Word: ky
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Long before he became Premier, Ky as air force chief had his flyers emulating his style-and loyal to a man. As "warlord of the air," Ky found himself with a power base that inevitably drew him into Saigon's politics. He became a protege of goateed General Nguyen Khanh, who promoted Air Commodore Ky to the Anglicized altitude of air vice-marshal. In return, Ky twice scrambled his Skyraiders over Saigon to stave off coup attempts against Khanh's 'government-once even resorting to the cold threat to flatten Saigon with bombs if the rebels refused...
...Ky was easily the gaudiest aviator in Asia. His trademark was a black flying suit-a legacy of secret night missions over North Viet Nam in 1964, dropping saboteurs. Afraid he might be dropped by Red ground fire himself, Ky designed the black suit to be less visible swinging from a parachute against the night sky. He also affected pearl-handled pistols in the cockpit, and has a considerable gun collection, to which he added in Honolulu with the purchase of a .357 Magnum and a symbolically-named Colt .45 Peacemaker. He also picked up a .22 revolver...
...third try, however, Ky and other young officers decided Khanh had lost his charm. As a general from the older generation, Khanh seemed to the young Turks lacking in the flexibility and idealism that South Viet Nam's social revolution required. Partly out of ambition, partly out of impatience, the younger officers themselves turned Khanh out, replaced him with a civilian physician and moderate, Dr. Phan Huy Quat, and his "medicine Cabinet." The officers genuinely wanted Quat's civilian government to work so that they could concentrate on prosecuting the war. But without a firm hand...
...Delicate Matter. Ky very quickly began to learn the limits of power in Saigonese politics. Though hardly known for quiet nights at home himself, he tried to slap a curfew on Saigon's teeming bars and brothels, only to back down-mainly because in a tense war capital, revelry is almost an essential. But he also produced some welcome surprises. Acknowledging the obvious, he declared war on North Viet Nam. Then, with the nation legally at war, he doubled army pay (from $33 to $66 a month for a private), cut in half top civilian government salaries, including...
Viet Nam today is, in essence, governed by military committee. The Premier's role, as Ky himself explains it, is "a very delicate matter, in which many things must be kept balanced. The way we work is that my colleagues decide what they want done and then I try to carry...