1965 South Vietnamese coup
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On February 19, 1965, some units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam commanded by General Lâm Văn Phát and Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo launched a coup against General Nguyễn Khánh, the head of South Vie
Maxwell Taylor, the US Ambassador to South Vietnam, was an opponent of Khánh and encouraged the other South Vietnamese officers to launch a coup.
Thi (left) and Thiệu (right) during the 1960s. Thi helped stop the coup and overthrow Khánh, while Thiệu was regarded as a potential leader of a coup against Khánh.
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, pictured here in 1962, was the headquarters of both the US and South Vietnamese military and a key target in any coup.
William Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam, tried to organize some forces to stop the coup and overthrow the incumbent Khánh.
The September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt took place before dawn on September 13, 1964, when the ruling military junta of South Vietnam, led by General Nguyễn Khánh, was threatened by a coup at
Kỳ was prominent in putting down the coup.
