Word: diem
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Musical Interludes. With the coming of dark, a grey drizzle began to fall over the city, and the coup leaders moved in toward the most important target of all-the big Gia Long palace, sheltering Diem, his brother Nhu, and aides. Periodically, Diem's own voice blared out from loudspeakers in the palace grounds, exhorting loyal troops to keep up the fight. "We shall not give in," he cried, his messages interspersed with patches of martial music. Then an eerie silence fell over the huge estate with its seven-foot high fences topped by barbed wire. The rebels were...
...from several side streets, the attacking columns began pouring point-blank fire-from tanks, cannons, machine guns and rifles-at the protective walls. Back came a murderous counterfire, everything Diem's defenders had left. First one Diem tank caught fire and exploded in a tower of smoke and flame. Then another was knocked out of action. Two of the rebels' tanks were also destroyed...
...Final Push. With huge holes now gaping in the fences, and the defenders scattering inside the grounds, the way was clear for the final push. Then suddenly, at 6:15 a.m., everything fell silent again. A rebel general, who throughout the battle had been in constant touch with Diem and Nhu by telephone, had called for a five-minute grace period to allow the besieged President and his party to emerge...
...came out, and the cannon firing resumed, smashing windows, splintering doors, knocking chunks off the palace walls. The riflemen, belly-flat on the ground, sniped happily at Diem's last-ditch supporters. The battle was clearly over, and 17 minutes later, by dawn's first light, reported TIME Correspondent Murray Gart, "I could see a white flag being waved from a first-floor window on the palace's southwest corner. But there was more shooting from the palace. Then the white flag waved again and firing stopped. At first cautiously, then freely, the camouflage-suited rebels began...
After all their effort, the rebel soldiers decided that a little looting was in order. Merrily, they ran from room to room, ripping down curtains for souvenirs, grabbing pieces of china. One soldier grabbed a calendar that bore Diem's picture, stuffed it in his shirt. Another made off with a two-foot Japanese doll that he hugged fondly to his breast...