The work of Lansdale during the pivotal years of 1954 and 1955 proved that one man and his vision can make a difference in history. Without him the American venture in Vietnam would have foundered at the outset. Diem might have been Washington’s choice in Saigon, but he could not have survived without Lansdale at his side.

Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, loc. 375