Student Work

R E P U B L I C of V I E T N A M

Form of Authority~Mode of Death~Reverberations~Regime Transformation

[photo: Portrait of the Ngo family: 1963]

[photo: Monk holds the burned heart of Thich Quang Duc]

Ngo Dinh Diem, the son of a Catholic mandarin and a staunch anti-communist who cultivated key relationships with American officials while in exile at Michigan State University, emerged as the leader of the Republic in 1954. This portrait of the Ngo family bears an uncanny resemblance to maps used by the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and the U.S. military. What is absent from the contours and numerical codes are the faces of this powerful, ruling family indebted to a colonial regime and nostalgic for a dynastic one.

Mapping the Ngo Regime

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In the summer of 1963 Thich Quang Duc, the first monk to immolate himself, became a symbol of the regime's failure to secure the hearts of the people. On November 1, 1963, the military staged a dramatic raid on the Presidential Palace. The Revolutionary Council proclaimed the deaths of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother accidental suicides. In their manifesto, the Council promised a corrupt-free government dedicated to the freedom of belief so long as all citizens committed themselves to the struggle against communist insurgency.

[photo: Monk holds the burned heart of Thich Quang Duc]

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The Hearts and Minds of the People

A succession of coups led by various military leaders followed the November 1, 1963 Revolution. Meanwhile, both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front continued their recruitment of young men. In the name of protecting the Free World and promoting capitalist interests, the United States drastically increased its insertion of men, money, and materiel into the Republic.

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Free World for Sale

After April 1975, Viet Nam was reunified and the battle to consummate the union was just beginning. The new regime was announced by placards of Ho Chi Minh flags bearing the red star, and Soviet-made tanks. Fearing reprisals from the Hanoi government, thousands of people fled Viet Nam. Many who did not were confined to re-education camps and their families denied employment and education opportunities.

Iron-clad Victory

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