Vietnam: A Television History (1983–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Roots of a War: 1945-1953 - full transcript

WE'RE VOTING
FOR THE CHEAPEST WAY

THAT WE CAN PREVENT
THE OCCURRENCE OF SOMETHING

THAT WOULD BE OF
THE MOST TERRIBLE SIGNIFICANCE

TO THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA:

OUR SECURITY.

IF WE WITHDREW FROM VIETNAM

THE COMMUNISTS
WOULD CONTROL VIETNAM.

PRETTY SOON, THAILAND, CAMBODIA,
LAOS, MALAYA, WOULD GO.

IF THIS LITTLE NATION
GOES DOWN THE DRAIN

AND CAN'T MAINTAIN
HER INDEPENDENCE

ASK YOURSELF
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN



TO ALL THE OTHER LITTLE NATIONS.

IF THE UNITED STATES NOW WERE
TO THROW IN THE TOWEL

AND COME HOME

AND THE COMMUNISTS TOOK OVER
SOUTH VIETNAM

THEN, ALL OVER SOUTHEAST ASIA,
ALL OVER THE PACIFIC

IN THE MIDEAST, IN EUROPE,
IN THE WORLD

THE UNITED STATES
WOULD SUFFER A BLOW;

AND PEACE
WOULD SUFFER A BLOW

FROM WHICH IT MIGHT NOT RECOVER.

NARRATOR: FIRST,
A HANDFUL OF ADVISERS.

THEN, THE MARINES.

FINALLY, AN ARMY
OF HALF A MILLION.

THAT WAS THE VIETNAM WAR.

IT WAS AN UNDECLARED WAR.



A WAR WITHOUT FRONT LINES
OR CLEAR OBJECTIVES.

A WAR AGAINST
AN ELUSIVE ENEMY.

A WAR.

STEVE,
SPEAK TO ME.

YEAH, I'M
STILL ALIVE.

TELL ME WHAT
YOUR NAME IS.

WHERE ARE
YOU FROM?

STEVE--SEATTLE,
WASHINGTON.

CAN I GO
TO SLEEP?

NO, DON'T
GO TO SLEEP.

FRED HICKEY: WE HAD
SOME PRECARIOUS SITUATIONS

BUT WE ALWAYS WON.

SO TO ME,
WE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL.

BUT AS I THINK OF IT NOW,
I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE WON.

WE WON A BOX ON A MAP
WHERE THE NEXT DAY, WE LEFT IT.

NARRATOR: IT WAS A WAR
THAT BLURRED THE LINE

BETWEEN FRIEND AND ENEMY.

WHEREVER THE AMERICANS WENT

THEY BURNED AND DESTROYED
AND KILLED.

I DIDN'T SEE
ANY GUERRILLAS BEING KILLED--

ONLY VILLAGERS.

SERGEANT TOM MURPHY:

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD
OR A NINE-YEAR-OLD

CAN KILL YA JUST AS QUICK

AS A 25- OR A 26-YEAR-OLD MAN.

HERE, KIDS PLAY
COWBOYS AND INDIANS.

THERE, THEY PLAY IT FOR REAL.

NARRATOR:
IT WAS A WAR WITH DEEP ROOTS--

DEEPER THAN
MOST AMERICANS KNEW.

HO CHI MINH AND HIS FOLLOWERS
FOUGHT FOR DECADES--

AGAINST THE FRENCH

THEN AGAINST THE AMERICANS
AND THEIR SOUTH VIETNAMESE ALLY.

I ALWAYS BELIEVED
IN MY COUNTRY.

BUT INSTEAD OF SENDING MY SONS
OUT TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY

I SENT THEM OUT TO DIE.

NARRATOR:
IT WAS A WAR

THAT TURNED SOUTH VIETNAM
INSIDE OUT.

A WAR THAT CHANGED THE G.I.s
WHO FOUGHT IT.

GEORGE CANTERO: "G.I., YOU WANT
VIETNAMESE CIGARETTE?

FOR A BOX OF TIDE,
YOU COULD GET A CARTON

OF PRE-PACKED, PRE-ROLLED
MARIJUANA CIGARETTES

SOAKED IN OPIUM.

FOR $10, YOU COULD GET
A VIAL OF PURE HEROIN.

YOU COULD GET
LIQUID OPIUM, SPEED, ACID--

ANYTHING YOU WANTED.

NARRATOR:
IT WAS THE FIRST TELEVISION WAR.

WHAT'S HE GOT--
SMALL ARMS?

SMALL ARMS,
AUTOMATIC FIRE.

NARRATOR:...WITH UNCENSORED
BATTLE REPORTS

FLASHED TO THE FOLKS AT HOME.

WHAT'S THE
HARDEST?

NOT KNOWING
WHERE THEY ARE.

YOU LOST
ANY FRIENDS?

QUITE A FEW--

WE LOST ONE
THE OTHER DAY.

THE WHOLE THING
STINKS, REALLY.

CROWD:
PEACE NOW! PEACE NOW!

NARRATOR: IT WAS THE FIRST WAR
AMERICANS OPPOSED

IN HUGE NUMBERS, OPENLY
AND PASSIONATELY.

CROWD:

¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING

IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. ¶

MAN:
ARE YOU LISTENING, NIXON?

CROWD:
¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING...¶

MAN:
ARE YOU LISTENING, AGNEW?

NARRATOR: THE VIETNAM WAR ENDED
WHEN THE COMMUNISTS TOOK SAIGON.

NARRATOR: THE END OF THE WAR
LEFT QUESTIONS AND ISSUES

THAT ARE STILL UNANSWERED
AND UNRESOLVED.

CROWD:
¶ GLORY, GLORY HALLELUJAH! ¶

(CHANTING)

REAGAN:
IT'S TIME THAT WE RECOGNIZED

OURS WAS A NOBLE CAUSE.

LET US TELL THOSE WHO FOUGHT
IN THAT WAR

THAT WE WILL NEVER AGAIN ASK
YOUNG MEN

TO FIGHT AND
POSSIBLY DIE

IN A WAR OUR GOVERNMENT
IS AFRAID TO LET THEM WIN.

NARRATOR:
VIETNAM: A NOBLE CAUSE?

A SHAMEFUL VENTURE?

THE QUESTIONS CONTINUE
BECAUSE, FOR AMERICA

THE VIETNAM WAR IS NOT OVER.

AND IT IS NOT OVER FOR VIETNAM.

NOT FOR THE HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS

WHO HAVE FLED
THE COMMUNIST REGIME.

NOT FOR THE MILLIONS WHO REMAIN
IN A DEVASTATED COUNTRY

THAT IS STILL AT WAR
WITH CAMBODIA AND WITH CHINA.

THIS TELEVISION SERIES
LOOKS BACK

ON A HARD CHAPTER
IN AMERICA'S HISTORY

AND EXAMINES THE QUESTIONS
NOW BEING ASKED

BY MORE AND MORE AMERICANS:

HOW WE GOT THERE
AND WHAT WE DID THERE.

2½ MILLION AMERICANS
FOUGHT IN VIETNAM.

AND 58,000 AMERICANS DIED THERE.

WHY?

CAPTIONING OF THIS PROGRAM
IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT

FROM THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.

