Aftermath
While the initial reports from U.S. Embassy in Saigon and Halberstam-Sheehan reported that Major Dang ordered troops to fire on peaceful demonstrators, or the victims died from grenades on the radio station's balcony; subsequent official U.S. reports restated that Major Dang's troops were not involved in the casualties at the Hue radio station and the deaths were caused by large, unknown explosions. They further elaborated that the death tolls were limited to 8, instead of 9 with many wounded, as stated in the initial reports. According to a CIA high level official, George Carver, the source of the explosion would probably remain a mystery, shrouded in secrecy, for all times[7].
In a report to the U.S. Congress Subcommittee of Internal Security, Senator Thomas J. Dodd presented the false reports created about South Vietnam. He informed the subcommitee that the United States had been misled by radical reporting that led to the ouster of President Diem[1]. In his testimony to Congress, CIA director William Colby also expressed his doubts in the reports of Buddhist persecutions. He iterated that Major Dang Sy did not order his troops to open fire on demonstrators, though actions taken by the South Vietnamese military were witnessed by German doctors[2]. In Congressional Recording Volume 114, the U.S. Congress found that Major Dang Sy was a 7 times decorated hero in the South Vietnamese Army and was held without formal charges. The Trial of Dang Sy had created such financial burden on the Đặng family that several U.S. faith-based charities had to provide financial support to Mrs. Đặng[3][4].
One of the presiding members of the Military Tribunal, and Major Dang's lawyer contended that the court sentenced Major Dang without proving beyond reason of a doubt, based on inconclusive and unconnected evidences. This was done to court the radical Buddhist movement for supporting a fading Military Junta that was facing further turmoils[7]. The most notable act that caused violence under General Khanh's regime was the revised Vietnamese Constitution (Vietnamese: Vũng Tàu Hiến Chương).
The plight of Major Sy Dang came to the attention of Mrs. Anne Westrick in 1966 who petitioned to U.S. Congress, Departments of Defense and State, and allies government for Major Đặng's freedom[5]. Major General Thieu offered to award Major Dang the Blue Star, South Vietnam highest honor to military personnel for the ordeals he endured[6]. The Military Junta was finally replaced in 1967 by Premier Nguyễn Van Thieu with a ratified constitution. The Second Republic, called for unity in South Vietnam and promised to a better government and future for South Vietnam[8], offered Major Dang a choice of returning to his rank or resigning to the life of a civilian. Major Dang chose the latter. A member of Vietnamese Congress then introduced Mr. Dang to an office of Bank of America in Saigon, which offered Mr. Dang employment[9][10][11].
In 1970, the Hoa Binh newspaper ran a story that Captain James Scott, who was reassigned to Mekong Delta region, admited that he was the one who set the miniturized, plastic explosive devices. This device was first used by a Saigon warlord in 1951, when it killed many people in Saigon[7].
As for the cause of deaths for the eight victims, the debates raged on, even until today[12][13].
References:
1. Testimony to U.S. Congress Subcommitee of Internal Security
2. Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby
4. United States Congressional Recording Volume 114. Government Printing Office (1967).
5. State Woman Fights for Major's Freedom. Owosso Argus-Press - Mar 1966
6. Nine Diem Backers Released. New York Times - Oct 1966
8. Thieu Voices Appeal for Unity and Sacrifice. Christian Science Monitor - Nov 1967.
9. Happy July 4th. The Baltimore Sun - July 1987.
10. Area Man Celebrates Ancestor Cannonization. Harfort Courant - July 1987.
11. Eerie Parallelism to his Ancestor. Catholic Review - August 1988.
12. Google Groups.
13. Viet DC Online.