220. Editorial Note

At a press conference on June 23, 1964, President Johnson released a statement explaining the resignation of Ambassador Lodge and announcing the appointment of General Maxwell D. Taylor as the new Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam. In addition, the President announced that U. Alexis Johnson would hold the new position of Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam. The President’s statement is printed [Page 524] as part of his press conference of June 23 in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson; 1963–64, Book I, pages 802–808.

Taylor, in Swords and Plowshares, pages 313–314, recounts how, why, and on what conditions he accepted the appointment. U. Alexis Johnson, in The Right Hand of Power, pages 402–403, provides similar information on his appointment.