NARRATOR:
AMERICA'S WAR IN VIETNAM
LASTED 15 YEARS.

BUT THE VIETNAMESE HAVE KNOWN
WAR A LONG TIME--

MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS.

THEIR TRADITIONAL ENEMY
WAS CHINA--

THEIR GIANT NEIGHBOR
TO THE NORTH.

FOR CENTURIES

VIETNAM WAS THE SOUTHERNMOST
PART OF CHINA'S EMPIRE.

THE VIETNAMESE ABSORBED CHINESE
CULTURE AND CUSTOMS

BUT THEY NEVER ACCEPTED
CHINESE RULE.

TODAY, THROUGHOUT VIETNAM

THEY COMMEMORATE
THE TRUNG SISTERS

WHO LED A REBELLION
AGAINST CHINA

IN THE FIRST CENTURY
AFTER CHRIST.

THE REBELLION FAILED

BUT THE TRUNG SISTERS
ARE STILL HEROINES--

PART OF A LONG LINE
OF VIETNAMESE

WHO FOUGHT FOREIGN DOMINATION.

PREMIER PHAM VAN DONG:
OUR HISTORY

FROM THE TIME OF THE HUNG KINGS
AND THE TRUNG SISTERS

TO THE ERA

OF PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH

HAS BEEN A HISTORY

OF GREAT STRUGGLE.

THROUGHOUT HISTORY

THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
HAVE ALWAYS DONE THEIR BEST

TO DEFEND THE COUNTRY
AND TO BUILD THE NATION.

NARRATOR:
THEY FOUGHT

FOR ALMOST A THOUSAND YEARS
AFTER THE TRUNGS

TO EVICT THE CHINESE.

THEN THEY PUSHED SOUTH
TO THEIR PRESENT BORDERS

CONQUERING OTHER PEOPLES
IN THEIR PATH.

THE COUNTRY EXPANDED SO RAPIDLY

THAT IT FRAGMENTED
IN A SERIES OF CIVIL WARS.

DESPITE THEIR INTERNAL CONFLICTS

THE VIETNAMESE REGARDED
THEMSELVES

AS ONE COUNTRY AND ONE PEOPLE

BUT THEY WERE TOO WEAK
AND DIVIDED

TO FIGHT OFF
THE CONQUERING EUROPEANS

IN THE 19th CENTURY.

AROUND 1860, THE FRENCH SEIZED
THE AREA NEAR SAIGON.

THEY TOOK OVER CENTRAL AND
NORTHERN VIETNAM

DURING THE NEXT TWO DECADES.

AND BY 1885, VIETNAM HAD, ONCE
AGAIN, LOST ITS INDEPENDENCE.

FRENCH INDOCHINA AT THE END
OF THE 1880s:

LAOS, CAMBODIA, AND VIETNAM

WHICH THE FRENCH DIVIDED
INTO THREE REGIONS:

COCHINCHINA,
ANNAM AND TONKIN.

TO THE VIETNAMESE, THE DIVISION

WAS A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT

TO DESTROY THEIR NATIONAL UNITY.

THE FIRST MOVING IMAGES
OF THE NEW COLONIES

WERE RECORDED
IN THE EARLY 1900s.

FRANCE LOOKED AT THE TRADITIONAL
INDOCHINESE CULTURES

AND SAW VERY LITTLE
IT CONSIDERED CIVILIZATION.

THE COLONIZERS TOOK
UPON THEMSELVES

THE FRENCH VERSION
OF THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN

"LA MISSION CIVILISATRICE"--

THE BRINGING OF CIVILIZATION
AND CATHOLICISM TO THE NATIVES.

THE VIETNAMESE RESISTED.

THE FRENCH CALLED ALL RESISTERS
"PIRATES"

AND THEY SENT IN THE TROOPS

FOR THE FIRST "PACIFICATION"
OF VIETNAM.

THEY STAGED PUBLIC EXECUTIONS.

THE SEVERED HEADS
WERE PHOTOGRAPHED

AND PRINTED ON POSTCARDS

WHICH SOLDIERS SENT HOME
TO SWEETHEARTS IN PARIS

"WITH KISSES FROM HANOI."

IT TOOK 20 YEARS

TO GET THE VIETNAMESE RESISTANCE
UNDER CONTROL.

THEN THE FRENCH
COULD CONCENTRATE

ON THE ECONOMICS
OF COLONIALISM--

TRYING TO TRANSFORM VIETNAM
INTO A SOURCE OF PROFIT.

THEY OPENED FACTORIES

AND EXPANDED THE MINES
IN THE NORTH.

IN THE SOUTH,
THEY DEVELOPED

TEA, RUBBER
AND RICE PLANTATIONS.

INDOCHINA EXPORTED RICE
TO 30 COUNTRIES.

AND EXPORTS STAYED HIGH

EVEN IF IT MEANT
THE PEASANTS STARVED.

THE PEOPLE HERE
SUFFERED A LOT

BECAUSE OF HIGH TAXES

AND HARD FORCED LABOR.

THEY WORKED FROM DAWN TILL DUSK

BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE
ENOUGH TO EAT.

NARRATOR:
THE CHEAP LABOR PROFITED

A FEW FRENCH COMPANIES

EVEN THOUGH INDOCHINA WAS
A FINANCIAL SINKHOLE.

THE FRENCH NATION SPENT
MILLIONS OF FRANCS EACH YEAR

TO PROTECT
AND SUPPORT THE COLONY

WHILE FRENCH COMPANIES,
LIKE MICHELIN RUBBER

MADE MILLIONS IN PROFITS
FROM FACTORIES AND PLANTATIONS.

FRENCH NEWREELS SHOWED
ONLY CLEAN, MODERN WORKPLACES.

BUT IN FACT,
THE VIETNAMESE WORKED

UNDER THE MOST BRUTAL
AND DEGRADING CONDITIONS.

IN THE RUBBER PLANTATIONS

THE WORKERS WERE TREATED
SO INHUMANELY

THAT THEY DIED YOUNG,
AND DIED IN DROVES.

THERE WAS A SAYING

THAT THE WORKERS WERE FERTILIZER
FOR THE RUBBER TREES

BECAUSE THEIR CORPSES
WERE BURIED UNDER THE TREES.

NARRATOR:
THERE WERE NO MAJOR UPRISINGS

DURING THESE HARD YEARS.

VIETNAMESE SOCIETY WAS REELING

UNDER THE IMPACT
OF WESTERNIZATION.

FRENCH CULTURE
PERMEATED THE CITIES

BRINGING WESTERN FASHIONS
AND IDEAS.

SOME FRENCH SCHOLARS AND ARTISTS
ADMIRED VIETNAMESE CIVILIZATION.

AND EARLY WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHERS
RECORDED VIETNAMESE LIFE.

BUT MOST FRENCH FELT
SUPERIOR TO THE NATIVES.

THE VIETNAMESE ELITE
BEGAN TO GIVE THEIR SONS

A WESTERN EDUCATION.

ALMOST ALL OF THOSE
WHO WOULD LEAD

THE NEXT RESISTANCE
TO THE FRENCH

WERE FRENCH-EDUCATED.

AMONG THEM
WAS HO CHI MINH.

HO CHI MINH'S EARLY YEARS
ARE DIFFICULT TO TRACE.

