Embassy of the United States, Saigon

The US Embassy, Saigon was first established in Saigon, South Vietnam in 1950. It was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Cong attack during the Tet Offensive which helped turn US public opinion against the war and the helicopter evacuation during the Fall of Saigon.

1950-1965

The United States granted recognition to the State of Vietnam led by the Bao Dai Government in 1950 and a U.S. Embassy was established in Saigon that year.

Following the Geneva Accords of 1954 and the subsequent partitioning into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the United States did not extend diplomatic recognition to North Vietnam]].

The first US Embassy was located at 39 Ham Nghi Boulevard and the original remains there today.

1965-1966

On 30 March 1965, the Viet Cong detonated a car-bomb outside the Embassy, killing one female Embassy employee, another American, 19 Vietnamese and 1 Filipino and injuring 183 other people.

1967-1968

Due to security concerns following the 1965 bombing it was decided that a new Embassy with greater protection would be constructed. The site selected was at No 4 Thong Nhut (now Le Duan) Boulevard at the corner of Thong Nhut and Mac Dinh Chi Street (Embassy, Saigon 10°46′58.12″N 106°42′3.66″E). The Embassy was next door to the French Embassy, opposite the British Embassy and located near to the Presidential Palace (now the Reunification Palace.

The Embassy comprised two separate compounds, a consular compound sealed off by a separate wall and steel gate and the Embassy compound with the Embassy Chancery building, behind it was a parking lot, a 2 storey villa used as a residence by the Mission Coordinator (a civilian assistant to the US Ambassador), a motor pool and other facilities.

The new Embassy Chancery was a distinctive 6 story white concrete building, with a facade that served to both cool the building and deflect projectiles. A small helipad was located on the roof. The Chancery was one of the tallest buildings in Saigon at the time of its construction. The Embassy was opened in September 1967.

The old Embassy remained in use as an annex.

Tet Offensive

On 15 December 1967 as a sign of their confidence in the Vietnamese military, US forces turned over responsibility for the defence of Saigon to the ARVN, henceforth US forces would only be responsible for defending themselves and their facilities in the city. On the night of 30 January 1968 4 Vietnamese police posts provided an outer line of defence for the Embassy. 2 Military policemen from the 716th MP Battalion guarded the vehicle entrance on Mac Dinh Chi Street and inside the Chancery building 2 US Marines occupied a guard post and due to the heightened security situation another Marine was stationed on the roof of the Chancery building.

Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. The unit set off in a small truck and a taxi towards central Saigon. As the vehicles came down Mac Dinh Chi Street with their lights off after curfew they were spotted by a Vietnamese Police guard post north of the Embassy, but rather than trying to stop the vehicles the police instead took cover.

As the taxi turned from Mac Dinh Chi Street onto Thong Nhut Boulevard, the occupants opened fired on the two MPs guarding the night gate. The MPs, SFC4 Charles L Daniel and PFC William E Sebast of the 716th MP Battalion returned fire, closed and locked the steel gate and radioed that the were under attack.

The Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the Embassy grounds. The first 2 Vietcong into the grounds were shot and killed by SFC Daniel and PFC Sebast in their guard post at the Mac Dinh Chi Street entrance. Daniel radioed "They're coming in! They're coming in! Help me! Help me!" before the raido went silent. Daniel and Sebast were themselves shot and killed by the Vietcong.

An MP jeep patrol responded to the calls for help from but as they approached the Embassy they were met by automatic weapons fire killing Sergeant Johnnie B Thomas and SFC Owen E Mebust.

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  The hole blown in the Embassy perimeter wall on Thong Nhut (now Le Duan) Boulevard through which the Vietcong entered the Embassy grounds
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  Scene on Thong Nhut Boulevard outside the U.S. Embassy on the morning of 31 January 1968
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  Vietcong sapper lies dead in a planter in the grounds of the U.S. Embassy, Saigon on 31 January 1968
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  Dead Vietcong
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  Dead Vietcong
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1968-1975

A fire-bomb attack on the Embassy took place on 18 February 1971.

Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind

See Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind.

1975-1995

North Vietnames intelligence officials scoured the Embassy shortly after taking Saigon, they apparently were able to piece together classified documents that had been shredded but not burnt and used these to track down South Vietnamese employees of the CIA.

The Embassy was used as the offices of Petro-Vietnam throughout the 1980s.

1995 to present

Following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United State and Vietnam a new US Embassy was opened in Hanoi in 1995 and the site of the former US Embassy in Saigon was handed back to the US government.

It was decided that the former US Embassy building was unusable after more than 20 years of neglect in Vietnam's tropical climate, but it also seems likely that the history of the building itself carried such negative connotations that it did not fit with the new US-Vietnam relationship. The fomer US Embassy was demolished in May-July of 1998 and the new Consulate-General of the United States in Ho Chi Minh City was built adjacent to the old Embassy site.

During the demolition of the Embassy the ladder leading from the Embassy rooftop to the helipad was removed and sent back to the United States, where it is now on display at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum .

Some visible remnants of the old Embassy remain, most notably the large round concrete planters which sat in front of the Embassy and were used as firing positions by the Vietcong during the Tet Offensive attack. The footprint of the old Embassy building can still be seen from above, the site is now a park for Consulate staff.

On 14 November 2002, a dedication ceremony was held for the replacement plaque commemorating the US Marine guard and the 4 MPs who were killed defending the Embassy. The original plaque was left at the Embassy during the Fall of Saigon and was subsequently on display at the War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City) before disappearing

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  Former US Embassy in April 1998, shortly before its demolition
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  Site of the former US Embassy, 2003
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  Plaque commemorating the Marine and 4 MPs who died defending the U.S. Embassy Saigon on 31 January 1968

See Also

• Consulate-General of the United States in Ho Chi Minh City
• United States Ambassador to South Vietnam

External links

• Tet Offensive 1968, US Embassy & Saigon fighting. CBS News footage of fighting in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.
• Fall of Saigon Marines
• Official website
• [1]
• "White Christmas: The Fall of Saigon" - Dirck Halstead, The Digital Journalist.