Edward Lansdale
Encyclopedia
Edward Geary Lansdale was a United States Air Force
officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services
and the Central Intelligence Agency
. He rose to the rank of Major General
and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1963. He was an early proponent of more aggressive US actions in the Cold War
. Lansdale was born in Detroit, Michigan
, died in McLean
, Virginia
, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
. He was twice married and had two sons from his first marriage.
, in 1908, the second of the four sons of Sarah Frances Philips of California and Henry Lansdale of Virginia
. He attended school in Michigan
, New York
and California
before attending the University of California at Los Angeles where he earned his way largely by writing for newspapers and magazines. He moved on to better paying work in advertising in Los Angeles
and San Francisco.
, he served with the Office of Strategic Services
and in 1943 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, working various military intelligence assignments throughout the war. In 1945 after several wartime promotions, he was transferred to Headquarters Air Forces Western Pacific as a major, where he became chief of the Intelligence Division.
until 1948 helping the Philippine Army
rebuild its intelligence services and he was responsible for resolving the cases of large numbers of prisoners of war. He was commissioned as a captain in the United States Air Force
in 1947, with the temporary rank of major. After leaving the Philippines
in 1948, he served as an instructor at the Strategic Intelligence School, Lowry Air Force Base
, Colorado, where he received a temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1949. In 1950 President Elpidio Quirino
personally requested that he be transferred to Joint United States Military Assistance Group, Philippines
, to assist the intelligence services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
combat the Communist Hukbalahap
. Ramon Magsaysay
had just been appointed secretary of national defense and Lansdale was made liaison officer to him. The two men became close friends, frequently visiting the combat areas together. Lansdale helped the Philippine Armed Forces develop psychological operations, civic actions, and the rehabilitation of Hukbalahap
prisoners in projects such as EDCOR. He was temporarily promoted to colonel in 1951.
's mission to Indo-China in 1953, acting as an advisor on special counter-guerrilla operations to French
forces against the Viet Minh
. From 1954 to 1957 he was stationed in Saigon as the head of the Saigon Military Mission (SMM). During this period he was active in the training of the Vietnamese National Army
(VNA), organizing the Caodaist
militias under Trinh Minh The
in an attempt to bolster the VNA, a propaganda campaign encouraging Vietnam's Catholics to move to the south as part of Operation Passage to Freedom
, and spreading claims that North Vietnam
ese agents were making attacks in South Vietnam. Before the widely discredited 1955 referendum that saw Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
depose head of state Bao Dai
and proclaim himself President of the newly formed Republic of Vietnam, Lansdale advised Diem, with whom had a close friendship, to not rig the poll and be content with a realistic 60–70% result, advice which Diem did not take. Diem was credited with 98.2% overall and 133% in Saigon.
He also mentored and trained Pham Xuan An, a reporter for Time magazine who was actually a highly placed North Vietnamese spy. In 1961, he helped to publicize the story of Father Nguyen Lac Hoa
, the "fighting priest" who had organized a crack militia called the Sea Swallows from his village of anti-communist Chinese Catholic exiles.
In 1961, Lansdale recruited John M. Deutch
to his first job in government, working as one of Robert McNamara
's 'Whiz Kids
'. Deutch would go on to be the 17th Director of Central Intelligence
.
in Washington
, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Operations, Staff Member of the President's Committee on Military Assistance, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. During the early 1960s he was chiefly involved in clandestine efforts to topple the government of Cuba
, including proposals to assassinate Fidel Castro
. Much of this work was under the aegis of "Operation Mongoose
" which was the operational name for the CIA plan to topple Castro's government. According to Daniel Ellsberg
, who was at one time a subordinate to Lansdale, Lansdale claimed that he was fired by President Kennedy's Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
after he declined Kennedy's offer to play a role in the overthrow of the Diem regime.
, published in 1972, was In the Midst of Wars. His biography, The Unquiet American, was written by Cecil Currey and published in 1988; the title refers to the common, but incorrect belief, that the eponymous character in Graham Greene
's novel The Quiet American
was based on Lansdale. According to Norman Sherry's authorized biography of Greene The Life of Graham Greene (Penguin, 2004), Lansdale did not officially enter the Vietnam arena until 1954, while Greene wrote his book in 1952 after departing Vietnam. Many of Lansdale's private papers and effects were destroyed in a fire at his McLean home in 1972. In 1981, Lansdale donated most of his remaining papers to Stanford University
's Hoover Institution
.
