South Vietnamese Army Paratroopers Attempt to Overthrow President Ngo Dinh Diem

Three battalions of elite South Vietnamese Army paratroopers attempt to topple Diem’s government. They fail to secure Diem’s Independence Palace, and their plan falls apart when loyal army units enter the capital. The attempt is symptomatic of a growing dissatisfaction with Diem’s policies in the South Vietnamese Army officer corps. Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, believe that the United States has encouraged this coup, which is untrue. But it exacerbates an already tense relationship between the United States and South Vietnam, as Diem has grown increasingly irritated with the United States’ pressure to implement government reforms in South Vietnam.1