HE WAS ALWAYS
MYSTERIOUS ABOUT HIMSELF

GIVING FEW INTERVIEWS

AND PREFERRING, IN LATER LIFE,
TO PRESENT HIMSELF

AS THE BENEVOLENT
"UNCLE HO."

HO WAS BORN ABOUT 1890
AS NGUYEN TAT THANH--

THE SON OF AN OFFICIAL

WHO RESIGNED, RATHER THAN SERVE
UNDER THE FRENCH.

AS A YOUNG MAN,
HO LEFT HIS COUNTRY

WORKING AS A SHIP HAND AND COOK
IN AMERICA, BRITAIN AND FRANCE.

IN SEPTEMBER, 1911
HE WAS IN MARSEILLES

AND SENT A REQUEST
TO THE MINISTRY OF COLONIES:

"I WOULD LIKE
TO BE USEFUL TO FRANCE"

HE WROTE

"IN ITS DEALINGS
WITH MY PEOPLE."

AND HE ASKED TO BE ADMITTED
TO THE COLONIAL TRAINING SCHOOL.

HE WAS TOLD TO APPLY ELSEWHERE.

IN 1917,
HO MOVED TO PARIS.

HE TOOK THE PSEUDONYM,
"NGUYEN AI QUOC"--

"NGUYEN THE PATRIOT"--

AND BEGAN TO AGITATE
FOR VIETNAM'S INDEPENDENCE.

HE TRIED TO PLEAD HIS CAUSE
AT THE VERSAILLES CONFERENCE

FOLLOWING WORLD WAR I

BUT WAS NOT ADMITTED.

HIS EFFORT MADE HIM FAMOUS
AMONG THE VIETNAMESE IN FRANCE.

HIS ACTIVITIES
BROUGHT HIM TO THE ATTENTION

OF THE FRENCH POLICE.

THEY RAN AN INVESTIGATION

ON THIS YOUNG
POTENTIAL TROUBLEMAKER

AND DISMISSED HIM
WITH THE DESCRIPTION:

"AWKWARD-LOOKING.

MOUTH CONSTANTLY OPEN
IN A STUPID SMILE."

IN 1920,
NGUYEN AI QUOC BECAME

A FOUNDING MEMBER
OF THE FRENCH COMMUNIST PARTY--

THE FIRST VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST.

HE REMAINED IN FRANCE

EDITING AN ANTI-COLONIAL PAPER
CALLED "LE PARIA"--

"THE OUTCAST"--

AND SUPPORTING HIMSELF
AS A PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT.

HIS DRAWINGS,
PUBLISHED IN THE NEWAPAPERS

SHOWED HE WAS STILL CONCERNED
WITH VIETNAM--

WHICH HE HAD NOT SEEN
FOR 10 YEARS.

THE COMMUNISTS SENT
NGUYEN AI QUOC TO MOSCOW

FOR TRAINING IN 1923.

THEN, AS A COMMUNIST AGENT,
HE WENT TO CHINA.

FROM THERE, HIS EXACT MOVEMENTS
BECOME DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW.

HE TRAVELLED WIDELY

ORGANIZING
EXPATRIATE VIETNAMESE

INTO A REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.

REPORTS
DURING THE NEXT 17 YEARS

PLACED HIM IN GERMANY, CHINA,
THAILAND, FRANCE, RUSSIA.

HE WAS NOT IN VIETNAM

BUT HIS FOLLOWERS WERE PART
OF NEW ANTI-COLONIAL REVOLTS

COMPETING FOR POPULAR SUPPORT.

IN 1930,
NEW REBELLIONS BROKE OUT.

ON FEBRUARY 6, 1930

THE ANNAMITE REBELS ATTACKED

A MILITARY POST IN YEN BAY.

AND THE SAME DAY IN HANOI

SOME REBELS ATTACKED
POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

THEY JUST HAD

A FEW SARDINE CANS
FILLED WITH GUNPOWDER

AND THEY BROKE A FEW WINDOWS.

I SAW THE COPS IN THE STREET,
AND THEY WERE ALL CONFUSED.

BUT I SAID,
"THIS IS NOT THAT SERIOUS."

NARRATOR: THE FRENCH PUT DOWN
THE YEN BAY REBELLION

IN TWO DAYS

AND IMPRISONED ITS LEADERS.

BUT THE UNREST SPREAD
AS THE PEASANTS-- OFTEN LED

BY MEMBERS OF THE SMALL
INDOCHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY--

DEMONSTRATED AND SEIZED LAND
IN SEVERAL PROVINCES.

A WIDESPREAD FAMINE THAT YEAR
FUELED THE REBELLIONS.

A YEAR LATER,
THERE WAS A REVOLT IN VINH.

DROUGHT HAD STRUCK
THE PROVINCE OF VINH

AND THE PEASANTS, WHO NO LONGER
HAD ANYTHING TO EAT

SENT A DELEGATION
TO THE PROVINCIAL CAPITAL.

THEY ASKED--

AS THIS WAS A TRADITION
THAT DATED BACK

TO THE TIME OF THE EMPERORS--

FOR A WAIVER OF TAXES
DURING THE DROUGHT.

THE GOVERNMENT
REJECTED THIS DEMAND

AND GOT FRIGHTENED

BY THIS LARGE NUMBER OF PEASANTS
ON THE ROADS.

BUT THE CROWD CONTINUED
WITH THE MARCH.

THEY MARCHED

ALL THE WAY TO BEN THUY.

AND WHEN THE FIRST PERSON

CLIMBED UP A FLAGPOLE

AT THE FORK IN THE ROAD
AT BEN THUY

THE FRENCH GUARDS

WHO WERE ON THE TOWER
OF THE SIFA FACTORY

SHOT DOWN AT HIM
AND KILLED HIM.

AFTER THAT,
THEY ORDERED THEIR SOLDIERS

TO OPEN FIRE
INTO THE CROWD OF DEMONSTRATORS.

NARRATOR: THOUSANDS
OF SUSPECTED COMMUNISTS

WERE ARRESTED

AND NEARLY 100 PARTY LEADERS
EXECUTED.

THE INDOCHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY
WAS VIRTUALLY DESTROYED.

THE COMMUNIST PARTY
HAD BEEN FOUNDED IN 1930.

AND IN 1931

THE FRENCH STEPPED UP

THEIR REPRESSION

OF REVOLUTIONARIES.

THEY THOUGHT

THAT MY BROTHER HAD PUT UP
SOME RED BANNERS.

THEY ARRESTED HIM

ALONG WITH
SEVERAL HUNDRED PEASANTS

WHO HAD NEVER DONE
ANYTHING WRONG AT ALL.

WE WERE KEPT
IN UNDERGROUND CELLS

WITH HUGE IRON BARS
ABOVE US.

ON TOP OF THE CELLS
WERE CEMENT BRIDGES

ALONG WHICH THE FRENCH GUARDS
MARCHED BACK AND FORTH

SO THAT
IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENED

THEY COULD ALWAYS
POUR DOWN BULLETS ON US.

I WAS IMPRISONED
WITH COMRADE PHAM VAN DONG.

AND WHEN THEY TORTURED US,
HE TOLD THEM OFF IN FRENCH.