) in the 1991 Oliver Stone
film JFK
. It was implied that Lansdale was "General Y", who sent Colonel Fletcher Prouty
(Air Force) off on an odd assignment out of country. Prouty specialized in presidential security and Kennedy's death during his absence aroused suspicion that this was part of a plot. This hypothesis is inspired by questions raised about Lansdale's presence in Dealey Plaza
by Prouty, who claimed to have recognized Lansdale in a photograph taken that day by a Dallas Morning News photographer immediately after the assassination. The photo allegedly shows Lansdale walking away from "the three tramps" who were arrested by Dallas police. Prouty worked next door to Lansdale for 9 years and recognized the shape of his head, class ring and the stoop in his walk. The third tramp's body is blocked from view but for his feet. Although many speculative identities for the "tramps" have been offered, Prouty's identification of Lansdale has been corroborated by Lt. General Victor H. Krulak
. Daniel Ellsberg
, a consultant to Oliver Stone
on JFK
and former subordinate of Lansdale's, claims to have told Stone not to include this in the script, believing Lansdale to be innocent of the allegations.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. He rose to the rank of Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1963. He was an early proponent of more aggressive US actions in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Lansdale was born in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, died in McLean
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. He was twice married and had two sons from his first marriage.
Early life
Edward G. Lansdale was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, in 1908, the second of the four sons of Sarah Frances Philips of California and Henry Lansdale of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He attended school in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
before attending the University of California at Los Angeles where he earned his way largely by writing for newspapers and magazines. He moved on to better paying work in advertising in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Francisco.
World War II
In World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served with the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and in 1943 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, working various military intelligence assignments throughout the war. In 1945 after several wartime promotions, he was transferred to Headquarters Air Forces Western Pacific as a major, where he became chief of the Intelligence Division.
Philippines
He extended his tour to remain in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
until 1948 helping the Philippine Army
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army is the ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Tagalog is Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas. On July 23, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maj. Gen...
rebuild its intelligence services and he was responsible for resolving the cases of large numbers of prisoners of war. He was commissioned as a captain in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in 1947, with the temporary rank of major. After leaving the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1948, he served as an instructor at the Strategic Intelligence School, Lowry Air Force Base
Lowry Air Force Base
Lowry Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in the cities of Aurora and Denver, Colorado. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training and was heavily involved with the training of United States Army Air Forces bomber crews during World...
, Colorado, where he received a temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1949. In 1950 President Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur from 1919 to 1925. He was then elected as senator from 1925–1931...
personally requested that he be transferred to Joint United States Military Assistance Group, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, to assist the intelligence services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
combat the Communist Hukbalahap
Hukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
. Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramón del Fierro Magsaysay was the third President of the Republic of the Philippines from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He was elected President under the banner of the Nacionalista Party.-Early life:Ramon F...
had just been appointed secretary of national defense and Lansdale was made liaison officer to him. The two men became close friends, frequently visiting the combat areas together. Lansdale helped the Philippine Armed Forces develop psychological operations, civic actions, and the rehabilitation of Hukbalahap
Hukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
prisoners in projects such as EDCOR. He was temporarily promoted to colonel in 1951.
Vietnam
Lansdale was a member of General John W. O'DanielJohn W. O'Daniel
John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel was a United States Army general, best known for commanding the Third Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France during World War II. He is also known for being the commanding officer of Audie Murphy.O’Daniel was an athlete, a teacher, a...
's mission to Indo-China in 1953, acting as an advisor on special counter-guerrilla operations to French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
forces against the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
. From 1954 to 1957 he was stationed in Saigon as the head of the Saigon Military Mission (SMM). During this period he was active in the training of the Vietnamese National Army
Vietnamese National Army
On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnam's military force created shortly after that. It was commanded by...
(VNA), organizing the Caodaist
Cao Dai
Cao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ...
militias under Trinh Minh The
Trinh Minh The
Trình Minh Thế was a Vietnamese nationalist and military leader during the end of the First Indochina War and the beginning of the Vietnam War.-Biography:...
in an attempt to bolster the VNA, a propaganda campaign encouraging Vietnam's Catholics to move to the south as part of Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...
, and spreading claims that North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese agents were making attacks in South Vietnam. Before the widely discredited 1955 referendum that saw Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
depose head of state Bao Dai
Bao Dai
Bảo Đại , born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy , was the 13th and last ruler of the Nguyễn dynasty. From 1926 to 1945, he was king of Annam under French ‘protection’. During this period, Annam was a protectorate within French Indochina, covering the central two-thirds of the present-day Vietnam...
and proclaim himself President of the newly formed Republic of Vietnam, Lansdale advised Diem, with whom had a close friendship, to not rig the poll and be content with a realistic 60–70% result, advice which Diem did not take. Diem was credited with 98.2% overall and 133% in Saigon.
