An Invitation to Witness a Death

Amb. Quinn’s “counterpart,” the Vietnamese District Chief, invited him to join a nighttime political mission to a village, where, they were seated at the side of the bed of a comatose important local political leader in 1969. As honored guests at his death, they witnessed the man take his final breaths. It was an unexpected and startling cultural experience to see how by his presence at what would be a private family event in the U.S., political respect was paid to a representative of the Hòa Hảo Buddhist religious sect.