THE PRISONS WERE SCHOOLS--

PLACES WHERE REVOLUTIONARIES

TRAINED THEMSELVES.

NARRATOR:
THE FRENCH THOUGHT

THE COUNTRY WAS PACIFIED.

YEARS EARLIER,
THEY HAD SETTLED

ON A PLIABLE MEMBER
OF THE ROYAL FAMILY--

KHAI DINH--

AS EMPEROR

TO PUT THE STAMP OF LEGITIMACY
ON THEIR DECISIONS.

HIS SON--BAO DAI--

WAS SENT TO FRANCE
FOR HIS EDUCATION.

BAO DAI SPENT 10 YEARS AWAY

ACQUIRING A TASTE
FOR FRENCH WINE

AND A REPUTATION
AS A PLAYBOY.

AFTER KHAI DINH'S DEATH

THE YOUNG EMPEROR, BAO DAI,
PERFORMED AS INSTRUCTED

ATTENDING PARIS S CEPTIONS

LISTENING TO FRENCH PLATITUDES

AND DOING LITTLE
TO HELP HIS PEOPLE

DURING THE YEARS OF THE WORST
COLONIAL REPRESSION.

FRANCE WAS PROUD
OF ITS COLONIAL RECORD.

(FRENCH NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER)

NARRATOR:
1940 BROUGHT THE END
OF THIS "GRANDEUR OF FRANCE."

JAPAN,
PURSUING ITS CONQUEST OF CHINA

WANTED TO BLOCK THE TRANSPORT
OF WAR MATERIEL

THROUGH VIETNAM.

IN JUNE, 1940--

THREE DAYS AFTER FRANCE FELL
TO NAZI GERMANY--

JAPAN DEMANDED THE RIGHT
TO LAND FORCES IN INDOCHINA.

UNABLE TO GET INSTRUCTIONS
FROM PARIS

THE FRENCH GOVERNOR MADE
HIS OWN DECISION.

HE THOUGHT

THAT TO CONCEDE

A CERTAIN NUMBER OF RIGHTS

WITHIN VERY SPECIFIC CONDITIONS

WHILE MAINTAINING
THE PRINCIPLE AND FORM

OF FRENCH SOVEREIGNTY
OVER INDOCHINA

WAS THE WISEST
AND MOST APPROPRIATE SOLUTION

IN THAT SITUATION.

AND INDEED, THERE COULD BE
ONLY TWO SOLUTIONS:

TO FIGHT, AND RESIST

OR TO TRY MAINTAINING
THE ESSENTIALS

OF FRENCH SOVEREIGNTY
OVER INDOCHINA

WHILE SACRIFICING
ONLY A FEW RIGHTS

TO THE JAPANESE.

NARRATOR:
UNDER THE AGREEMENT

JAPANESE TROOPS WOULD USE

FRENCH INDOCHINA'S AIRBASES
AND FACILITIES.

JAPAN LET
THE FRENCH BUREAUCRACY CONTINUE

TO MANAGE CIVIL ADMINISTRATION

FREEING THE JAPANESE
TO PREPARE FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

FRENCH INDOCHINA'S
ROADS, HARBORS AND RAILWAYS

BECAME CRUCIAL
TO JAPAN'S WAR MACHINE

AS DID ITS RICE,
RUBBER AND COAL.

TO THE FRENCH

THE JAPANESE PRESENCE
BROUGHT FEW CHANGES.

THEY WERE THE ONLY EUROPEANS

THAT THE CONQUERING JAPANESE
LEFT FREE THROUGHOUT THE WAR.

JAPAN'S ARRIVAL
DEEPLY IMPRESSED THE VIETNAMESE.

ASIANS, LIKE THEMSELVES,
HAD OVERTHROWN

THE EUROPEAN COLONIALS.

FOR IT WAS CLEAR
WHO WAS IN CHARGE.

AND TO THE UNITED STATES

JAPAN'S ACTIONS
LOOKED INCREASINGLY OMINOUS.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
PRESSURED JAPAN

BY CUTTING SUPPLIES
OF SCRAP METAL

AND IMPOSING AN OIL EMBARGO.

IN NEGOTIATIONS
AT THE END OF NOVEMBER, 1941

THE UNITED STATES PROPOSED

THAT JAPAN WITHDRAW
FROM INDOCHINA ENTIRELY.

TEN DAYS LATER

THE JAPANESE ATTACKED
PEARL HARBOR.

THE JAPANESE SWEPT DOWN
THROUGH SOUTHERN ASIA

CONQUERING BRITISH, AND DUTCH,
AND AMERICAN TERRITORIES.

FRENCH INDOCHINA WAS
A SMALL PART OF A WORLD WAR.

ABBOT LOW MOFFAT:
INDOCHINA

AND EVEN THE OTHER COUNTRIES
OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

WERE REALLY
RELATIVELY SMALL POTATOES--

PARTICULARLY
IN CONNECTION WITH THE WAR.

I BECAME CHIEF OF THE DIVISION

OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN AFFAIRS

IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT

ON JULY 1, 1944.

I WAS CONCERNED TO LEARN

THAT THE PRESIDENT
HAD ALREADY DECIDED

THAT INDOCHINA SHOULD BE

UNDER INTERNATIONAL
TRUSTEESHIP

AFTER THE WAR.

HE APPARENTLY HAD TOLD
A GREAT MANY PEOPLE

THAT THE FRENCH HAD BEEN THERE
OVER A HUNDRED YEARS

AND THE PEOPLE OF INDOCHINA
WERE WORSE OFF NOW

THAN THEY WERE THEN.

NARRATOR:
ROOSEVELT SAID DIFFERENT THINGS

TO DIFFERENT ALLIED LEADERS.

THE ALLIES MET REPEATEDLY
DURING THE WAR

AND MADE DECLARATIONS

ABOUT THE RIGHTS
OF OPPRESSED PEOPLES

TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS.

BUT THEY NEVER SAID
HOW THIS WOULD BE DONE.

ROOSEVELT WAS RELUCTANT
TO OFFEND

BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER,
WINSTON CHURCHILL.

AND THE BRITISH WERE OPPOSED

TO DISMANTLING
THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

CHURCHILL SAW IT
AS THE FIRST STEP

TO THE END
OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

AND GENERAL DE GAULLE--
HEAD OF THE FREE FRENCH FORCES--

MADE IT CLEAR THAT TO HIM,
INDOCHINA WAS STILL FRENCH.

...SOCIALE ET CULTUREL
DE L'UNION INDOCHINOIS.

ELLE EST, ET ELLE RESTERA,
SA PROPRE MODE A TERRE.

NARRATOR:
AT VARIOUS TIMES

ROOSEVELT TALKED ABOUT

CHINESE,
OR EVEN FRENCH TRUSTEESHIP.

THAT REALLY MEANT

THAT HE'D ABANDONED
HIS POSITION.

BUT MUCH OF THAT WAS BECAUSE

OF THE PRESSURE
OF THE OTHER COUNTRIES

WHO DID NOT WANT

TO HAVE TRUSTEESHIP
FOR THEIR OWN TERRITORIES.

NARRATOR:
IN EARLY 1945

THE COLLABORATION

BETWEEN THE JAPANESE
AND THE FRENCH IN INDOCHINA

ENDED.

THE WAR WAS GOING BADLY
FOR THE JAPANESE.

