{"id":519,"date":"2021-11-01T02:36:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T02:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/?p=519"},"modified":"2021-11-01T02:36:51","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T02:36:51","slug":"the-watershed-moment-in-the-vietnamese-20th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/the-watershed-moment-in-the-vietnamese-20th-century\/","title":{"rendered":"The Watershed Moment in The Vietnamese 20th Century"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_521\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-521\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-521\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-521\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by Rob van der Meijden from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p>More than half a century has passed since the deaths of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> (president) Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u00ecnh Di\u1ec7m (Di\u1ec7m) of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and John F. Kennedy (JFK), of the USA. Each November, on the anniversary of their deaths, discussions resume about \u201cwhat if\u201d, \u201cthe conspiracies\u201d, \u201cthe unknown\u201d, \u201cthe untold,\u201d etc. Both these men were at the center of momentous and history-altering events.<\/p>\n<p>Since I was young. I have always had an interest in history, and have been intrigued by the deaths of these two <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em><em>.<\/em> In my opinion, their deaths <em>\u0111\u00e1nh<\/em><em> d\u1ea5u m\u1ed9t <\/em><em>b\u01b0\u1edbc<\/em><em> ngo\u1eb7c <\/em><em>trong l\u1ecbch<\/em><em> s\u1eed Vi\u1ec7t Nam c\u1ee7a th\u1ebf k\u1ef7 20<\/em> (marked a watershed moment in 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century Vietnamese history).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to remember the date of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em><em>\u2019s<\/em> death because it happened on November 2<sup>nd<\/sup>, a day after ng\u00e0y <em>l\u1ec5 c\u00e1c th\u00e1nh<\/em> (All-Saint\u2019s Day). I find it quite interesting that <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Diem<\/em> and JFK have a lot of similarities to their tragic stories.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_526\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-526\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem-350x161.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem-350x161.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem-1024x472.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem-1536x708.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/NDDiem.jpg 1613w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u00ecnh Di\u1ec7m &#8211; Image by Author<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_528\" style=\"width: 166px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-528\" class=\" wp-image-528\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920-290x350.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"156\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920-290x350.jpg 290w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920-847x1024.jpg 847w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920-768x928.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920-1271x1536.jpg 1271w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/john-f-kennedy-ge667eca20_1920.jpg 1589w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 156px) 100vw, 156px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-528\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IPresident Kennedy &#8211; mage by WikiImages from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>COINCIDENTAL FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Both were the first Catholic presidents of their respective countries.<\/li>\n<li>Both were assassinated.<\/li>\n<li>Both died in the same month and same year, November 1963.<\/li>\n<li>Both came from prominent political families.<\/li>\n<li>Both had brothers who were also assassinated.<\/li>\n<li>Their deaths changed the course of the Vietnam War and the trajectory of American involvement in Vietnam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I remember a conversation with my late father when we happened to discuss the <em>cu\u1ed9c<\/em><em> \u0111\u1ea3o ch\u00e1nh<\/em> (coup d\u2019\u00e9tat) in 1963 that resulted in the death of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em><em>.<\/em> My father told me after learning of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7<\/em><em>m <\/em>and his brother\u2019s deaths, he told an American military advisor, his acquaintance in Saigon at that time, about his prediction:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There would be political chaos within the South Vietnamese regime because there would be nobody with the ability or legitimacy to capably lead.<\/li>\n<li>Without a strong and independent leader like <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em>, he expected the South to lose to the North in just a matter of time.<\/li>\n<li>The mistake the Americans made by giving up on the <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em> administration and supporting the <em>cu\u1ed9c<\/em><em> \u0111\u1ea3o ch\u00e1nh<\/em> lead by General Duong Van Minh would cause a tremendous cost to both countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He was right. It all came to pass. After <em>s\u1ef1 <\/em><em>c\u1ed1 l\u1eadt \u0111\u1ed5 <\/em>ch\u00ednh quy\u1ec1n Di\u1ec7m (overthrow of Diem\u2019s regime event), the first Republic of Vietnam collapsed. South Vietnam fell into years of political chaos. Specifically, between 1963 and 1967, there were seven successive governments that changed hands, including three coup d\u2019\u00e9tats. The war escalated with the direct involvement of America in Vietnam. The subsequent Vietnamese governments fully relied on the support of the United States to prop the state.<\/p>\n<p>To the north, the decision that the United States supported the removal of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em> was considered a great surprise gift that the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) received. It gave momentum to the communist National Liberation Front of South Vietnam to advance its interests.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHAT IF<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As for the \u201cwhat if\u201d theories, the most debated points are these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> Di\u1ec7m wasn\u2019t assassinated, would the Republic of South Vietnam have survived, leading to millions of southern Vietnamese not needing to resort to fleeing the country as refugees?<\/li>\n<li>If <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> Kennedy not been assassinated, the United States might not have deepened its direct involvement in Vietnam and would not have lost 58,000 American casualties in the Vietnam War.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The past is in the past. What is important are the lessons that we learn from past events to guide our future.<\/p>\n<p>For many of the older Vietnamese generation, like my parents, who endured the watershed moments of 20<sup>th<\/sup> century Vietnam, the assassination of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m<\/em> and the tragedies his family members endured, are flashbulb moments, similar to American memories of JFK\u2019s tragic death and the tragedies the Kennedy family has likewise endured. It is why the anniversary of <em>t\u1ed5ng<\/em><em> th\u1ed1ng<\/em> <em>Di\u1ec7m\u2019s <\/em>death is still a solemn occasion for many Vietnamese.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vocabulary<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>\u0110\u1ea3o <\/em><em>ch\u00e1<\/em><em>nh<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Coup d\u2019etat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>L\u1eadt \u0111\u1ed5 ch\u00ednh quy\u1ec1n<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Overthrown the Government<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>\u00c1m s\u00e1t<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Assassinate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>L\u1ec5 t\u01b0\u1edfng ni\u1ec7m<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Anniversary<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>Ch\u00ednh tr\u1ecb<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Politic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>Ch\u00ednh kh\u00e1ch<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Politician<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>Ch\u00ednh s\u00e1ch<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Policy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"312\"><em>Ch\u00ednh quy\u1ec1n<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"312\">Regime<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div id=\"attachment_522\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-522\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-522\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/jfk-g75d80f45a_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-522\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by Dennis Larsen from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/11\/grave-gf8fa928a3_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>More than half a century has passed since the deaths of t\u1ed5ng th\u1ed1ng (president) Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u00ecnh Di\u1ec7m (Di\u1ec7m) of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and John F. Kennedy (JFK), of the USA. Each November, on the anniversary of their deaths, discussions resume about \u201cwhat if\u201d, \u201cthe conspiracies\u201d, \u201cthe unknown\u201d, \u201cthe untold,\u201d etc. Both these&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/the-watershed-moment-in-the-vietnamese-20th-century\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[2111,178,13],"tags":[551035,551039,551034,551038,551037,551036,551033],"class_list":["post-519","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-history","category-vocabulary","tag-anniversary","tag-assassination","tag-coup-detat","tag-jfk","tag-kennedy","tag-ngo-dinh-diem","tag-watershed-moment"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":529,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions\/529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}