He also mentored and trained Pham Xuan An, a reporter for Time magazine who was actually a highly placed North Vietnamese spy. In 1961, he helped to publicize the story of Father Nguyen Lac Hoa
Nguyen Lac Hoa
Father Augustine Nguyen Lac Hoa , a refugee Chinese Catholic priest in South Vietnam, led a militia called the Sea Swallows that carved out an anticommunist enclave in the Viet Cong's Ca Mau Peninsula stronghold...
, the "fighting priest" who had organized a crack militia called the Sea Swallows from his village of anti-communist Chinese Catholic exiles.
In 1961, Lansdale recruited John M. Deutch
John M. Deutch
John Mark Deutch is an American chemist and civil servant. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence from May 10, 1995 until December 15, 1996...
to his first job in government, working as one of Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
's 'Whiz Kids
Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)
Whiz Kids was a name given to a group of experts from RAND Corporation with which Robert McNamara surrounded himself in order to turn around the management of the United States Department of Defense in the 1960s...
'. Deutch would go on to be the 17th Director of Central Intelligence
Director of Central Intelligence
The Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...
.
Anti-Castro Campaign
From 1957 to 1963 Lansdale worked for the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Operations, Staff Member of the President's Committee on Military Assistance, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. During the early 1960s he was chiefly involved in clandestine efforts to topple the government of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, including proposals to assassinate Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. Much of this work was under the aegis of "Operation Mongoose
Cuban Project
The Cuban Project was a program of Central Intelligence Agency covert operations developed during the early years of the administration of President of the United States John F. Kennedy...
" which was the operational name for the CIA plan to topple Castro's government. According to Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, who was at one time a subordinate to Lansdale, Lansdale claimed that he was fired by President Kennedy's Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
after he declined Kennedy's offer to play a role in the overthrow of the Diem regime.
After his retirement
Lansdale retired November 1, 1963. His memoirMemoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, published in 1972, was In the Midst of Wars. His biography, The Unquiet American, was written by Cecil Currey and published in 1988; the title refers to the common, but incorrect belief, that the eponymous character in Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's novel The Quiet American
The Quiet American
The Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French...
was based on Lansdale. According to Norman Sherry's authorized biography of Greene The Life of Graham Greene (Penguin, 2004), Lansdale did not officially enter the Vietnam arena until 1954, while Greene wrote his book in 1952 after departing Vietnam. Many of Lansdale's private papers and effects were destroyed in a fire at his McLean home in 1972. In 1981, Lansdale donated most of his remaining papers to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
.
JFK Controversy
In the 1990s interest in Lansdale was sparked, in part, by the inclusion of a character named "General Y" (portrayed by Dale DyeDale Dye
Dale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
) in the 1991 Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
film JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
. It was implied that Lansdale was "General Y", who sent Colonel Fletcher Prouty
L. Fletcher Prouty
Leroy Fletcher Prouty served as Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President John F. Kennedy. A former colonel in the United States Air Force he retired from military service to become a banker, and subsequently became a critic of U.S...
(Air Force) off on an odd assignment out of country. Prouty specialized in presidential security and Kennedy's death during his absence aroused suspicion that this was part of a plot. This hypothesis is inspired by questions raised about Lansdale's presence in Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza , in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas , is the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
by Prouty, who claimed to have recognized Lansdale in a photograph taken that day by a Dallas Morning News photographer immediately after the assassination. The photo allegedly shows Lansdale walking away from "the three tramps" who were arrested by Dallas police. Prouty worked next door to Lansdale for 9 years and recognized the shape of his head, class ring and the stoop in his walk. The third tramp's body is blocked from view but for his feet. Although many speculative identities for the "tramps" have been offered, Prouty's identification of Lansdale has been corroborated by Lt. General Victor H. Krulak
Victor H. Krulak
Victor H. Krulak was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was born in Denver, Colorado to Jewish parents...
. Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, a consultant to Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
on JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
and former subordinate of Lansdale's, claims to have told Stone not to include this in the script, believing Lansdale to be innocent of the allegations.
External links
- Official Air Force Biography
- James Gibney, "The Ugly American." Review of Edward Lansdale's Cold War, by Jonathan Nashel. New York Times, January 15, 2006.