A SMALL
FRENCH RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

HAD BEGUN IN VIETNAM.

AND ALLIED BOMBING
AROUND SAIGON

FURTHER ALARMED THE JAPANESE.

GENERAL DE GAULLE
WAS EXTREMELY CLEAR.

GENERAL DE GAULLE THOUGHT

THAT FRANCE COULD ONLY RETURN
TO INDOCHINA

WITH ARMS IN HAND.

AND THAT IMPLIED
FIGHTING THE JAPANESE.

THE JAPANESE
ANTICIPATED THE FIGHT

WITH THE COUP
OF MARCH 9, 1945.

NARRATOR:
ON THAT DAY

THE JAPANESE
OVERTHREW THE FRENCH.

WITH BRILLIANT COORDINATION

THEY IMPRISONED
ALL FRENCH TROOPS

EXCEPT FOR A FEW
THAT WERE OUT ON MANEUVERS.

AFTER MONTHS OF HARDSHIP,
THE SURVIVORS REACHED CHINA.

FRENCH RULE--

SAVED AT THE EXPENSE
OF FRENCH PRIDE IN 1940--

WAS DESTROYED.

TO LEGITIMIZE THE COUP

THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR
MADE AN OFFER

TO EMPEROR BAO DAI--

WHO HAD SPENT THE WAR YEARS
IN HUE.

HE SAID TO ME:

"YESTERDAY, WE TERMINATED

"FRENCH SOVEREIGNTY

"AND TODAY, JAPAN IS HAPPY

TO BRING YOU
YOUR INDEPENDENCE."

WE WEIGHED
THE PROS AND THE CONS:

WHAT WAS THIS INDEPENDENCE
WORTH?

HOW SHOULD WE TAKE IT?

THE MINISTERS TOLD ME:

"YOUR MAJESTY CANNOT REFUSE
THIS INDEPENDENCE

"FOR 'INDEPENDENCE' HAS BEEN
A FORBIDDEN WORD

FOR A CENTURY."

NARRATOR:
THE JAPANESE SUPPORTED

SEVERAL
VIETNAMESE NATIONALIST GROUPS.

BUT OTHER GROUPS WERE BOTH
ANTI-FRENCH AND ANTI-JAPANESE.

THE MOST IMPORTANT
WAS THE VIET MINH--

FOUNDED IN 1941
BY NGUYEN AI QUOC.

HE HAD RETURNED TO VIETNAM
AFTER 30 YEARS

WITH A NEW NAME:
HO CHI MINH--

MEANING
"HE WHO ENLIGHTENS."

AFTER THE CONFERENCE

TO ESTABLISH THE VIET MINH

UNCLE HO SENT OUT A LETTER

CALLING FOR THE SUPPORT
OF THE POPULATION.

AND IT WAS THIS
THAT RALLIED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY

AROUND THE MOVEMENT.

AND WHEN PEOPLE REALIZED

THAT HO CHI MINH
WAS ACTUALLY NGUYEN AI QUOC

THEIR TRUST IN THE MOVEMENT
WAS FURTHER ESTABLISHED.

THIS WAS BECAUSE
THE NAME NGUYEN AI QUOC

HAD BEEN WIDELY KNOWN
IN THE COUNTRY.

PEOPLE KNEW
THAT HE WAS A GREAT PATRIOT.

NARRATOR:
LIKE HO, MANY VIET MINH LEADERS
WERE VETERANS

OF THE OLD
INDOCHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY.

BUT THE VIET MINH,
DURING THE WAR

WAS NATIONALIST--

NOT COMMUNIST
IN PROGRAM.

IT ORGANIZED
GUERRILLA BASES

TRAINED CADRES

HARASSED
THE FRENCH AND JAPANESE

AND SPREAD PROPAGANDA.

WHY DID
THE VIET MINH

FIGHT
THE JAPANESE

WHILE OTHER
ASIAN NATIONALISTS

COLLABORATED?

I APOLOGIZE

BUT THIS IS
A VERY FUNNY QUESTION.

AT THAT TIME

THE JAPANESE HAD ALREADY
OVERTHROWN THE FRENCH

AND BEGUN
TO DOMINATE OUR COUNTRY.

SO OF COURSE,
WE HAD TO FIGHT THE JAPANESE.

NARRATOR:
BY EARLY 1945

VIETNAM WAS SUFFERING
A TERRIBLE FAMINE.

PEOPLE BLAMED
THE FRENCH AND JAPANESE

WHO WERE HOARDING RICE

FEEDING IT
TO JAPANESE TROOPS

AND EVEN EXPORTING IT
TO JAPAN

WHILE AN ESTIMATED
TWO MILLION VIETNAMESE--

OUT OF EIGHT MILLION
IN THE NORTHERN AREAS--DIED.

HOW COME WE SUFFERED IN 1945?

BECAUSE OF THE ARRIVAL

OF THE JAPANESE.

THE FRENCH
WERE ALREADY EXPLOITING US.

AND NOW, THE JAPANESE
WERE EXPLOITING US.

PHILIPPE GRANDJEAN:
THIS IS BITTERLY IRONIC

BECAUSE SINCE MARCH 9

OUR ADMINISTRATION
HAD REALLY STOPPED WORKING.

AND ESPECIALLY

IN GETTING RICE SUPPLIES

TO NORTHERN TONKIN.

THE RICE SUPPLY
WAS NEVER SUFFICIENT.

AND AS WE WAITED
FOR THE HARVEST

FOOD WOULD COME
ON HUGE JUNKS FROM SAIGON

ALONG THE COAST.

AND IT WAS, OF COURSE,
THE FRENCH ADMINISTRATION

THAT SET UP THIS SUPPLY--

WHEREAS THE JAPANESE
COULD NOT CARE LESS.

IT WAS NOT THEIR BUSINESS.

SO MANY PEOPLE DIED OF HUNGER
HERE IN THIS VILLAGE.

I MYSELF
HAD TO BURY FOUR PEOPLE

AND WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH WOOD
TO MAKE COFFINS FOR THEM.

I HAD TO WRAP
THE FOUR CORPSES I BURIED

WITH HEMP CLOTH.

I BURIED FOUR PEOPLE
IN THAT GRAVEYARD OVER THERE.

IN THIS VILLAGE

MORE THAN 250 PEOPLE
DIED OF HUNGER.

I WITNESSED FAMILIES
IN WHICH EVERY MEMBER DIED.

AT THAT TIME

IN OUR ESTIMATE

AT LEAST 40,000
STARVING, POOR PEASANTS

ARRIVED IN HANOI
TO BEG FOR FOOD

AND TO WAIT FOR HANDOUTS--
FOR ALMS.

THE FRENCH DID NOT ORGANIZE
ANY HUNGER RELIEF.

AND THE JAPANESE
SPECIFICALLY FORBADE US

TO CARRY OUT

ANY HUNG-RELIEF EFFORT
OF OUR OWN.

PEOPLE DUG
INTO THE GARBAGE DUMPS

IN ORDER TO FIND
ANY EDIBLE THING AT ALL.

THEY ALSO ATE RATS.

BUT THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH
TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.

EVERY MORNING,
WHEN WE OPENED OUR DOOR

WE SAW
FIVE TO SEVEN CORPSES

OF PEOPLE WHO HAD DIED
THE NIGHT BEFORE.

