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Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 14.25 x 10.75, July 1, 1964. President Johnson appoints General Maxwell D. Taylor, “United States Army, Retired,” as "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Viet-Nam." Signed at the conclusion by Lyndon B. Johnson and countersigned by Secretary of State Dean Rusk. The lower left corner retains the original embossed seal. Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 20.25 x 17. In fine condition.
Approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson, this document appoints one of America's most influential military leaders to one of its most consequential diplomatic posts at a pivotal moment in the Vietnam War. Maxwell Davenport Taylor (1901–1987) had served as Army Chief of Staff under Eisenhower and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Kennedy, and was a leading advocate of the ‘flexible response’ strategic doctrine that sought alternatives to the Eisenhower administration's reliance on nuclear deterrence. His appointment as ambassador to South Vietnam on July 1, 1964, replacing Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., reflected the Johnson administration's conviction that the deteriorating situation in Saigon demanded a figure of exceptional military authority and strategic credibility.
The timing proved momentous: Taylor arrived in Saigon just weeks before the Gulf of Tonkin incident of August 1964, which prompted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and a dramatic escalation of American involvement in Southeast Asia. During his year as ambassador, Taylor navigated a succession of South Vietnamese military coups with characteristic bluntness, reportedly confronting the generals responsible with undisguised frustration. He served until July 1965, when he was succeeded by Lodge, having consistently cautioned against the large-scale ground troop deployments that Johnson and General Westmoreland ultimately pursued. The document thus captures the moment of Taylor's appointment at the threshold of America's deepest military commitment in Vietnam.
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