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Joseph Mendenhall | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Madagascar | |
| In office 1972–1975 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Anthony D. Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Fernando E. Rondon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1920 Calvert, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 2013 (aged 92) Green Valley, Arizona, U.S.[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Delaware Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | career diplomat |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Joseph Abraham Mendenhall (January 15, 1920 – January 5, 2013) was a United States State Department official, known for his advisory work during the Kennedy administration on policy towards Vietnam and Laos. He was best known for his participation in the Krulak Mendenhall mission to South Vietnam in 1963 with General Victor Krulak. Their vastly divergent conclusions led U.S. President John F. Kennedy to ask if they had visited the same country. Mendenhall continued his work in the Indochina region after Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency in wake of Kennedy's assassination.