The Infinite And The Intimate

In this excerpt from his diary, dictated on November 4, 1963, President Kennedy expresses regret about his administration's initial support for the military coup against South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, which resulted in Diem's assassination on Nov. 2 and fundamentally altered the nature of the U.S. role in the Vietnam war. As he dictates, Kennedy is interrupted by his children.