NARRATOR: THE VIET MINH

ORGANIZED THE PEASANTS

TO SEIZE RICE STOCKS

AND GAINED
TREMENDOUS PRESTIGE.

THIS GAVE THEM
A POLITICAL EDGE

THEY NEVER LOST.

IT'S A LONG, TOUGH ROAD

TO TOKYO.

IT IS LONGER TO GO TO TOKYO

THAN IT IS TO BERLIN--

IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD.

THE DEFEAT OF GERMANY
WILL NOT MEAN

THE END OF THE WAR
AGAINST JAPAN.

NARRATOR: AS THE WAR IN EUROPE
DREW TO A CLOSE

ALLIED ATTENTION
TURNED TO ASIA

AND THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN.

ONE OF THE PRESSING NEEDS
WAS INTELLIGENCE.

THE VIET MINH
BELIEVED ALLIED STATEMENTS

SUPPORTING
THE RIGHTS OF OPPRESSED PEOPLES.

THEY HAD GIVEN THE ALLIES
INFORMATION

ABOUT JAPANESE TROOP MOVEMENTS.

SO THE AMERICANS TURNED
TO THE VIET MINH

AND ITS LEADER,
HO CHI MINH.

HO CHI MINH WAS A NAME

THAT WE RAN INTO OCCASIONALLY

AS ONE OF

THE NATIONALIST LEADERS

AMONG THE VIETNAMESE--

LEADER OF A COMMUNIST GROUP.

BUT WE HAD NO IDEA
WHETHER HE CARRIED ANY WEIGHT

OR ANYTHING ABOUT HIM

UNTIL OUR O.S.S.
WAS ACTIVELY IN THE FIELD

AND WHEN HO CHI MINH BEGAN
HIS VERY HELPFUL OPERATION

OF RESCUING DOWNED FLIERS
WHO HAD COME IN--

FALLEN IN THE JUNGLE.

I FIRST MET HO

ON THE CHINA BORDER

BETWEEN CHINA AND INDOCHINA

IN THE LAST DAYS
OF APRIL OF 1945.

HE WAS QUITE
AN INTERESTING INDIVIDUAL--

VERY SENSITIVE, VERY GENTLE,
RATHER A FRAIL TYPE.

WE SPOKE QUITE AT LENGTH
ABOUT THE GENERAL SITUATION.

WE KNEW
HE WAS A COMMUNIST.

BUT WE ALSO FELT, AS THEY DID--

HE WAS FIRST A NATIONALIST,
AND SECOND, A COMMUNIST.

THAT IS,
HE WAS INTERESTED

IN GETTING
THE INDEPENDENCE OF HIS PEOPLE

AND THEN, HE THOUGHT,
PROBABLY THE BEST THING FOR THEM

WAS THE COMMUNIST TYPE
OF GOVERNMENT.

BUT HE WAS A NATIONALIST,
FIRST AND FOREMOST.

NARRATOR:
THE VIET MINH AGREED

TO HELP THE ALLIES.

MAJOR PATTI SENT
A TRAINING GROUP--

THE "DEER MISSION"--

INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS.

PATTI: THE DEER TEAM WENT IN
AND THEY ORGANIZED--

OUT OF ABOUT 500 VIETNAMESE

WE SELECTED,
WITH THE HELP OF GENERAL GIAP--

SELECTED 200.

WE SPENT THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS
TRAINING THESE YOUNG MEN

INTO THE ART
OF USING AUTOMATIC WEAPONS

DEMOLITION EQUIPMENT

INFILTRATING AND EXFILTRATING
INTO VARIOUS DANGEROUS AREAS.

THERE,
FOR THE FIRST TIME

WE SAW WHAT KIND OF TROOPS
THE VIET MINH WERE.

THEY WERE A VERY WILLING,
FINE YOUNG NATIONALIST--

REALLY, WHAT WE USED TO SAY--
"GUNG HO" TYPE.

THEY WERE WILLING
TO RISK THEIR LIVES

FOR THEIR CAUSE--

THE CAUSE OF INDEPENDENCE
AGAINST THE FRENCH.

NARRATOR: BEFORE HO'S MEN
COULD PROVE THEIR WILLINGNESS

WORLD WAR II WAS OVER.

THE SUDDEN JAPANESE COLLAPSE

TOOK MANY IN FRENCH INDOCHINA
BY SURPRISE.

BUT THE VIET MINH WERE READY

FOR WHAT THEY CALLED
"THE AUGUST REVOLUTION."

DECLARING VIETNAM INDEPENDENT

THEY MARCHED IN
TO TAKE HANOI PEACEFULLY.

HO CHI MINH FORMED
A GOVERNMENT IN HANOI

CAREFULLY MIXING IN

MEMBERS
OF OTHER NATIONALIST GROUPS.

BUT IN THE SOUTH--

AWAY FROM HO'S
MODERATING INFLUENCE--

HIS FOLLOWERS STARTED PURGING
RIVAL NATIONALISTS.

IN REALITY

I DID NOT KNOW

THIS GOVERNMENT IN HANOI.

BUT ONE DAY,
I RECEIVED A TELEGRAM

FROM ALL LEVELS
OF THE POPULATION

ASKING ME
TO MAKE A HISTORIC GESTURE--

THAT IS, TO RESIGN.

THESE PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT,
IF I WERE TO STAY ON THE THRONE

THE ALLIES
WOULD NOT TRUST ME.

THEY BELIEVED

THAT THE GOVERNMENT
OF HO CHI MINH

HAD THE SUPPORT
OF THE AMERICANS.

NARRATOR:
THE EMPEROR RESIGNED.

STILL WITH THE VIET MINH

WAS THE O.S.S.

TWO OR THREE DAYS
AFTER I MET HO

HE ASKED ME
TO STOP IN AND SEE HIM.

HE WANTED TO SHOW ME
A DRAFT

OF THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE

THAT HE WAS GOING TO DECLARE
SEVERAL DAYS LATER.

AND WHEN IT WAS INTERPRETED
TO ME

I WAS QUITE TAKEN ABACK
TO HEAR THE WORDS

OF THE AMERICAN
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE--

WORDS ABOUT LIBERTY, AN LIFE
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS,
ET CETERA.

I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE
MY OWN EARS.

NARRATOR:
ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1945

ON BOARD THE U.S.S. MISSOURI
IN TOKYO BAY

JAPAN FORMALLY SURRENDERED.

AND ON THE SAME DAY,
THROUGHOUT VIETNAM

THE VIETNAMESE CELEBRATED

THEIR SELF-PROCLAIMED
INDEPENDENCE DAY

AND THE FORMATION
OF A NEW COUNTRY:

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF VIETNAM.

IN HANOI,
HO CHI MINH READ A SPEECH
THAT BEGAN:

"ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

"THEY ARE ENDOWED
BY THEIR CREATOR

WITH CERTAIN
INALIENABLE RIGHTS."

I CAN SAY

THAT THE MOST MOVING MOMENT

WAS WHEN PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH

CLIMBED THE STEPS

AND THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
WAS SUNG.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME

THAT THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
OF VIETNAM WAS SUNG

IN AN OFFICIAL CEREMONY.

