Who 's Who

known as "Big Minh"; one of the generals who led the coup against the Diem regime; head-of-state of South Vietnam in 1964; surrendered to the North Vietnamese in April 1975.

(1890–1969) charismatic leader of the Vietminh; founder of the Indochinese Communist party; led North Vietnam until his death in 1969; embalmed in a mausoleum in Hanoi.

chief Vietnamese negotiator at the Geneva Conference; extraordinary negotiator and shrewd politician.

Ngo Dinh Diem: (1901–63) Minister of the Interior under Bao Dai; exiled in 1945; President of the US backed Republic of Vietnam [South Vietnam]; Catholic leader in a Buddhist country; assassinated by a CIA-supported coup in November 1963.

Nguyen Van Thieu:

leader of the coup against Diem; President of South Vietnam 196–73.

President of South Vietnam 1967-75; brought corruption and inefficiency to an art form.

Ho Chi Minh's loyal deputy and long-term Prime Minister of Vietnam after unification; died a day before the 25th Anniversary of the North Vietnamese Victory in April 2000.

(The Venerable) Buddhist monk from Hue who was the first to self-immolate in protest against the excesses and persecution of the Diem regime.

North Vietnamese General who led the final offensive against the South in 1975.

Calley, Lt William S.

US army officer upon whom the responsibility for the infamous My Lai massacre was ultimately laid; served a nine-month gaol sentence; lives quietly in Illinois.

US President following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963; increased US military involvement in Vietnam; refused to seek re-election in 1969; regarded as the president most responsible for the escalation of the Vietnam War.

US President (Democrat) in January 1961; increased military aid to Vietnam following US involvement under President Eisenhower; assassinated 22 November 1963.

US President Nixon's Special Negotiator at the Paris Peace talks 1969–73; Secretary of State until 1977.

US Vice-President 1953–61; elected President (Republican) in 1968; ordered the secret bombing of Cambodia and stepped up bombing of North Vietnam while trying to withdraw US forces under a policy of "Peace with honour" and the "Vietnamisation" of the war; resigned as President following the so-called Watergate scandal.

US Ambassador to Vietnam (1963–64)

US Ambassador to Vietnam (1964–65)

US Ambassador to Vietnam (1965–67)

US Ambassador to Vietnam (1967–73)

Davis, Neil

news cameraman whose images vividly captured the war in Vietnam and Cambodia over a ten-year period; filmed his own death in Bangkok; his story is told in Frontline and the book One Crowded Hour.

Prime Minister 1968–71; Liberal; maintained the policy of Holt to Vietnam.

Prime Minister 1966–67; Liberal; dramatically increased the Australian Army presence in Vietnam, including conscription into the army for young men based on a lottery system; remembered for his famous "All the way with LBJ" sycophantic comment; drowned while swimming.

Prime Minister 1971–72; Liberal; began the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam in order to win an election, but lost the election.

Prime Minister 1949–66; Liberal; made the first commitment of Australian advisers to Vietnam, based on a lie that Vietnam had asked Australia for help, when in fact they did not want it.

the first conscript to be killed in Vietnam.

Prime Minister: 1972–75; ALP; secured the total withdrawal of Australians from Vietnam and ended conscription; only PM to be dismissed by the Governor-General.