Word: duong
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Through the moonlit streets of Saigon at 1 a.m. Thursday, armored cars, a dozen M24 light tanks, and truckloads of troops in battle gear moved cautiously into position. Paratroopers and marines quietly surrounded the houses occupied by South Viet Nam's Chief of State, General Duong Van ("Big") Minh, and four other top members of his ruling junta. With no opposition from the police guards on duty at each house, squads of soldiers efficiently swooped on the sleeping generals, knocked politely on their doors, and swiftly carried them off without firing a shot in anger...
...General Duong Van ("Big") Minh retained the title of Chief of State, but gave his second job of commander in chief to Defense Minister General Tran Van Don. The latter, in turn, handed his post as chief of the joint general staff to another general, Le Van Kim. General Ton That Dinh gave up his command of the III Corps, which covers the northern half of the Mekong Delta; he had been trying to hold down the troop command along with the post of national security chief. Dinh was named Interior Minister, which gives him responsibility for the fortified hamlet...
...which feeds the capital. For all the fanfare with which they were welcomed by Diem's critics, the generals who succeeded the slain President have demonstrated an unsettling lack of political leadership; recently, the civilian chiefs of nine northern provinces relayed a plea to junta chairman Major General Duong Van ("Big") Minh: "Please send us orders...
...officials maintain that the generals are quietly accomplishing much beneath the surface; considered an important achievement is the junta's start at winning over the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai sects, many of whose members had collaborated with the Viet Cong. But the junta chairman, Lieut. General Duong Van ("Big") Minh, seems reluctant to wield power, and the outsized, 22-member military Revolutionary Council has taken few outwardly bold steps. Reported TIME Correspondent Murray Gart: "None of this proves that the generals cannot do the job of running South Viet Nam. It is too soon to tell...
Elsewhere government troops, many under new commanders, counterattacked more vigorously and even seized the initiative. Lieut. General Duong Van Minh and his ruling junta seemed more willing than Diem to risk casualties. In the south, 800 guerrillas staged a predawn assault on Chala, overran half the outpost, but were repulsed by savage machine-gun fire. When paratroopers and B-26 bombers hurried to the rescue, the Reds shot down one B26. Yet the counterblow was effective; villagers reported that the fleeing Viet Cong suffered approximately 400 casualties. Northeast of Saigon, government troops ambushed a Viet Cong battalion, killed or wounded...