ated the gas, creating a fireball.[10] At the
time, American entertainers, including Bob
Hope, were in Saigon to perform for US per-
sonnel. It is unclear whether Hope was a tar-
get; Moyar reported that Hope was targeted,
but was delayed at the airport due to a lug-
gage mishap,[10] while Lawrence J. Quirk re-
ported that the comedian and his troupe
were staying in a hotel across the street and
were not in range of the blast.[14]
Reaction
The attack surprised American officials and
policymakers on Vietnam, who were confid-
ent that the South Vietnamese government
was in control in Saigon and that the Viet-
cong were only a threat in rural areas.[15]
The South Vietnamese government was un-
stable, as it was the latest in a series of milit-
ary juntas that had ruled for brief periods be-
fore being deposed.[16] The infighting exas-
perated Maxwell Taylor, the US ambassador
to South Vietnam and former Chairman of
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff,[2] who felt that
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maxwell Taylor, the US Ambassador to South
Vietnam, called for air strikes against North
Vietnam in retaliation for the bombing.
the disputes between the junta’s senior of-
ficers were derailing the war effort. Less
than two weeks before the bombing, the gen-
erals had dissolved the High National Coun-
cil, a civilian advisory body, prompting Taylor
to summon the generals to his office. The am-
bassador then angrily denounced the gener-
als, and the next day advised General Nguyen
Khanh, the president, to resign and go into
exile, as he had lost Taylor’s confid-
ence.[17][18][19] Khanh threatened to expel
Taylor, who said that his forced departure
would mean the end of US support for South
Vietnam.[18] On December 22, Khanh an-
nounced on Radio Vietnam that "We make
sacrifices for the country’s independence and
the Vietnamese people’s liberty, but not to
carry out the policy of any foreign coun-
try".[19][20] Khanh explicitly denounced
Taylor in an interview published in the New
York Herald Tribune on December 23,[18][20]
and on the day of the bombing, he issued a
declaration of independence from "foreign
manipulation".[19] At the time, Khanh was
also secretly negotiating with the commun-
ists, hoping to put together a peace deal so
he could expel the Americans from
3
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing
Vietnam.[10] As a result, there was a suspi-
cion among a minority that Khanh and his of-
ficers had been behind the attack,[2] even
though the Vietcong had claimed responsibil-
ity through a radio broadcast.[21]
General William Westmoreland, who was
the US army head in South Vietnam, Taylor,
and other senior US officers in Saigon and
Washington DC urged President Lyndon
Baines Johnson to authorize reprisal bomb-
ings against North Vietnam. Maxwell mes-
saged Washington on Christmas Day,[2][21]
saying, "Hanoi will get the word that, despite
our present tribulations, there is still bite in
the tiger they call paper, and the U.S. stock
in this part of the world will take sharp rise.
Some of our local squabbles will probably
disappear in enthusiasm which our action
would generate."[2] Taylor recommended that
the US take unilateral action, citing the anim-
osity between himself and Khanh’s junta.[2]
Johnson called his US-based advisers to
his Texas ranch for discussions on Christmas
day. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Sec-
retary of Defense Robert McNamara advised
Johnson to reject Maxwell’s proposal.[21]
Johnson declined to act, stating that an escal-
ation during the Christmas period would be
inappropriate, as it would damage public
morale.[1] He also noted that because of the
political instability in Saigon, the internation-
al community and the American public were
unlikely to believe that the Vietcong were be-
hind the attack, feeling that they would in-
stead blame local infighting for the bomb-
ing.[16] This was despite the fact that the Vi-
etcong had already claimed responsibility.[21]
Johnson administration officials concluded
four days after the bombing that the Vietcong
were responsible.[16][21] Johnson believed
that it was too late to retaliate and that any
action taken more than 36 hours after the
event constituted unprovoked aggression.[21]
The State Department cabled Taylor and the
embassy, saying that "In view of the overall
confusion in Saigon", public US and interna-
tional opinion towards an American air strike
would be that the Johnson administration was
"trying to shoot its way out of an internal
[South Vietnamese] political crisis".[16] John-
son said to Taylor that "Every time I get a
military recommendation it seems to me that
it calls for large-scale bombing. I have never
felt that this war will be won from the
air."[16] At the time, Johnson was reluctant to
accede to his officials’ calls for large-scale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
bombing of North Vietnam, a strategy that