UNCLE HO THEN READ
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

WHICH WAS A SHORT DOCUMENT.

AS HE WAS READING,
UNCLE HO STOPPED AND ASKED:

"COMPATRIOTS,
CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

THIS SIMPLE QUESTION
WENT INTO THE HEARTS

OF EVERYONE THERE.

AFTER A MOMENT OF SILENCE,
THEY ALL SHOUTED:

"YES, WE HEAR YOU!"

AND I CAN SAY

THAT WE DID NOT JUST SHOUT
WITH OUR MOUTHS

BUT WITH ALL OUR HEARTS--

THE HEARTS
OF OVER 400,000 PEOPLE

STANDING IN THE SQUARE THEN.

AFTER UNCLE HO FINISHED READING
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

AN AIRPLANE--A SMALL ONE--
CIRCLED OVER US.

WE DID NOT KNOW
WHOSE PLANE IT WAS.

WE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS
A VIETNAMESE PLANE.

BUT WHEN IT SWOOPED DOWN
OVER US

WE RECOGNIZED
THE AMERICAN FLAG.

THE CROWD CHEERED
ENTHUSIASTICALLY.

HO CHI MINH

WAS ON A SILVER PLATTER

IN 1945.

WE HAD HIM.

HE WAS LEANING,
NOT TOWARDS THE SOVIET UNION.

HE TOLD ME

THAT THE U.S.S.R.
COULD NOT ASSIST HIM

BECAUSE THEY WERE IN NO POSITION
TO HELP ANYONE.

SO, REALLY,
WE HAD HO CHI MINH

WE HAD THE VIET MINH

WE HAD THE INDOCHINA QUESTION
IN OUR HAND.

NARRATOR:
FEW AMERICAN OFFICIALS

SHARED MAJOR PATTI'S ASSESSMENT.

HO APPEALED
TO PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN

BUT HE WOULD PROBABLY
HAVE ACCEPTED

ANYONE'S SUPPORT.

TRUMAN DID NOT RESPOND
TO HO'S LETTERS.

HE HAD BEEN IN OFFICE
ONLY FOUR MONTHS

IN AUGUST, 1945

AND HAD NOT HAD TIME

TO FORMULATE A POLICY
ON INDOCHINA.

THERE WAS QUITE A DIVISION
IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT

OVER INDOCHINA.

BOTH THE FAR EASTERN OFFICE
AND THE EUROPEAN OFFICE

WERE IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT

THAT WE WANTED
A STRONG FRANCE

RECOVERED IN EUROPE

FROM THE TRAUMA OF VICHY
AND THE DEFEAT IN THE WAR.

BUT THE EUROPEAN DIVISION FELT

THAT TO HELP GET THE FRENCH
BACK ON THEIR FEET

WE SHOULD GO ALONG
WITH PRACTICALLY ANYTHING

THAT THE FRENCH WANTED.

WE, IN SOUTHEAST ASIA DIVISION

AND THE FAR EASTERN OFFICE,
ON THE OTHER HAND

WERE VERY CONSCIOUS

OF THE TREMENDOUS SURGE
OF NATIONALISM

THAT WAS TAKING PLACE.

AND THE RESULT WAS

THE DEPARTMENT HAD
NO OFFICIAL POLICY

TOWARD INDOCHINA.

NARRATOR:
THE ALLIES HAD WORKED OUT

A COMPROMISE PLAN
TO DISARM THE JAPANESE.

ABOVE THE 16th PARALLEL

THE CHINESE
WOULD TAKE THE SURRENDER

OF JAPANESE TROOPS.

THE BRITISH WOULD DO THE SAME
IN THE SOUTH.

THEY ARRIVED IN SAIGON
IN EARLY SEPTEMBER.

WE HAD COME OUT OF BURMA

AND IT WAS LITERALLY LIKE

GOING INTO

A BEAUTIFUL SLICE OF PARIS.

IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE
AFTER WHAT WE HAD BEEN THROUGH.

AND I THINK
THAT WE HAD NOT BEEN WARNED

THAT THERE WAS
A POTENTIAL POLITICAL SITUATION

ON OUR HANDS.

AND WE WERE DRIVEN INTO SAIGON

AND THERE WERE BANNERS OUT,
SAYING:

"WELCOME
TO THE ALLIED COMMISSION"

IN ENGLISH.

THE SITUATION WAS APPARENTLY
COMPLETELY PEACEFUL.

THEN THE LOCAL PEOPLE--

WHOM WE CAME TO KNOW
AS THE ANNAMITES--

STARTED DIGGING UP THE ROAD
AT NIGHT.

AND IT MOVED ON FROM THERE
TO A SITUATION

WHERE THERE WAS A LOT
OF INCENDIARISM AT NIGHT--

BECOMING
A MORE DIFFICULT SITUATION.

NARRATOR: THE BRITISH COMMANDER,
GENERAL DOUGLAS GRACEY

HAD LIMITED
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE.

HIS ORDERS WERE
TO DISARM THE JAPANESE

AND MAINTAIN LAW AND ORDER.

HIS STAFF OFFICERS INCLUDED
BRIGADIER D.E. TAUNTON.

IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD

FOR ME AT THAT TIME.

THE JAPANESE WERE IN CONTROL

AND WERE ARMED.

THE FRENCH WERE IMPRISONED
BY THE JAPANESE.

AND MY JOB WAS
TO RELEASE THEM.

AND THE ANNAMITES APPEARED

TO BE IN CONTROL
OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

AND SO ON, AND SO FORTH.

SO I WENT THROUGH
A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD

OF TRYING TO REARM THE FRENCH,
TRYING TO DISARM THE ANNAMITES

AND NOT BOTHERING VERY MUCH
ABOUT THE JAPANESE

WHO WERE WELL BEHAVED

AND I LEFT THEM
WITH THEIR SMALL ARMS

FOR A WHILE.

HE DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE

TO DESTROY OUR ADMINISTRATION

IN ORDER TO RE-INSTALL

A PRO-FRENCH ADMINISTRATION.

TO DO THIS

HE INTENTIONALLY WENT AGAINST
ALLIED ORDERS

TO DISARM
THE 100,000 JAPANESE TROOPS.

INSTEAD OF DISARMING THEM,
HE DISARMED US--

THE REVOLUTIONARY FORCES
OF VIETNAM.

HE USED THE JAPANESE TROOPS

AND REARMED
THE FRENCH LEGIONNAIRE REGIMENTS

TO FIGHT AGAINST
THE VIETNAMESE REVOLUTION.

AND EVERYTHING GOT
A BIT OUT OF HAND.

AND THE ONLY LOGICAL THING TO DO
WAS TO REARM THE JAPANESE

WHO WERE HIGHLY TRAINED,
THEY HAD SURRENDERED

AND THEY WERE, AT THAT TIME,
RELIABLE.

IT WAS A BIT ODD TO DO IT--
I ADMIT THAT--

BUT IT WORKED.

HOW DID
YOU FEEL?

DID YOU
APPROVE?

