William Trueheart

William Clyde Trueheart (December 18, 1918 – December 24, 1992) was a diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria from 1969–1971, and as the acting U.S. Ambassador and chargé d'affaires in South Vietnam from May–July 1963.

Early life and education Born on December 18, 1918, in Chester, Virginia, Trueheart earned a bachelor's degree (1939) and a master's degree in philosophy (1941) from the University of Virginia.

Career Trueheart was a civilian intelligence analyst in the United States Department of the Navy 1942–43. He then served in the Army, rising to the rank of captain. In 1949 he joined the United States Department of State as an intelligence officer. Diem's assassination later in November 1963, just before that of the President John F. Kennedy, was neither anticipated nor welcomed by Trueheart, although he had foreknowledge of the coup, and admitted there were no better alternatives within the Vietnamese theatre, indicating that it was possible that "half [the peasants] don't know who Diem is." However, this was immediately contradicted by his superior, Nolting stating emphatically that [Diem's] picture was "everywhere."

Historical context In October 1955, following a fraudulent referendum in which Diem had secured 98.2% of the vote, the Republic of Vietnam was established (known generally as South Vietnam) in which Diem declared himself President. Stemming from this impossibility, Trueheart was shown to have little or no faith in the autocracy of the Diem government in South Vietnam, noted variously to have been part of a "get Diem faction," and rebuking Diem with the fact that he would lose American support if the oppression of the Buddhist monks continued. At this stage, during the mid-1960s, the media had become an integral part of the reporting of news in the Vietnam War, with most infractions and incidents highlighted in national news. Polarisation between Diem and the Buddhists grew worse on June 11, 1963, when Thích Quảng Đức set himself alight in the process of self-immolation.