eventually became policy.[16]
In January 1965, the Vietcong secretly
held their 3rd Conference in South Vietnam
and concluded that in failing to retaliate, "the
Americans lacked the will to strike North Vi-
etnam or shield South Vietnam from the mor-
tal blow".[22] At the time, North Vietnam vig-
orously denied ever sending troops or equip-
ment into South Vietnam. In reality, both
sides violated the 1954 Geneva Accords by
covertly infiltrating the other’s borders to
carry out hostile military activity.[23] Mean-
while, South Vietnam’s government had im-
posed media censorship in November 1964
and closed ten newspapers for sympathizing
with the communists.[24]
The attack fomented feelings of insecurity
among American policymakers about com-
munist attacks. Johnson hoped that the con-
tinuing presence of American military ad-
visers would be sufficient to strengthen the
ARVN so that it could stabilize the Saigon
government, but many of his defense depart-
ment advisers felt that American combat
troops were needed on the ground.[15] This
increased the tension between the presid-
ent’s civilian and military officials,[25] before
the Americans became directly involved in
fighting in 1965. David Tucker of the United
States Army War College said that the bomb-
ing was "insignificant for the conventional
military balance but important for the politic-
al struggle that was the primary focus of the
enemy [Vietcong]".[26] The hotel was re-
paired and American officers continued to
stay there until the fall of Saigon on April 30,
1975, when the communists overran South
Vietnam and reunified the country under
their rule.[27]
Notes
[1] ^ Karnow, p. 423.
[2] ^ Langguth, pp. 326–327.
[3] Jacobs, pp. 40–56.
[4] Karnow, pp. 210–214.
[5] Jacobs, pp. 90–100.
[6] Jacobs, pp. 102–104.
[7] Jones, Matthew (2002). Conflict and
confrontation in South East Asia,
1961–1965: Britain, the United States,
and the creation of Malaysia. Cambridge
University Press. p. 205. ISBN
0521801117.
4
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing
[8] Bayless, Robert M. (2006). Vietnam:
Victory Was Never an Option. Trafford
Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 1412060575.
[9] Miller, John Grider (2000). The Co-vans:
U.S. Marine Advisors in Vietnam. Naval
Institute Press. p. 74. ISBN
1557505497.
[10] ^ Moyar, p. 347.
[11] ^ "LBJ Goes to War (1964–65)". Public
Broadcasting Service. 1983.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/
series/pt_03.html. Retrieved on
2009-03-04.
[12] "James Robert Hagen". Vietnam Veterans
Memorial. http://thewall-usa.com/
info.asp?recid=20648. Retrieved on
2009-04-03.
[13] "Benjamin Beltra Castaneda". Vietnam
Veterans Memorial. http://thewall-
usa.com/info.asp?recid=8371. Retrieved
on 2009-04-03.
[14] Quirk, Lawrence J. (1998). Bob Hope:
The Road Well-traveled. Applause Books.
p. 252. ISBN 1557833532.
[15] ^ Olson, James Stuart (1999). Historical
Dictionary of the 1960s. Greenwood
Publishing Group. p. 73. ISBN
031329271X.
[16] ^ Steinberg, Blema S. (1996). Shame
and Humiliation: Presidential Decision
Making on Vietnam. McGill-Queen’s
Press. p. 91. ISBN 0773513922.
[17] Moyar, pp. 344–345.
[18] ^ Karnow, p. 399.
[19] ^ Langguth, pp. 322–325.
[20] ^ Moyar, p. 346.
[21] ^ Moyar, p. 348.
[22] Moyar, p. 485.
[23] Karnow, pp. 346–347, 378–379.
[24] Moyar, p. 334.
[25] Porter, Gareth (2006). Perils of
Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the
Road to War in Vietnam. University of
California Press. p. 345. ISBN
0520250044.
[26] Tucker, David (2006). Confronting the
Unconventional: Innovation and
Transformation in Military Affairs.
Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army
War College. p. 47. ISBN 1584872543.
[27] Elliott, Duong Van Mai (2000). The
Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the
Life of a Vietnamese Family. Oxford
University Press. p. 310. ISBN
0195137876.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing

References • Langguth, A. J. (2000). Our Vietnam.

• Jacobs, Seth (2006). Cold War Mandarin:
Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of
America’s War in Vietnam, 1950–1963.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN
0-7425-4447-8.
• Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A
history. Penguin Books. p. 423. ISBN
0-670-84218-4.
Simon and Schuster. pp. 326–327. ISBN
0-684-81202-9.
• Moyar, Mark (2006). Triumph Forsaken:
The Vietnam War, 1954–1965. Cambridge
University Press. p. 347. ISBN
0521869110.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Brinks_Hotel_bombing"

Categories: Vietnam War, 1964 in Vietnam, History of South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Ter-
rorist incidents in 1964

This page was last modified on 19 April 2009, at 00:32 (UTC). All text is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a
registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-
deductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers