John H. Richardson (CIA officer)

John H. Richardson
Born(1913-10-10)October 10, 1913
Rangoon, British Burma
Died1998(1998-00-00) (aged 84–85)
Mexico
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA, MA)
OccupationIntelligence officer
Employer(s)United States Army
Central Intelligence Agency
AwardsDistinguished Intelligence Medal (1963)

John H. Richardson (October 10, 1913 – 1998) was an American intelligence officer who served in United States Army counterintelligence during World War II and later became a senior officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During the Cold War, he held overseas postings as chief of station in Vienna, Athens, Manila, Saigon, and Seoul.

In Vienna in the early 1950s, Richardson oversaw the CIA's handling of Colonel Pyotr Popov, one of the first Soviet GRU officers to provide information to the agency after World War II. Richardson's most consequential posting came in South Vietnam, where he served as Saigon station chief from 1962 to 1963 and developed a close working relationship with President Ngô Đình Diệm's inner circle. After the outbreak of the Buddhist crisis and the transmission of Cable 243 in August 1963, Richardson became embroiled in internal disputes over whether the United States should encourage a coup against Diệm. He was recalled after a conflict with Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. over contacts with South Vietnamese generals.

President John F. Kennedy addressed Richardson's reassignment at a press conference on October 9, 1963, describing him as "a very dedicated public servant."[1] Richardson was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and later served as the CIA's director of training before a final posting in Seoul. He retired to Mexico, where he died of lung cancer in 1998. His son, journalist John H. Richardson, published My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoir in 2005.

Early life and education

Richardson was born in Rangoon, British Burma, on October 10, 1913.[2] He was raised as a Quaker.[3] He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. in English literature in 1935 and an M.A. in social sciences in 1940.[2][4] Richardson subsequently taught at the University of California and at Santa Barbara.[2]

Military service

During World War II, Richardson served on active duty in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 as a special agent in the Counterintelligence Corps (CIC), operating in North Africa, Italy, and Austria.[2][4] Published accounts based on his son's 2005 memoir describe his wartime service as having included duty with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Yugoslavia, where he witnessed Tito's campaigns against German and Croat forces.[3][5] Upon separation from the Army, Richardson entered service with the predecessor organizations of the CIA.[2]

CIA career

Vienna and the Popov operation

As CIA station chief in Vienna in the early 1950s, Richardson oversaw the case of Colonel Pyotr Semyonovich Popov, a GRU officer who became one of the first Soviet military intelligence officers to volunteer information to the CIA after World War II.[5] Popov first made contact in 1953 by passing a note to a United States diplomat; George Kisevalter served as his direct handler. Between 1953 and 1958 Popov provided substantial intelligence on Soviet military capabilities and espionage operations. He was arrested in 1959 and executed in 1960.[5]

Greece and the Philippines

In the mid-1950s Richardson served as station chief in Athens, where the CIA supported Greek internal security and anti-communist efforts during the early Cold War.[3] He subsequently served in the Philippines; at the 1961 inauguration of President Diosdado Macapagal, Richardson stood on the reviewing stand beside the new president.[6]

Saigon station chief

In 1962 Richardson was appointed CIA chief of station in Saigon, succeeding William Colby.[5] He maintained close contact with Ngô Đình Nhu, President Diệm's brother and head of South Vietnam's security apparatus, meeting with Nhu on a weekly basis.[7] Director of Central Intelligence John McCone later acknowledged that Richardson "had become too identified with the Diệm regime."[7] When the State Department proposed suspending CIA payments to programs supporting politically repressive activities, Richardson responded that the agency's involvement was "actually rather limited" and cautioned that a CIA cutback alone would have minimal effect.[8]

Buddhist crisis and Cable 243

Following the Buddhist crisis of mid-1963, the State Department sent Cable 243 on August 24, 1963. Richardson understood the cable as a "command decision" to support a military coup against Diệm.[9] CIA personnel conveyed the cable's contents to South Vietnamese generals as explicit American encouragement.[9]

On August 29 Richardson received a cable from General Maxwell D. Taylor to General Paul D. Harkins suggesting "second thoughts" in Washington about the coup's advisability. Richardson decided to avoid making explicit commitments to the generals at their next scheduled meeting.[9] By August 31 Harkins learned the plotters lacked sufficient forces, and the Diệm government had become aware of the planning. The August coup attempt collapsed.[9]

Conflict with Ambassador Lodge

Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who arrived in Saigon on August 22, 1963, blamed Richardson's caution for the failed coup.[10] Lodge viewed Richardson's relationship with Nhu as undesirable and considered Nhu "a symbol of evil."[10]

On September 13 Lodge wrote to Secretary of State Dean Rusk requesting that General Edward Lansdale replace Richardson as station chief. Lodge called Richardson "a devoted, intelligent and patriotic American" but argued that "we need a new face and that General Lansdale has outstanding qualifications."[11] McCone rejected the request on September 19, writing that "General Lansdale would not be acceptable to the organization nor to me personally" and expressing the agency's "unalterable opposition" based on "past experience."[12]

Press exposure and recall

Richardson reported that on September 2, 1963, the Times of Vietnam ran the headline "CIA financing planned coup d'etat," exposing the agency's involvement in the aborted putsch and compromising his cover.[9] On October 2 journalist Richard Starnes named Richardson publicly in the Washington Daily News under the headline "Arrogant CIA Disobeys Orders in Viet Nam," reporting that the station chief had twice refused to carry out orders from Lodge.[7]

Richardson was transferred from Saigon on October 5, 1963.[13] UPI correspondent Neil Sheehan immediately contacted embassy officers about the departure; informed sources indicated Richardson would not return.[14] Two days later he met with McCone and Far East Division chief William Colby in Washington. Richardson reported that Lodge had berated him for "disobeying orders to push for a coup" and accused the ambassador of bypassing the agency and managing the station "as a personal political machine."[10] McCone warned colleagues that "under no circumstances" should the agency discuss "assassination or other highly sensitive matters" with Lodge, who had "no concept of security."[10]

At a press conference on October 9, President Kennedy addressed reports of independent CIA action in Vietnam. He stated he could "find nothing in the record to indicate that the CIA had done anything but support policy" and that the agency "operated under close control of the Director of Central Intelligence, operating with the cooperation of the National Security Council and under my instructions."[1][15] General Taylor noted that Richardson "had become persona non grata to Lodge for reasons I could not assess, but it seemed in the interests of all parties to reassign him elsewhere."[13]

Peer de Silva succeeded Richardson as Saigon station chief in December 1963.[7]

Later career and death

Richardson was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 1963.[2] After serving as deputy director of Training in 1965, he was appointed director of Training in January 1966, overseeing the agency's training programs at Camp Peary in Virginia and chairing interagency training committees.[2][16][17] He held the position through at least 1969, introducing managerial reforms including goal-setting programs for school chiefs and a participatory management advisory committee.[17] His final overseas posting was as station chief in Seoul, South Korea.[5] He retired to Mexico, where he spent three decades.[3] Richardson died of lung cancer in 1998.[5]

His son published My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoir (Harper Perennial, 2005) after obtaining declassified documents and interviewing his father's former colleagues.[3] Kirkus Reviews called the book "well-told and admonitory... a beautiful, gracious act of connection."[18]

See also

Further reading

  • Richardson, John H. (2005). My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoir. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-051035-0.
  • Ahern, Thomas L. Jr. (2010). Vietnam Declassified: The CIA and Counterinsurgency. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2561-9.
  • Boot, Max (2018). The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam. New York: Liveright. ISBN 978-0-87140-941-6.
  • Ford, Harold P. (1998). CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes 1962–1968. Washington: CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence.
  • Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A History (2nd ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-026547-7.

References

  1. ^ a b "News Conference 62". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. October 9, 1963. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Mr. John H. Richardson, Director of Training" (PDF). CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e "'My Father the Spy'". NPR. August 13, 2005. Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  4. ^ a b Richardson, John H. (March 1999). "My Father, The Spy". Esquire.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Evan (July 31, 2005). "Cold Warrior". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  6. ^ Shreve, Susan Richards (August 18, 2005). "His Father's Secrets". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d "A House Divided: Washington, Langley, Saigon, and the Plot Against Diem". National Security Archive. May 22, 2025. Archived from the original on February 8, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  8. ^ "Document 140". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume IV. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d e "John H. Richardson, CIA Saigon Chief of Station, Memorandum for DCI John McCone: Chronology of Events, Contacts and Discussions Relating to the Saigon Station Coup d'Etat Activities of August 1963". National Security Archive. September 28, 1963. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  10. ^ a b c d "Henry Knoche, Memorandum for the Record: Meeting in DCI's Office, 0800–0930, 7 October 1963". National Security Archive. October 7, 1963. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  11. ^ "Document 104: Letter From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Lodge) to the Secretary of State". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume IV. September 13, 1963. Archived from the original on September 26, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  12. ^ "DCI John McCone, Letter to Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, SECRET/EYES ONLY". National Security Archive. September 19, 1963. Archived from the original on November 19, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Document 176". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume IV. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  14. ^ "Document 185". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume IV. Archived from the original on September 26, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  15. ^ "Kennedy Defends C.I.A. Saigon Role". The New York Times. October 10, 1963. p. 1.
  16. ^ "Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee on Training, September 15, 1966" (PDF). CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  17. ^ a b "History of the Office of Training, January 1966 – April 1969" (PDF). CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  18. ^ "My Father the Spy". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
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