Joseph Abraham Mendenhall (January 15, 1920 – January 5, 2013) was a

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

official, known for his advisory work during the

Kennedy administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 ...

on policy towards

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. He was best known for his participation in the

Krulak Mendenhall mission Krulak is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Charles C. Krulak (born 1942), 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1995–1999 * Victor H. Krulak (1913–2008), decorated United States Marine Corps officer See also * Krulak Mendenh ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

in 1963 with General

Victor Krulak Victor Harold Krulak (January 7, 1913 – December 29, 2008) was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Krulak, considered a visionary by fellow Marines, was the author of ''First to Figh ...

. Their vastly divergent conclusions led U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

to ask if they had visited the same country. Mendenhall continued his work in the Indochina region after

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

assumed the presidency in wake of Kennedy's assassination.

Early life and education

Born in Calvert, Maryland, Mendenhall graduated from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

in 1940. Mendenhall also studied at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...

. He then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during World War II and was commissioned captain. Mendenhall served in the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

and was stationed in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and worked at the U.S. State Department in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Mendenhall also studied at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Col ...

in 1962 and 1963.

Krulak Mendenhall mission

Background

In May, civil unrest broke out in South Vietnam following the Hue Vesak shootings. Nine Buddhists were gunned down by the regime of President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

after defying a government ban on the flying of

Buddhist flag The Buddhist flag is a flag designed in the late 19th century as a universal symbol of Buddhism. It is used by Buddhists throughout the world. History The flag was originally designed in 1885 by the Colombo Committee, in Colombo, Ceylon (''n ...

s on

Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemora ...

, the birthday of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and marching in an anti-government protest. Following the shootings, Buddhist leaders began to lobby Diem for religious equality and compensation and justice for the families of the victims. With Diem remaining recalcitrant, the protests escalated. The self-immolation of Buddhist monk

Thich Quang Duc Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: *Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist *Thích Quảng Độ (192 ...

at a busy Saigon intersection was a public relations disaster for the Diem regime, and as protests continued, the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces ( vi, Lực Lượng Đặc Biệt Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa or ') were the elite military units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Following the establishment of the Repub ...

loyal to his brother

Ngo Dinh Nhu A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, raided pagodas across the country on August 21, killing hundreds and causing extensive damage under the declaration of martial law. Universities and high schools were closed amid mass pro-Buddhist protests. In the meantime, the fight against the

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

insurgency had begun to lose intensity as rumours spread of sectarian infighting among

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...

(ARVN) troops. This was compounded by coup plotting by various ARVN officers which distracted attention from fighting the Vietcong insurgency. In the aftermath of the pagoda raids, the Kennedy administration sent

Cable 243 DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high-profile message sent on August 24, 1963, by the United States Department of State to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US ambassador to South Vietnam. Th ...

to the

US Embassy, Saigon The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Co ...

, ordering it to explore alternative leadership possibilities.

Expedition

A fact finding expedition dispatched by the

in early September 1963. The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate the progress of the war by South Vietnam and the American military advisers against the

insurgency. The mission was led by U.S Marine Corps Major General

and Mendenhall. The four-day whirlwind trip was dispatched on the same day of a

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

meeting on September 6 and came in the wake of increasingly strained relations between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and

. Civil unrest gripped that nation as Buddhist demonstrations against the religious discrimination of President

escalated. Following the raids on Buddhist pagodas on August 21 which left an estimated triple figure death toll, the US had authorised investigations into a possible coup in a cable to US Ambassador

Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and Republican United States senator from Massachusetts in both Senate seats in non-consecutive terms of service and a United States ambassador. He was considered ...

as South Vietnam descended into chaos. The report of the conclusion was that Krulak presented an extremely optimistic report on the progress of the war, while Mendenhall presented an extremely bleak picture of military failure and public discontent. The divergent reports led US President

to famously ask his two advisers whether they had visited the same country. "Viet Nam Was JFK's Greatest Failure"
November 26, 1965, Herald-Journal The inconclusive report saw a follow-up mission sent to Vietnam, the McNamara Taylor mission, led by U.S. Defense Secretary

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Maxwell Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, ni ...

Later career

In January 1964, Mendenhall became director of the State Department's Vietnam Working Group and in July he became the director of the Office of Far Eastern Regional Affairs. In 1965, he was named director of the

U.S. Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

(USAID) Mission in Laos, then the second largest such agency in the world. In 1968, he returned to Washington as deputy director, and later head of the USAID Vietnam Bureau. Mendenhall served as American ambassador to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

from 1972 to 1975.

References

Bibliography

*
Ariz. couple had adventures, role in history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendenhall, Joseph 1920 births 2013 deaths People from Cecil County, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland United States Army personnel of World War II Harvard Law School alumni National War College alumni American people of the Vietnam War University of Delaware alumni United States Department of State officials Ambassadors of the United States to Madagascar Ambassadors of the United States to the Comoros United States Foreign Service personnel United States Army officers 20th-century American diplomats