Nguyễn Khánh
As victors Phoumi and Kouprasith kept a suspicious eye on one another, cholera threatened the Lao city's populace. A 19 December airlift began medical aid flights to obviate the menace of a cholera epidemic. Concealed within this air contingent was a C-47 from the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Colonel Nguyễn Khánh and Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Thiệu spent a day discussing possible joint South Vietnamese/Lao operations against the PAVN on Route 9 in the Lao panhandle, concluding that the situation was too unsettled to conclude anything.