Sept. 13, 1964 - A coup aimed at toppling Premier Nguyen Khanh collapsed early today and a spokesman for the military forces loyal to the Premier said the leaders of units involved had returned “to their operational areas to fight the Viet Cong.”
“The trouble of yesterday no longer exists,” Air Force Commander Nguyen Cao Ky told a news conference.
With Ky, whose decision to support Khanh played a big part in aborting the coup, were the commanders of the navy, the marines, the airborne troops, and the army’s four corps, including Brig. Gen. Duong Van Duc, whose IV Corps helped spearhead the bloodless coup yesterday.
Duc said today that he attacked the government because there were Communists in its ranks. “If this goes on, it will be catastrophic to the government,” he added.
Duc said he was going to propose to the government a purge of all alleged Viet Cong elements from every agency of the national administration.
Former Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Lam Van Phat, who was reported to be the key man behind the coup, was not at the press conference and presumably was one of those who had returned to his job of battling the Reds.
Khanh and the acting Chief of State, Maj. Gen. Duong Van Minh, who together with Gen. Tran Van Khiem form the temporary triumvirate ruling South Vietnam, were not at the press conference either. They were reported to be at the coastal resort of Cap Saint Jacques.
In Washington, the Johnson Administration declared “full support” for the South Vietnamese government of Gen. Khanh and warned leaders of a would-be coup against any interference.
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