I PERSONALLY THOUGHT
IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO

BECAUSE I HAD BEEN DEALING
WITH THE JAPANESE QUITE A LOT

ANSWERING THEIR PROBLEMS
ABOUT TERMS OF SURRENDER

AND I FELT IT WAS FAR BETTER,
AND I FELT HAPPIER

TO HAV
IN CONTROL OF THE KEY POINTS

RATHER THAN TRIGGER-HAPPY
AND UNTRAINED FRENCHMEN--

AS SOME OF THEM WERE--

RUNNING ABOUT

D OFFERING THEMSELVES
AS TARGETS

TO THE ANNAMITES

AND THE ANNAMITES TAKING
FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT.

WE DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE
TO ACCOMMODATE GRACEY.

HE CAME HERE

WITH ONLY TWO BATTALIONS
OF INDIAN TROOPS.

BUT WE STILL DID OUR BEST
TO HELP HIM.

WE TURNED OVER OUR HEADQUARTERS
TO HIM.

AND WE ENABLED HIS TROOPS
TO MOVE ABOUT FREELY.

THEN HE FORBADE US
TO MOVE AROUND

AND IMPOSED A CURFEW.

BUT GRACEY'S TROOPS
AND THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS

COULD MOVE AROUND

AND HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS

TO MOUNT A SNEAK ATTACK ON US
ON SEPTEMBER 23.

THE ORDERS,
AS I REMEMBER THEM, WERE:

ON THE 23rd

THE FRENCH WOULD TAKE OVER
CERTAIN KEY POINTS--

QUICKLY, QUIETLY--

FROM THE ANNAMITES

ASSISTED BY MY TROOPS

WHEN NECESSARY.

MY TROOPS WOULD ALSO TAKE OVER
THE BANK AND THE POST OFFICE.

AND ALL THIS
WOULD BE ACHIEVED QUIETLY

IN THE NIGHT.

IT WENT PERFECTLY QUIETLY,
AND ALL RIGHT

BUT IT BROKE DOWN
AS THE DAY WENT ON

THE FOLLOWING DAY--

THAT THE FRENCH,
AS I SAID EARLIER

BECAME OVEREXCITED

AND ALL SORTS
OF SHOOTING AND NOISE

WAS GOING ON.

NARRATOR:
THE DAY AFTER THE COUP

FRENCH TROOPS

RELEASED FROM MONTHS
OF JAPANESE CAPTIVITY

WENT ON A RAMPAGE

ARRESTING AND ATTACKING
VIETNAMESE.

GENERAL GRACEY AND HIS MEN
HAD NO DOUBTS

THAT LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT
HAD RETURNED TO SAIGON.

HE HAD ABSOLUTELY

NO MANDATE WHATEVER

TO START TALKING

ABOUT HANDING OVER

FRENCH INDOCHINA

TO ANYBODY
OTHER THAN THE FRENCH.

I NEVER LOST THE IMPRESSION

THAT, IN DUE COURSE

THE FRENCH WOULD HAVE
TO TAKE OVER

CONTROL AND RESPONSIBILITY

WHEN THEY WERE IN A POSITION,
AND STRONG ENOUGH TO DO SO.

IT NEVER ENTERED MY HEAD

THAT I WAS GOING
TO HAND BACK CONTROL

TO ANNAMITES!

IT WAS AN OBVIOUS MOVE--

THAT THEY WERE GOING
TO RESTORE THE FRENCH TO POWER

IN INDOCHINA.

I THINK

OUR EUROPEAN DIVISION
PROBABLY SILENTLY APPLAUDED.

WE SILENTLY GNASHED OUR TEETH.

BUT THERE WAS NOTHING
THAT WE COULD DO ABOUT IT.

THIS WAS A THEATER

WHICH WE REALLY ONLY HAD
NOMINAL PARTICIPATION IN.

NARRATOR:
AMERICA'S WATCHING

WAS BEING DONE
BY O.S.S. MEN.

ONE OF THEM--
LIEUTENANT COLONEL PETER DEWEY--

ESPECIALLY ANNOYED
THE FRENCH REPRESENTATIVE--

COLONEL CEDILE--
AND GENERAL GRACEY.

WHEN GRACEY
AND THE FRENCH REPRESENTATIVE
FOUND OUT

THAT WE WERE MEETING WITH DEWEY

THEY WERE EXTREMELY ANGRY.

AND ALTHOUGH
THEY DID NOT SAY IT PUBLICLY

THEY SHOWED
THAT THEY WERE CLEARLY AGAINST

THE ACTIVITIES OF DEWEY.

COLONEL DEWEY OF THE O.S.S.
WAS A LAW TO HIMSELF.

HE HAD ARRIVED

AND ATTACHED HIMSELF
TO THE CONTROL COMMISSION

I THINK,
A LITTLE TO CEDILE'S SURPRISE

AS WELL AS GRACEY'S SURPRISE

AND HE WAS A MAN WHO ACTED,
ALWAYS, ON HIS OWN.

NARRATOR:
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE O.S.S. MEN

AND GENERAL GRACEY

DETERIORATED.

AFTER A DISPUTE,
GRACEY SUGGESTED, OR ORDERED--

IT'S NOT CLEAR WHICH--

THAT PETER DEWEY LEAVE SAIGON.

ON SEPTEMBER 26

COLONEL DEWEY SET OUT WITH
HIS FRIEND, CAPTAIN BLUECHEL

IN A LESS-THAN-CLEARLY-MARKED
JEEP.

AS WE WERE DRIVING ALONG

WE CAME TO A CORNER--

WE HAD TO TURN TO THE RIGHT--

AND ABOUT 10 YARDS FURTHER DOWN,
AS WE TURNED

WE ENCOUNTERED A ROADBLOCK--

NOTHING FORMIDABLE.

BUT IT NECESSITATED FOR US
TO MAKE A REVERSE S

TO GET THROUGH.

THIS WAS ALONGSIDE
THE SAIGON GOLF COURSE.

SO, AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH
THE S PART OF THE ROADBLOCK

WE SAW THREE ANNAMESE
IN THE DITCH TO OUR LEFT.

PETER SHOOK HIS FIST AT THEM.

HE YELLED SOMETHING IN FRENCH.

WHAT HE SAID,
I DON'T KNOW

BECAUSE I DON'T SPEAK FRENCH
OR UNDERSTAND IT.

AT THAT POINT,
A MACHINE GUN OPENED FIRE

AND THE BURST HIT PETER DEWEY
RIGHT IN THE HEAD--

IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD.

IT LOOKED LIKE

PART OF HIS LOWER JAW
HAD BEEN SHOT AWAY

AND THE JEEP CONTINUED THEN
TOWARDS THE DITCH

AND IT ROLLED OVER
ON ITS SIDE.

THE FIRING CONTINUED

BUT THE CHASSIS OF THE JEEP
PROTECTED ME.

THE MACHINE GUN BURST
DIDN'T TOUCH ME.

JUST LUCKY.

WE TRIED OUR BEST
TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED

BUT THERE WAS NOTHING
WE COULD DO.

AND THE QUESTION WAS

WHETHER THERE WAS ANYTHING
WE SHOULD TRY TO DO.

BECAUSE I SAY

THAT WAS A CASE OF, REALLY,
OF JUST...OF A MURDER

RATHER THAN A MILITARY ACTION.

TURNS OUT THAT PETER DEWEY

WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN
TO BE KILLED IN VIETNAM.

CAPTIONED BY
THE CAPTION CENTER
WGBH BOSTON