HOW U.S. GENERAL SAVED SAIGON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000400230024-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 16, 1999
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: March 10, 1965
• Content Type: NSPR

NEWS
Sanitized - Approved-1261e :
Ua A3o'~ In "Sate
CPYRGHT
.,. 1VI I.VLIYI vr. atcurrrYr, IT HAPPENED again Feb. ,may x adz f
out had seized Saigon airport. K
civil war. g Y
could easily have ended with g to then Hoa airport 12 miles
nearly 2,000,000 residents and The rebels under Phat and
the complete disruption of war ~,. Col. Pham Ngoc Thao oc-
efforts against the Viet Cong. `a cupied .Saigon airport with
Both times disaster was tanks. Virtual hostages inside
headed off largely by an af- the airport. compound were
fable, middle-aged American, some 6,000 American service-
fighter pilot with an except', -men and a vital hub of all
tional flair for diplomacy and ? anti-Communist air- activity in
He is Brig, Gen. RobcrtR. Ky threatened to bomb Sai-
Rowland, 47, senior adviser to ~3 f on air
ort and rebel stron
-
p
g
the Vietnamese air force. points in the city at 5:30 p.m.
Rowland is known through-
if the rebels did not capitulate.
out the Vietnamese general? $
fk *t Rowland was inside the rebel-
staff as a peacemaker and
held airport and began talk-
xq_
friend: To Brig. Gen. Nguyen
ing.
Cao, Ky, commander of the ' t
Vietnamese air force, Rowland KNOWING the professional
is "my best friend." GEN. NGUYEN CAO KY capability of the Vietnamese : GEN. ROBERT ROWLAND
His ultimatum . air force, "he said" I was wor-
ON SEPT. 13, a strong ried when I heard that Ky was worried him plenty.
rebel force under the com the bombing of Saigon. Row- at Bien Hoa air base threaten
mand of Brig. Gen. Lam Van land also Phat for three hours talking
Phat rolled into Saigon, seiz- "Phat contributed to the tog astrike
had tes iredon 's Sal- $o Ky by radio. T knew that''
Soothing. of tempers that led {
ing all of the capital but the , gon headquarters s and Sal-
was if one of Ky's fighters then
::airport. Ky, who remained to,the cllapse of the coup. holding ' three of Ky's officers. buzzing ' the airport dropped
l o y a 1 to' the government,' He worked around the clock' hostage. I felt this- was ?a di- one bomb the whole American'
threatened to blast the rebels with Vietnamese officers, per-'; rect affront, to Ky as air force and Vietnamese joint effort'l
and Saigon, suading them gently but firm-,, commander and, underptood would have gone down the?
Delicate diplomatic mane-I ly not to start shooting at his anger drain,
livers, by Rowland., prevented' each Hother ;;~ ;, "I ' had been sitting wltit ""And that's what I told Ky.
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Sanitized -.Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400230024-3